Chouhan Urges 'Team Agriculture' as ₹1,200 Crore Released to 10 States

Union Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has called on the Centre and states to set aside party politics and work together as "Team Agriculture" to safeguard the country's food security and lift farm incomes.

Addressing the second day of the National Agriculture Conference – Rabi Campaign 2026, where he chaired a session with state agriculture ministers and senior officials, Chouhan said governments and political parties may come and go, but the nation and its farmers endure. The platform, he said, was meant for practical solutions rather than politics.

₹1,200 crore support for ten states

At the conference, the minister handed over financial sanction letters exceeding ₹1,200 crore under the Prime Minister Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY). West Bengal received the largest share at ₹290 crore, followed by Haryana (₹198 crore), Chhattisgarh (₹181 crore), Arunachal Pradesh (₹154 crore), Bihar (₹114 crore), Karnataka (₹104 crore), Mizoram (₹75 crore), Himachal Pradesh (₹64 crore), Jharkhand (₹58 crore) and Punjab (₹43 crore).

Chouhan said the Centre was going beyond policy-making to ensure that resources reach states on time so that schemes can be rolled out without delay.

Growth and output gains cited

Highlighting recent performance, he said the agriculture growth rate has risen from 3 per cent to 4.5 per cent since 2015, while the average annual increase in foodgrain production has more than doubled from about 40 lakh tonnes to 84 lakh tonnes. Rabi foodgrain output alone rose by 205 lakh tonnes between 2023-24 and 2025-26, a jump he credited to state agriculture departments, scientists and farmers.

New review and coordination architecture

To deepen cooperative federalism, the minister announced monthly virtual review meetings with states, mirroring the weekly reviews held at the Centre. Each state will form a State Agriculture Team bringing together the agriculture minister, agriculture secretary, state agricultural universities, ICAR institutions, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, ATMA, farmer producer organisations, progressive farmers, processors, exporters and nodal officers of the Government of India. District-level meetings will be held every month with the collector, deputy director of agriculture, ATMA, KVKs, ICAR scientists, bankers and farmers.

An annual calendar for pre-season interface meetings was also unveiled: district-level meetings for the Kharif campaign on May 10 and state-level meetings on May 17; for Rabi, district meetings on September 10 and state meetings on September 17. A one-day special meeting will additionally be held nationwide on a single date, drawing together ministers, officials and scientists.

'Khet Bachao Abhiyan' and Rabi priorities

Chouhan called for a nationwide 'Khet Bachao Abhiyan' from October 22 to November 30, with scientists and stakeholders participating. Using Soil Health Cards, the campaign will push balanced fertiliser use to protect soil fertility and beneficial insects. He also urged large-scale promotion of pulses in rice fallow areas of eastern India, especially Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal, after the paddy harvest.

For the ongoing Rabi season, he said crop and seed recommendations should be guided by soil moisture and water availability, and directed states to guard against pests and diseases, saturate eligible farmers with Kisan Credit Cards and conduct transparent crop cutting experiments under the crop insurance scheme. State ministers, he added, should personally review scheme implementation.

Input quality and market strategy

Describing seed and fertiliser availability as adequate, Chouhan ordered strict legal action against fake fertilisers, spurious seeds and sub-standard pesticides, and said forced tagging must end completely. He asked states to adopt natural farming, integrated farming systems and crop diversification in mission mode.

On prices, he said the government is pursuing a multi-pronged strategy covering post-harvest management, scientific warehousing and marketing. Tur, urad and masoor will receive 100 per cent assured government procurement at the minimum support price, with payment within 48 hours. India will also tap new opportunities arising from international free trade agreements to connect its farm produce, fruits, vegetables and foodgrains with global markets — a step he said would improve returns and help the country emerge as a major food basket for the world.

Union Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Ram Nath Thakur and Bhagirath Choudhary, Agriculture Secretary Atish Chandra, ICAR Director General Dr M. L. Jat, along with scientists and representatives of agricultural institutions, attended the session.