Recent Current Affairs related to Agriculture

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has released the Third Advance Estimates of Production of Major Agricultural Crops for the 2025–26 crop year. India’s total foodgrain production is estimated at a record 376.56 million tonnes (MT) for 2025–26, marking a 5.3% increase over the previous year’s production of 357.73 MT.

Rice production is estimated at a record 154.02 MT, while wheat production is projected to increase by 2.29% to reach 120.65 MT. Total oilseeds production is estimated at 43.05 MT, which includes 13.07 MT of groundnut, 12.59 MT of soyabean, and 13.76 MT of rapeseed and mustard.

Valluvan, a farmer from the Pollachi district of Tamil Nadu, has been honoured as a ‘Soil Farmer Hero’ by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN.

He has received this recognition for transforming his 11-hectare landholding into a profitable enterprise. He achieved this through the implementation of multi-crop, tree-based farming techniques, generating revenue of ₹2.5 lakh to ₹3 lakh per acre.

The 11th edition of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (QFMM) was held in New Delhi, chaired by Union Minister S Jaishankar.

Major initiatives launched include the Indo-Pacific Maritime Surveillance Collaboration (IPMSC) and the ‘Quad Initiative on Indo-Pacific Energy Security’. India will host the second edition of the ‘Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission’.

Under the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) initiative, over $6 million in funding has been allocated to support 6 international research projects.

Additionally, the ‘Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework’ aims to mobilize up to $20 billion in investments from public and private sectors.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia has attended the 51st Statehood Day celebrations of Sikkim at Manan Kendra in Gangtok. During the event, he launched the ‘Mission Sikkim Organics’ with an outlay of ₹360 crore to strengthen organic farming and sustainable agricultural practices in the state. It is to be noted that Sikkim celebrates May 16 as its Statehood Day, marking its integration with the Union of India in 1975.

PM Narendra Modi has been conferred the prestigious FAO Agricola Medal by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The award recognises his contributions to food security, sustainable agriculture, and rural development.

It is one of the highest honours given by the FAO to individuals for their role in advancing global food security, improved nutrition, and agricultural development.

Union Minister JP Nadda and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have launched the ‘SEHAT Mission’ (Science Excellence for Health through Agricultural Transformation) in New Delhi. The mission is jointly launched by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW).

The initiative aims to connect agriculture, nutrition, and public health through scientific collaboration to build a framework for ‘Healthy Food, Healthy Farms and a Healthy India’.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Mizoram CM Lalduhoma have launched the ‘Mizoram Ginger Mission’. The initiative, with a financial outlay of ₹189.79 crore, is designed to enhance ginger cultivation and value chain development in the state. It also aims to promote Geographical Indication (GI)-certified pharma-grade Mizo Ginger in international markets.

India and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized United Nations (UN) agency, have launched an 8-year Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) for the 2026–2033 period.

The initiative, announced during the ‘IFAD–India Partnership for Rural Prosperity’ event at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, aims to strengthen the rural economy of India and promote inclusive, climate-resilient development.

Additionally, IFAD and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) have signed a strategic partnership agreement to strengthen rural finance systems and support innovation in the agriculture and allied sectors.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for 14 Kharif crops for the 2026-27 marketing season. The highest absolute increases in MSP compared to the previous year were for sunflower seeds (₹622 per quintal), cotton (₹557 per quintal), and sesamum (₹500 per quintal).

Among major food grains, the MSP for common paddy has been raised to ₹2,441 per quintal (an increase of ₹72), while the rate for Grade A paddy is set at ₹2,461 per quintal.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the increase of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane to ₹365 per quintal for the 2026-27 season. This is based on a 10.25% basic recovery rate and marks a 2.81% increase from the ₹355 per quintal rate of the 2025-26 season. The new price will be effective from October 2026.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh has unveiled two AI-enabled weather forecasting models to provide hyperlocal monsoon and rainfall data. The models were collaboratively developed by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).

The “AI-Enabled Monsoon Advance Forecasting System” provides subdistrict or block-level forecasting for the first time, covering 3,196 blocks across 15 states and 1 Union Territory (UT) in the rainfed monsoon core zone of India. It is to be noted that the system predicts monsoon progression up to 4 weeks in advance with an error margin of 4 days.

The “High Spatial Resolution Rainfall Forecast” is a pilot project in Uttar Pradesh that uses the “Mithuna” weather model to downscale 12.5-km grids to a 1-km resolution. It generates specific rainfall forecasts for up to 10 days in advance.

According to data from the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) recorded a 15.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in non-food credit in FY26, an increase of 497 basis points (bps) from 10.9% in FY25.

Credit to agriculture and allied activities grew by 15.7% (up from 10.4% in the previous year), while industrial sector credit expanded by 15%, nearly double the 8.2% growth rate of the previous year. The services sector registered the highest growth of 19% in FY 2025-26, compared to 12% in the preceding year.

According to the “ICAR-CMFRI Annual Report 2025” released by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Tamil Nadu is the leading marine fish producer in India with an output of 6.85 lakh tonnes.

It is to be noted that the aggregate marine fish production of India increased by 3% to 35.7 lakh tonnes in 2025. Karnataka and Maharashtra are ranked 4th and 5th respectively.

Dr. Ch. Srinivasa Rao, the Director and Vice-Chancellor of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR-IARI), has been conferred the 9th “Prof. MS Swaminathan Award” for the 2024-25 period in Hyderabad. The award carries a Gold Medal and a cash prize of ₹2 lakh