Agriculture

Farm work matters more than just growing food. With India moving toward a developed nation, thinking about crops needs to shift. Not only output counts, but also how young people see farming as a job. Besides yields, caring for soil and water plays a big role. Over time, strong rural economies depend on choices made today. Looking ahead means balancing growth with lasting practices.

Farming with trees isn't just about growing food, it opens doors for students, young people in villages, and those already working in agriculture. Yet, schools must step up, teaching these methods like any core subject, or much gets lost.

Years went by, yet classrooms kept teaching field crops almost every time. Trees on farms? Usually tucked away inside forest studies, hardly ever seen as real farm work or a business path worth taking. Because schools split these ideas apart, learners missed chances to see how trees could help both money and nature thrive together.

Still, the field stretches wide. Where farming meets forest work connects soil care with weather patterns, business transport, country startups, timber uses, plus advice on long, term resource balance. Not just dropping seeds into ground, instead shaping working landscapes that earn income while handling extreme seasons. How food grows ties to roots underground and markets far away. Each choice affects profit margins alongside carbon levels in air.

Maybe treating agroforestry like a real job option will shift how farming schools train students for new country livelihoods.

Farm trees aren't just about growing plants, says Manoj Dabas of CIFOR, ICRAF India, they open doors through learning, spark jobs in villages, lift local timber supply, while quietly firming up defenses against shifting weather patterns across wide areas.

Expanding Access to Academic and Skill Development Programs

Few jobs might appear where farming meets trees inside classrooms. Training schools could start shaping skills when agriculture blends with forestry studies. Diploma courses may shift if tree, crop systems enter the curriculum. New work paths tend to follow what colleges choose to teach well.

From nursery care to handling timber flows, training focused on land, use choices builds workers ready for farm needs. Moving through carbon markets or shaping wood products, learning these paths fits people for real tasks in growing and making things. Instead of just theory, hands on know how to link forests to factories.

Farm science centers along with local farming support networks might grow this system through skill courses and official recognition for tree, crop methods that match area, specific environments. These efforts could strengthen growers while building a base of skilled helpers, guidance providers, and village, based business builders.

RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Out in the countryside, jobs that arent tied to farming get a boost from agroforestry. Training youth in how to dry timber, sort it by quality, work it into finished pieces, or build basic furniture opens new paths. Local processing means more value stays close to home. That keeps money circulating nearby while giving folks less reason to leave. Rural life holds tighter when opportunity grows right where people live.

Farming trees alongside crops might spark fresh interest when seen as a business move. Not just planting seeds but building something real could draw young people back to village life. Looking at dirt and saplings differently turns fields into futures. Instead of old routines, imagine income growing from mixed forests on farmland. A chance to earn while shaping land anew pulls energy toward soil instead of cities.

Courses and Academic Pathways in Agroforestry

Starting out in agroforestry? More colleges across India now offer clear courses that mix classroom learning with hands, on practice. Not just theory, real work matters too. Schools focused on farming and nature are opening doors. Step by step, the path gets clearer for those who want to grow into this field.

Fresh out of high school, learners might pick a BSc in Agriculture, dive into Forestry studies, or go for a BTech focused on farm machinery and systems, each path opening doors to niche topics like growing trees alongside crops, caring for soil long, term, even farming methods built for shifting weather patterns.

A step beyond undergrad, programs like MSc Agroforestry or MSc Forestry build deep expertise while weaving in real world decision making and innovation. Alongside them, MSc Climate Science and MSc Environmental Management sharpen understanding of ecological systems through practical governance lenses. Meanwhile, an MBA in Agri, Business Management blends field, specific insight with strategic planning shaped by market dynamics. Each path opens doors not just to specialization, but also to influence how land and resources are guided into the future.

In addition, diploma and certification programmes in:

• Nursery and plantation management
• Timber grading and wood technology
• Carbon accounting and climate finance
• Sustainable land-use planning
• Farm-based enterprise development
• Can equip rural youth and professionals with industry-relevant, employment-oriented skills.

Institutions such as agricultural universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, forestry research institutes, and skill development centres can play a critical role in formalising these pathways. Short-term certification courses in carbon credit systems, farm forestry models, and wood value chain management can further bridge the gap between theory and practice.

EDUCATION AS THE FOUNDATION OF VIKSIT BHARAT

India's agricultural successes have historically been education-led. The Green Revolution demonstrated that when scientific knowledge is systematically disseminated, transformation follows. Agroforestry requires a similar institutional push, one that integrates curriculum reform, vocational training, market literacy, and sustainability education.

If Viksit Bharat is to be economically strong, environmentally resilient, and employment-rich, agroforestry must move from the margins of policy discussions to the mainstream of career planning and academic design.

Teaching students that trees are not just environmental assets, but economic assets may well be one of the most strategic investments India can make in its rural future.

The involvement of the Big Tech Giants in farming will pose a risk to farmers and food sustainability, warns a report from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES, Food).

According to the report, major technology companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Alibaba are utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in ways that deeply influence food production, which results in farmers being over, indebted, dependent, and exposed to climate risks.

IPES, Food is a global think tank that sets the agenda and helps pave the way for sustainable food systems worldwide. It carries out research into political economy, nutrition, climate change, ecology, agronomy, agroecology, and economics, as well as being politically active.

The publication "Head In The Cloud" demonstrates how the tech giants command the financing and policy space while they get a massive amount of public money and at the same time, they tear down the initiatives that would give the farmers more control over their means of production and sustainability.

The study shows that industrial agriculture is progressively being designed around data- driven precision tools that are the results of collaborations between Big Tech and Big Agro. Such capital intensive models typically need large upfront investments, thus, the financial risks of the farmers are increased, and the smaller scale producers are marginalized.

Furthermore, the report indicates that this data, heavy systems use great amounts of energy, minerals, and water resources, confine agriculture to high input monocultures, and thus raise the impact of climate hazards.

Big Tech companies are leveraging AI and cloud based systems to guide crop and input decisions. In reality, this implies that the farming decisions are largely influenced by proprietary algorithms which are not transparent and accountable, thus, the farmers are being deprived of their knowledge and decision making autonomy.

At the same time, the companies are gathering data from farms to increase their profits, thus the farmers are losing control and ownership of their own information.

Consequently, only a few tech companies are becoming extraordinarily powerful in dictating the way food is being and will be produced, states the report.

The report calls for a just, resilient, and sustainable food system to deal with the challenges of climate change and global instability.

According to experts from IPES, Food, the path to a fair and sustainable food system involves changing the ones who control innovation, the ones who benefit from it, and also rethinking what we call innovation initially.

Agreements signed in the presence of Modi and Netanyahu during PM's Jerusalem visit; pacts cover innovation, maritime heritage, fintech, education and trade cooperation.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two, day state visit to Israel on Thursday, India and Israel signed a host of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, agriculture, education and commerce.

The signing of the agreements was witnessed by Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, led their joint statements in Jerusalem, attesting to the increasing strategic, technological and economic relationship between the two countries.

The wide, ranging agreements cover areas such as innovation, agriculture, geophysical exploration, maritime heritage, fisheries and aquaculture, artificial intelligence, education, commerce and cybersecurity.

A cultural exchange MoU and an agreement to set up the India, Israel Innovation Centre for Agriculture were signed by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

An MoU on geophysical exploration was signed by Israel's Energy and Infrastructure Minister with Jaishankar.

An MoU on fisheries and aquaculture was signed by Israel’s Minister of Agriculture and the External Affairs Minister.

The two sides also signed an agreement to advance education through the use of artificial intelligence, with Israel’s Minister of Education and Jaishankar formalising the pact.

The report of the 4th India-Israel CEO Forum was presented by Israel’s Trade Commissioner and India’s Ambassador to Israel, J P Singh. Implementation protocols were also concluded under existing agreements covering commerce, services, manufacturing and the restaurant sector.

Among the other key outcomes were a Letter of Intent for the establishment of a Cyber Centre of Excellence and an MoU linking India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), operated by the National Payments Corporation of India, with Israel’s Masav system

Additional agreements included a commercial arbitration pact, an MoU between the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and the Israel Securities Authority, and a separate MoU on artificial intelligence aimed at strengthening cooperation in cutting-edge technologies.

Officials said the new agreements are expected to boost research collaboration, trade flows and high-tech engagement, further deepening the India-Israel strategic partnership.

Food is essential. It's true that our eating habits can change, but feeding the body will always require energy, and energy comes from food. At the most fundamental level, agriculture is an amazing natural biological cycle: plants take in carbon dioxide and, by photosynthesis, produce the food we need while also releasing oxygen into the air.

However, feeding a population as large as Indias cannot be solved by a simple ecological equation. It is a complex technological, economic, and governance challenge. A challenge, which in fact, now requires systemic rethinking.

Invisible cost of high input agriculture

In order to ensure food security, India has stepped up agriculture through the use of irrigation, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and machinery. The results of these interventions have been such dramatic leaps in productivity. However, if we take a complete audit, we have to admit the costs as well. Today, in an epoch of multiple crises, food production systems are turning out to be very energy intensive, water, a limited natural resource, is extensively pumped, in many cases, from overexploited aquifers. Farming patterns are not always compatible with nature: e.g., is Punjab really the right place for water, guzzling paddy, or Maharashtra, for sugarcane?

At the same time, ensuring affordable food remains a legitimate and sensitive priority for both farmers and the Indian Government. Subsidies have played an important role in safeguarding food security. But distortions have emerged. Nearly 90 per cent of the cost of urea is subsidised. Predictably, overuse follows. The greening of crops is often mistaken for higher productivity, though that is not always the case. Excess nitrogen degrades soil health, reduces long-term efficiency and contributes to environmental pollution.

Restoring soil health

Encouragingly, initiatives such as the Soil Health Card Scheme represent an important shift. Instead of prescribing generic inputs, they focus on the specific condition of the soil and recommend appropriate amendments. Similarly, the PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM) incentivises States to reduce excessive chemical fertilizer use.

Soils are living systems. When crops grow, they do not merely synthesise carbohydrates; they draw minerals and micronutrients from the soil. If biomass is removed year after year without restoring balance, depletion is inevitable. Fertilizer application then becomes a compulsion rather than a calibrated intervention. Ecological security demands that we restore this balance.

Circular agriculture at the village level

Agriculture must shift from a linear to a circular model. Crop residue, instead of being burned, can be used for biogas production. The slurry from biogas plants, rich in nutrients, can be returned to the soil. If nutrient loops are closed locally, we create a circular economy at the village level, thereby generating clean energy while restoring soil fertility.Such decentralised approaches reduce waste, emissions and transportation costs. They also enhance local resilience, which is a critical requirement in an era of climate uncertainty.

Rethinking fertilizer efficiency

Next, conventional fertilizer application methods are inherently inefficient. Water-use efficiency in many systems is below 30 per cent, implying that nearly 70 per cent of applied nutrients are lost. But "loss" in this context means pollution. Nitrous oxide emissions contribute to climate change, while nutrient runoff contaminates groundwater.

Precision agriculture offers improvements, yet inefficiencies remain. Emerging solutions such as nano-fertilizers, designed for targeted delivery and higher absorption, show promise. If nutrient uptake approaches near-total efficiency, fertilizer demand declines and emissions are reduced correspondingly. Technology must now be aligned with ecological outcomes.Science must lead climate resilience

India will be significantly affected by climate change if we persist with business-as-usual crop varieties. Yet, we are not without scientific foundations. For decades, institutions such as the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources and CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) research centres worldwide - including Bioversity International, now part of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT (Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical- International Center for Tropical Agriculture) - have conserved extensive germplasm collections. Within these repositories lie genes that confer tolerance to heat, drought, flooding and other climate stresses.

Assuming that we have saved this biodiversity, the next question is what to do with it. One way is to embed stress, tolerant traits in new varieties, combining the traditional breeding methods, advanced genomic tool such as CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats), based editing and other, if necessary, modern technologies to improve resistance, nutrient, use efficiency, and other such desirable characteristics. National programmes like National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) serve as a launching pad for such research to move forward quickly. There's no cause for anxiety here. Science indeed provides answers; it is just guidance that is lacking.

Tackling post, harvest losses

Between the time a crop is harvested and when it is consumed, as much as 35 per cent of it could be lost. If such losses were stopped, it would be the same as food availability being increased by the same proportion i.e. without the need to bring more land under cultivation.

Earlier, limited access to energy constrained on-site storage and processing. Today, renewable energy changes that equation. Decentralised cold storage systems powered by solar energy, supported by financing mechanisms such as the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, can operate at the village level. Refrigerated transport can reduce transit losses. Whatever we produce must be utilised efficiently.

Solar as a 'second crop'

Questions are often raised about the land availability for solar power. However, agriculture itself is a source of innovative solutions. Under schemes like PM, KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evamUtthaanMahabhiyan), the farmers are being facilitated to install solar pumps and grid connected systems.

The frontier ahead is agro, photovoltaics, installing solar panels at heights that are most efficient and choosing crop varieties that will not lead to yield reduction. Food production is not necessarily a trade off. Rather, solar energy could be a dependable secondary source of income.

In bad weather, crops can fail but solar energy will not. By such diversification of income, agrarian distress can be alleviated to a great extent.

From food security to ecological security

The transition from food security to ecological security does not mean sacrificing productivity. It means producing intelligently, i.e., using resources efficiently, restoring soils, having resilient crops, lowering emissions and having diversified farmer incomes. This implies that subsidy programs must be in harmony with sustainability; also, research activities should be changed to focus only on climate adaptation; furthermore, circular bio, economies must be strengthened and additionally, renewable energy should be integrated in all stages of the value chain.

Such changes, in vision, voices and values, will be in the limelight of the debates at the next Silver Jubilee Edition of TERI's World Sustainable Development Summit. Agriculture, ecological security and climate resilience will be among the topics of the discussions along with other sustainability issues such as energy transitions, biodiversity conservation, and equitable development. It is not only imperative that we place ecological thinking at the center of our development model but also, this is the only way that we can secure our food systems and natural capital for future generations.

UPL, an agro, chemical company, announced on Friday that it will combine its Indian and international crop protection businesses to one entity, as the company aims at creating a focused pure play platform for this business's growth worldwide, and at the same time, simplifying the group structure.

According to a regulatory filing, UPL revealed that its board has given the green light to a combined scheme of arrangement between the company itself, UPL Sustainable Agri Solutions Ltd (UPL SAS), UPL Global Sustainable Agri Solutions Ltd (UPL 2), UPL Crop Protection Holdings Ltd (UPL Cayman) and their respective shareholders.

The proposed scheme plans to merge India crop protection business currently with UPL SAS and the global crop protection business currently with UPL Cayman, in one single entity, thus, the creation of a focussed, pure, play crop protection platform, UPL stated, further explaining that the scheme will simplify the group's structure and unlock shareholders' value.

As per the scheme, UPL SAS will be merged with the UPL in the first step.

Then, demerger of the demerged undertaking relating to the India Crop Protection Business from UPL to UPL 2. Lastly, there would be amalgamation of UPL Cayman with and into UPL 2.

The UPL 2 will be listed on the Indian stock exchanges. The process is expected to be completed in the next 12-18 months.

UPL has approved the “integration of the India-specific crop protection business and the international crop protection business into UPL 2 resulting in a single, unified platform for the crop protection business operating at the global level.” This integrated business will benefit from a strong manufacturing base, advanced research capabilities, a broad portfolio of registered products and brands across multiple geographies and independent management, UPL said.

After completion of the steps contemplated in the scheme, there would be two listed companies in the UPL Group.

UPL Ltd will continue to be listed and operate as a diversified platform encompassing agro and specialty chemical businesses, while also incubating and developing new businesses and verticals. The dedicated crop protection platform UPL 2 will be listed.

On the rationale of this scheme, UPL said that “this will enable clearer value discovery by providing flexibility to the investors to select investments which best suit their investment strategies and risk profile.” The scheme will allow the UPL and UPL 2 to raise capital independently, allowing each entity to optimise its capital structure and pursue business opportunities more efficiently and effectively, it added

Agriculture sits at the complex intersection of India’s Viksit Bharat aspirations and its net-zero ambition. As the backbone of the rural economy, the sector supports 46 per cent of the workforce, ensures national food security and contributes about 14 per cent to Gross Value Added (GVA).

A NITI Aayog report, however, warned that this foundational role — characterised by the dominance of small and marginal farmers — is increasingly threatened by climate change, soil degradation and acute water stress.

The report, among other things, revealed that farming is responsible for almost 14% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in India. Methane and nitrous oxide from both livestock and soils are the main drivers. It said that climate change mitigation in the agriculture sector is a must, have for the implementation of the Viksit Bharat concept.

It described the methods for reducing emissions and simultaneously ensuring the availability of sufficient food, safeguarding farmers income and meeting climate goals, and it further elaborated on the extent that various changes in crops, livestock, and farming systems would be required.

Changing the diet from rice, which requires a lot of water and energy, to millets that are more tolerant to climate changes not only helps to lower the emissions but also the adaption capacity is improved. This could be supported by behaviour-change initiatives such as the Eat Right Movement and the National Millet Mission (NMM),” the report stated.

The government’s think tank further noted that for such transitions to scale without compromising farmer incomes or food and nutritional security, the state must deploy “phased”, “spatially targeted” and “socio-economically differentiated” roadmaps, particularly for expanding natural and chemical-free farming interventions.

“Consequently, agriculture in India cannot be approached through a narrow mitigation-centric lens. The priority is safeguarding productivity, farmers’ incomes and food and nutritional security. This will require a focus on measures that build resilience to climate change,” it said.

Economist Akash Jindal has noted that crop diversification might be a very important strategy, where farmers abandon monoculture systems of rice, wheat, or sugarcane, and move to high value crops such as horticulture and oilseeds or nutri, cereals as a climate adaptation measure.

"The switch can definitely raise farm incomes by lowering risk and elevating the value of each hectare, plus it can also improve nutritional security, " he said. It yields mitigation co-benefits as greenhouse gas emissions per hectare decline when farmers move from input-intensive monocultures to more diversified cropping systems,” he said.

The report also highlighted the role of Integrated Assessment Modelling (IAM) in generating data-driven insights for decision-making and navigating the complex interdependencies between climate, agriculture and socio-economic systems.

“For example, dietary shifts towards healthier diets could reduce India’s emissions by 60 per cent compared to the baseline. A robust IAM assessment, calibrated to India’s national context, can integrate supply-side interventions with demand-side dynamics, while quantifying trade-offs such as land-use competition between food security, afforestation goals and the needs of other land-dependent sectors,” it underlined.

Scaling natural farming in rain-fed areas for more equitable and sustainable agricultural growth was another key recommendation in the report as India moves closer to its net-zero goal.

Rain-fed agriculture covers 51 per cent of the country’s net sown area and contributes 40 per cent of food production. It is characterised by low productivity, low input use and monsoon-dependent yield volatility.

These regions face acute climate risks while supporting 81 per cent of the rural poor, including marginal, tribal and smallholder farmers.

Natural farming was highlighted as a low, risk, high, reward option for these locations in the report.

Adopting such methods could lead to better productivity, increased yields and profitability, as well as getting healthier and more nutritious diets since most farmers eat what they grow.

Besides that, it helps in stabilizing and making rain fed farming systems more resilient by restoring the soil and encouraging the use of climate resilient practices.

According to the report, the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) gives priority to the rain fed areas for the scale up.