Key Highlights
- Adopted unanimously at the 16th BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting in Indore (12‑13 June 2026).
- Four priority sectors: food security & nutrition, intra‑BRICS agri‑trade, climate‑resilient regenerative farming, and agri‑innovation partnerships.
- Launch of four institutional mechanisms, including Networks of Centres of Excellence on Agro‑Ecology, Digital Agriculture, Farmers’ Seed‑Rights, and the BRICS AgriN framework.
- Special focus on small‑holder farmers, women, and youth across member states.
Detailed Insights
The Indore Declaration, drafted under India’s chairmanship, articulates a comprehensive agenda to reinforce agricultural sustainability among the five BRICS economies. By foregrounding food security and nutrition, the document seeks to align national strategies with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2. The trade component encourages the removal of non‑tariff barriers, harmonisation of phytosanitary standards, and the creation of a BRICS‑wide digital marketplace for agro‑inputs.
Regenerative and climate‑smart farming is positioned as a cornerstone, prompting member nations to scale practices such as conservation agriculture, agro‑forestry, and precision irrigation. To accelerate adoption, the declaration inaugurates the BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Agro‑Ecology and Regenerative Agriculture, coordinated by India’s ICAR‑Farming Systems Research Institute.
Innovation is institutionalised through two new platforms: the BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture, led by IIT‑Delhi, which will develop open‑source tools for farm‑level data analytics; and the Global Forum on Farmers’ Rights in Seed Systems, overseen by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, aimed at safeguarding farmer‑seed sovereignty. Finally, BRICS AgriN provides a legal‑technical scaffold for collaboration on agro‑inputs, genetic resources, information exchange, and capacity‑building programmes.
Key Concepts
- Regenerative Agriculture: Farming approaches that restore soil health, increase biodiversity, and sequester carbon while maintaining productivity.
- Digital Agriculture: The application of ICT tools—satellite imagery, IoT sensors, and AI analytics—to optimise farm operations and supply‑chain transparency.
- Farmers’ Seed Rights: Legal recognition that farmers retain the right to save, reuse, exchange, and sell farm‑saved seed varieties.
- BRICS AgriN: A multilateral framework facilitating shared access to agro‑inputs, germplasm, and research expertise among BRICS members.