Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has stated that India has witnessed a 44% increase in food grain production over the last 11 years. He attributed this significant growth to the ‘Lab to Land’ model, which emphasizes transferring agricultural innovations and technologies directly from research laboratories to the farmers' fields.
To bridge the gap between research and real-world farming challenges, a national campaign titled ‘Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan’ was recently conducted. Under this initiative, 2,170 teams engaged with over 13.5 million farmers across the country, gathering insights into ground-level issues and needs in agriculture.
Minister Chouhan emphasized a major shift in the agricultural research approach. He declared that research priorities will no longer be decided solely in Delhi but will be shaped through direct consultations with farmers. “Farmers best understand their soil, climate, and local conditions. Many of them are already innovating, and our scientists should focus on refining and scaling those farmer-led solutions,” he said.
He also announced that regional consultations will soon be held on specific crops—cotton in Coimbatore, sugarcane in Meerut, and pulses in Kanpur—to develop targeted strategies for increasing productivity.
Highlighting the importance of soybean as a major source of protein, Shri Chouhan said that there is an urgent need to boost domestic use and export of soy products such as tofu and soy milk. He noted that several progressive farmers are achieving yields of up to 20 quintals per acre, and their practices will be studied and shared with other cultivators to help improve overall productivity.
The Union Minister outlined future priorities for agricultural research, focusing on increasing per-hectare productivity. He mentioned that genome editing techniques will be used to develop high-yielding and resilient seed varieties. Research will also target solutions for root rot, effective seed treatment, and timely disease identification.
Additionally, Chouhan emphasized the need to expand mechanization in farming, especially in light of the growing shortage of agricultural labor. Promoting machinery and technology in the field will be crucial for sustainable productivity growth, he added.
