12th BRICS Agriculture Ministers Meeting took place last night. Agriculture Ministers from China, South Africa, Brazil, Russia, and India attended the meeting. Shobha Karandlaje, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, attended the meeting.
The Minister emphasized various steps and initiatives taken by the Government of India in the field of agriculture and for farmer welfare, such as PM KISAN, PM FASAL BIMA YOJANA, Soil Health Cards, Natural Farming, formation and promotion of FPOs, and so on.
The Minister mentioned the Ministry of Agriculture's recent initiatives to increase the use of digital technologies in agriculture, such as Agri-stack and the India Digital Ecosystem for Agriculture (IDEA).
Shobha Karandlaje emphasized India's determination to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of ending hunger and increasing agricultural production and productivity through the sustainable use of natural resources.
The Minister emphasized the National Mission on Food and Nutrition, with a focus on the development of Nutri-cereals and bio-fortified crop varieties, as well as the significance of millets in food and nutrition security and climate resilience.
She urged the BRICS nations to support and celebrate the International Year of Millets in 2023.
The BRICS Agriculture Ministers adopted the Twelfth Meeting's Joint Declaration with the theme "Strengthening BRICS Cooperation for Coordinated Agricultural and Rural Development, as well as the BRICS Strategy on Food Security Cooperation among BRICS member countries.”
The BRICS Agricultural Research Platform was established in India to strengthen BRICS member countries' cooperation in agricultural research and innovation. It was invented in India.
As a global platform for science-led agriculture, the platform will contribute to addressing global hunger, undernutrition, poverty, and inequality by promoting sustainable agricultural development through strategic cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors.
