India's journey from food scarcity to surplus: Empowering global nutrition solutions through innovation

New Delhi: India has emerged from being a food-scarce country to a food-surplus one which is harnessing digital technology and the most modern methods to help find solutions to global food and nutrition challenges today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the 32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists here on Saturday.

“Agriculture is at the centre of our economic policy”, he said and credited farmers having small landholdings – who constitute 90% of people engaged in agriculture in India – for making the country self-sufficient and providing “superfoods” like millets to the world.

Modi recalled that when India became independent from colonial rule, its food security was a matter of concern for the world.


‘Global South Can Benefit’
“Today India is a food surplus country – the largest producer of milk, pulses and spices, and the second largest producer of food grain, fruits, vegetables, cotton, sugar, tea and farmed fish”, he said.

He said the Global South can benefit from India’s agriculture practices as the country has 15 agro-climatic zones and grows crops for all six seasons. “Agricultural produce changes every 100 kilometres in the country, be it farming on the land, the Himalayas, in the desert, water-scarce regions, or coastal regions... This diversity is crucial for global food security and makes India a ray of hope in the world”, the prime minister said.

Around 1,000 delegates from 75 countries are taking part in the five-day conference on the theme ‘Transformation towards sustainable agri-food systems’.

Addressing them, Modi said the use of science and logic in the Indian agriculture system, including farming of medicinal foods, was prevalent since ancient times. ‘Krishi Parashar’, an almost 2,000-year-old treatise on agriculture based on this rich heritage, is one proof of this, he said. Referring to the present-day research and education, he said the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, which hosts the event, itself boasts of more than 100 research institutes.

There are more than 500 colleges for agriculture education and more than 700 Krishi Vigyan Kendras, he added. Sharing examples of use of modern methods of farming practiced in India, the prime minister said Soil Health Cards, solar farming that make farmers energy providers, digital agriculture market eNam, Kisan Credit Card and PM Fasal Bima Yojana are available to farmers. Formalisation of agriculture and the allied sectors is being encouraged and this can be seen in the growth of agri startups, natural or organic farming, farm stay and the farmto-table process, he said.