India’s farmers power food security, propel nation to global rice leadership

Bengaluru: Farmers remain the backbone of India’s economy, not merely as contributors to GDP but as providers of food security for the country’s 1.42 billion people, speakers and experts said here while highlighting India’s transformation from a food-deficient nation to the world’s largest rice producer.

Once derided as a poor and hungry country dependent on foreign aid, India has today surpassed China to emerge as the world’s number one producer of rice. The achievement is being credited largely to farmers, agricultural scientists, and policy interventions that followed the Green Revolution.

At the time of Independence, India’s rice production stood at just 20 million metric tonnes, with cultivation spread over 30.81 million hectares. Elder generations still recall periods of drought and war when people were forced to consume substitute foods instead of rice and wheat.

India relied heavily on imports from the United States, Australia, and Argentina to meet its food needs. During acute food shortages, then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had even called upon citizens to observe fasts to conserve food, a call that found wide public support.

The subsequent Green Revolution phases transformed Indian agriculture, gradually steering the country towards food self-sufficiency. Since the 1990s, India has made steady progress in agricultural exports. Today, the country exports food products to over 150 countries, accounting for nearly 28 per cent of global rice production.

Government data shows that India’s rice output rose from 130 million tonnes in 2021–22 to an estimated 152 million tonnes in 2025–26, overtaking China, whose production during the same period remained around 146 million tonnes.

The Centre has set an ambitious goal of ensuring that Indian food grains, fruits, and vegetables find a place on dining tables across the world by 2030. India is already playing a major role in addressing hunger in several regions, including Africa, positioning itself as a key global food supplier.

Major rice-producing states include Uttar Pradesh (20.9 million tonnes), Telangana (16.87 million tonnes), West Bengal (15.75 million tonnes), Madhya Pradesh (15.6 million tonnes), Punjab (14 million tonnes), and Odisha (10 million tonnes).

Globally, India leads rice production with 152 million metric tonnes, followed by China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Vietnam. However, experts caution that sustainability remains a concern. Rice cultivation requires about 2,500 litres of water per kilogram, significantly higher than crops like wheat or millets.

With nearly 50 per cent of India’s population dependent on agriculture but the sector contributing only 20.2 per cent to GDP, policymakers are being urged not to neglect farming in favour of commerce and services.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture Shobha Karandlaje said India now exports agricultural products to 172 countries. “India is self-reliant not only in feeding its own people but also in feeding the world. The Prime Minister’s vision is to see Indian food on global dining tables,” she said.

As India moves towards organic and chemical-free farming, with states like Sikkim already fully organic, the focus is increasingly on producing clean, healthy food while safeguarding farmers’ livelihoods and natural resources.

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