The BRICS+ advantages in food and agriculture
The expanded BRICS+ grouping brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, along with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, with several partner countries also associated with the process. Collectively, these countries represent a very large share of the world’s people, land, natural resources, food production capacity and emerging markets. Their decisions on agriculture, trade, technology, climate action and rural development will therefore have a major bearing on global food security.
Shared civilisational roots, shared development goals
Agriculture in BRICS+ countries is more than an economic sector. It is deeply connected with culture, community life, biodiversity, food habits and rural identity. India’s farming systems carry centuries of knowledge on crop diversity, mixed farming, natural resource care and community participation. Brazil has built globally recognized strengths in tropical agriculture and sustainable livestock systems. Russia is central to global grain security. China has advanced strongly in agricultural modernization, mechanization and digital technologies. South Africa and several other BRICS+ partners bring valuable experience in dryland farming, water management, climate adaptation and food-system resilience. This diversity is an asset. It gives BRICS+ the ability to design solutions for different agroecologies, from humid tropics and temperate plains to arid lands, mountains, coasts and smallholder systems.
The countries of BRICS+ also share a common development agenda. They seek to ensure food and nutritional security, raise farmer incomes, create rural employment, strengthen agricultural trade, accelerate innovation, empower women and youth, and conserve land, water and biodiversity. Mere production cannot achieve the goals however, future requires a shift from agriculture as a commodity-producing sector to agriculture as a full agri-food system productive, nutritious, climate-resilient, market-linked, digitally enabled and environmentally responsible.
India’s agricultural rise: From food security to global leadership
India’s leadership within BRICS+ comes at a significant moment. India has emerged as one of the world’s leading agricultural powers, combining scale, diversity, scientific strength and institutional capacity to contribute meaningfully to global food security and agri-food transformation. In 2025-26, India’s foodgrain production is estimated at a record 376.56 million tonnes, including 154.02 Mt of rice, 120.66 Mt of wheat, 55.09 Mt of maize and 17.58 Mt of millets. The country is the world’s largest producer of milk and a leading producer of pulses, spices, fruits, vegetables, cotton, sugarcane, fish and eggs. It combines one of the world’s largest domestic food security systems with a growing role in agricultural exports.
This transformation has been driven by farmers, public institutions, cooperatives, markets, infrastructure and science. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the wider National Agricultural Research and Education System have played a central role in developing improved varieties, climate-resilient technologies, livestock vaccines, fisheries innovations, mechanization solutions, digital advisories and capacity-building platforms. The release of the world’s first genome-edited rice varieties and genome-editing initiatives across 40 crops reflect India’s move from conventional technology generation to frontier agricultural science. India’s experience is especially relevant for the Global South because it has been built under conditions familiar to many developing countries: small farms, monsoon dependence, diverse agroecologies, high population pressure, resource constraints and the need for affordable technologies.
A shared agenda for agri-food transformation
A first priority for BRICS+ cooperation should be food and nutritional security. Many member countries have achieved impressive production gains, yet malnutrition, dietary imbalance and vulnerability to food-price shocks remain concern. BRICS+ can work together on climate-resilient cereals, pulses, millets, oilseeds, horticulture, biofortified crops, livestock products and aquatic foods. India’s experience with public food distribution, digital public infrastructure, direct benefit systems, nutrition-sensitive agriculture and millets can support wider learning, while other members bring complementary strengths in grain trade, oilseeds, animal protein, processing and logistics.
A second priority is climate-resilient and regenerative agriculture. BRICS+ countries include some of the most climate-exposed farming regions in the world. Heat waves, droughts, floods, salinity, desertification, pest outbreaks and water scarcity are already affecting farm incomes and food supplies. The grouping can become a global leader in scaling conservation agriculture, integrated farming systems, agroforestry, precision nutrient management, micro-irrigation, soil carbon restoration, renewable energy in agriculture, climate advisories and resilient seed systems. Joint research on rainfed agriculture, dryland farming, salinity management and extreme-weather preparedness would be especially valuable.
A third priority is agricultural trade and supply-chain resilience. BRICS+ includes major producers, consumers, importers and exporters of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, fertilizers, farm machinery, livestock products and fish. Yet the full potential of intra-BRICS+ agricultural trade remains underused because of differences in standards, certification systems, logistics, market information and regulatory processes. Cooperation on sanitary and phytosanitary standards, digital traceability, quality certification, storage, cold chains, port logistics and food processing can create smoother, safer and more predictable trade flows. Such cooperation will also reduce vulnerability to global supply disruptions.
A fourth priority is innovation. The future of agriculture will be shaped by biotechnology, genomics, genome editing, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, drones, robotics, sensors, digital advisory systems, precision farming and data-driven risk management. India already has more than 7,000 registered agri and allied startups, and a fast-growing ecosystem in farm mechanization, market platforms, climate services, financial inclusion, supply-chain management and input-use efficiency. A BRICS+ Agricultural Innovation and Startup Platform could connect scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators and farmer organizations across countries. It could promote joint research, technology exchange, pilot projects, startup challenges and scale-ready solutions for smallholders as well as commercial agriculture.
A fifth priority is rural transformation. Agriculture cannot be separated from rural development. Future-ready food systems need roads, energy, broadband connectivity, storage, processing units, skill development, producer organizations, women-led enterprises and youth entrepreneurship. BRICS+ can support rural value addition, local food processing, renewable energy, farm services, custom hiring centres, agri-tourism, bioeconomy enterprises and circular-economy models. This would help generate jobs close to villages, reduce distress migration and make agriculture more attractive to the generations ahead.
From vision to action
India’s strength lies not only in the scale of its agriculture, but in its ability to connect research, education, extension, digital platforms and farmers through a nationwide science-of-delivery system. India can help champion a practical action agenda during its BRICS+ engagement. This may include a BRICS+ Centre of Excellence for Climate-Resilient Agriculture, a BRICS+ Digital Agriculture Knowledge Network, a BRICS+ Agri Innovation and Startup Exchange, joint programmes on millets, pulses, oilseeds and rainfed agriculture, cooperation in livestock disease surveillance and vaccines, partnerships in fisheries and aquaculture, farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange, and an Agricultural Data and Intelligence Platform for early warning, food security monitoring and evidence-based policymaking.
Shaping a resilient agri-food future
The promise of BRICS+ agriculture lies not in replacing national priorities, but in connecting them. Each country has its own food systems, ecological realities and development pathways. But by pooling science, markets, institutions and experience, BRICS+ can create a stronger collective response to hunger, malnutrition, climate risk and rural inequality.
The real opportunity for BRICS+ lies in converting collective strength into practical delivery. Through shared research platforms, interoperable digital systems, climate-resilient technologies, harmonized standards, startup collaboration and farmer centric capacity building, BRICS+ can create an implementation pathway that connects science, markets and rural communities.
The future of global agriculture will not be secured by production alone. It will depend on resilient ecosystems, nutritious diets, fair markets, empowered farmers, responsible trade and science that reaches the last mile. With its scale, diversity and collective strengths, BRICS+ is well placed to shape this future. India’s message is clear. Agriculture must move beyond borders, towards shared knowledge, shared resilience and shared prosperity.
With India’s leadership and BRICS+ cooperation, agriculture can become not only a source of food, but a foundation for resilience, prosperity and global trust.
ML Jat is Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) & Director General, ICAR and Naveen P Singh is Assistant Director General – International Relations, ICAR. Views expressed are personal.