BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting 2026 India

BRICS AGRICULTURE MINISTERS’ MEETING 2026

Why in the News?

  • Upcoming Summit: The 16th BRICS Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting will be held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on June 12–13, 2026.
  • Delegate Visit: Representatives from Brazil, South Africa, Ethiopia, and other BRICS countries visited Indore ahead of the meeting to explore business networking opportunities and international trade cooperation.
  • India’s Chairship: The meeting is being organised under India’s BRICS Chairship 2026, which runs from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

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BRICS AGRICULTURE WORKING GROUP (AWG)

  • Institutional Mechanism: The Agriculture Working Group (AWG) serves as the primary platform for agricultural cooperation, trade promotion, and market access among BRICS countries.
  • Key Focus Areas: Discussions focus on food security, sustainable agriculture, sustainable farming, climate resilience, crop diversification, innovation, and resilient food systems including climate-smart crops and nutri-cereals.
  • Technical Cooperation: Facilitates exchange of best practices, technologies, quality standards, food safety protocols, and policy experiences among member countries, with emphasis on food processing and value chain development.
  • Recent Progress: Four AWG sessions under India’s Chairship have already been completed successfully, advancing export development and agricultural exports initiatives.
  • Sectoral Dialogues: Covers themes such as food loss reduction, fisheries, aquaculture, livestock technologies, millet cultivation, traditional grains, underutilized crops, and rural livelihoods, while promoting crop improvement and water use efficiency.
  • Export Promotion: The AWG facilitates trade exhibitions, connects international buyers with producers, and supports export promotion initiatives for value-added agricultural products including millet export and processed food products.

ABOUT BRICS:

  • Formation: BRICS originally emerged as BRIC in 2009 with Brazil, Russia, India, and China; South Africa joined in 2010.
  • Nature: It is an intergovernmental grouping promoting cooperation in economic, political, financial, and developmental matters, with growing focus on global markets and international markets integration.
  • Current Membership: Expanded BRICS now includes countries such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Indonesia along with original members.
  • New Development Bank: Established in 2014 to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects.
  • Chairship Principle: The BRICS Chair rotates annually among member countries, with India holding the Chairship in 2026

FOOD SECURITY

●  Definition: Food security exists when all people have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, ensuring nutritional security through functional foods and diverse ancient cereals.

●  Four Pillars: It is based on availability, accessibility, affordability, and utilization of food, with emphasis on nutritional benefits and health benefits.

●  Global Importance: Food security is central to achieving SDG-2 (Zero Hunger) and sustainable development, with growing global demand for millet-based products and functional foods.

●  Nutritional Advantages: Millet production offers superior protein content, dietary fiber, micronutrients, mineral content, and antioxidants, while being gluten-free with low glycemic index and anti-diabetic properties, rich in bioactive compounds and phytochemicals.

●  Emerging Challenges: Climate change, land degradation, water scarcity, conflicts, and supply chain disruptions threaten food security.

●  Product Innovation: Development of ready-to-cook millet, botanical-infused millets, and millet functional foods is expanding the export basket and creating new opportunities in agri-food exports.

●  Way Forward: Promoting climate-resilient agriculture, regenerative farming, sustainable resource management, drought tolerance, and technology adoption can strengthen long-term food security while enhancing market development for millet-based products and other functional foods.