Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Rural Development, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, today addressed a press conference at the National Media Centre, New Delhi, to brief about the launch of the nationwide “Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan”, starting from May 29, to 12 June 2025.
He emphasized that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the vision of a developed India is being actively pursued, and to realize this goal, it is essential to build a foundation of developed agriculture, modern farming practices, and prosperous farmers.
Agriculture, which remains the backbone of the Indian economy, not only provides livelihood to nearly half of the population but also underpins national food security. The Minister highlighted that the primary objective of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is to ensure food security for the country’s 1.45 billion people, while also guaranteeing availability of nutritious food, improving farmer incomes, and conserving natural resources for future generations.
To meet these targets, the Ministry has laid out a six-point strategy: increasing production, reducing production costs, ensuring fair pricing for produce, compensating losses due to natural disasters, promoting crop diversification with value addition and food processing, and encouraging natural and organic farming.
Shri Chouhan stressed that India achieved record agricultural outputs this year: Kharif rice production stands at 1206.79 lakh metric tonnes, wheat at 1154.30 lakh metric tonnes, Kharif maize at 248.11 lakh metric tonnes, groundnut at 104.26 lakh metric tonnes, and soybean at 151.32 lakh metric tonnes.
These all-time high figures reflect a significant rise in production, which has filled national food reserves. With a vision of making India the “Food Basket of the World,” the campaign seeks to strengthen international food cooperation by boosting sustainable and surplus production.
The “Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan” will unify efforts from various agricultural bodies, including ICAR’s 113 research institutes, agriculture universities, state government departments, innovative farmers, and farmer-producer organizations (FPOs).
This collaborative approach aims to align scientific research with real-time farming needs. The Minister revealed that total food grain output increased from 3157.74 lakh tonnes in 2023–24 to 3309.18 lakh tonnes in 2024–25.
Additionally, pulse production rose from 221.71 to 230.22 lakh tonnes, while oilseeds increased from 384 to 416 lakh metric tonnes. The campaign will be rolled out annually before the sowing seasons of both Kharif and Rabi crops.
During a recent Kharif Conference attended by state agriculture ministers, it was resolved to launch this initiative to ensure field-level implementation of agricultural research. Currently, around 16,000 agricultural scientists are engaged in research, and the campaign aims to make their work directly accessible and useful to farmers.
As part of the initiative, 2,170 expert teams each comprising at least four scientists will visit over 65,000 villages across 723 districts between May 29 - June 12. These teams will include personnel from agricultural universities, research institutions, government departments, innovative farmers, and FPOs.
They will conduct daily sessions morning, afternoon, and evening engaging directly with farmers. The teams will assess local agro-climatic conditions, soil nutrient profiles, water availability, and rainfall patterns.
Using Soil Health Cards, they will recommend appropriate crops, high-yield seed varieties, ideal sowing techniques, and balanced fertilizer use, emphasizing scientific farming to lower costs and improve soil health.
Importantly, the campaign is designed as a two-way interaction. Farmers will share their challenges, ask questions, and report field-level problems such as pest infestations, which will inform future research directions.
The initiative will harness the collective strength of 731 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and ICAR scientists, ensuring that science and farming progress hand-in-hand. With an expected direct engagement of over 1.3 crore farmers, this innovative and inclusive campaign is poised to set a new benchmark in agricultural transformation and awareness in India.