In an exclusive AgroSpectrum interview, Dr. K.C. Nehara, Addl. Manager, Demand Generation and Market Development at Shriram Farm Solutions, outlines how climate volatility and fertiliser shortages are accelerating India’s shift toward climate-resilient seeds and adaptive crop nutrition. He highlights that DCM Shriram’s Super-series cultivars—Shriram Super 303, Super 111, Super 252, and Super 272—along with advanced nutrition solutions like Shriram Suryamin, are engineered to counter heat stress, water scarcity, and declining soil vitality. Despite supply chain disruptions, proactive strategies such as advance fertiliser booking and anti-adulteration awareness are helping farmers secure reliable, high-quality inputs.

Dr. Nehara emphasises that scientific extension—through 700 agronomists, on-field demonstrations, and stringent benchmarking—remains the backbone of adoption, often transforming farmer profitability simply through better seed choices. Looking ahead, he asserts that India’s next agricultural decade will be shaped by biostimulants, gene-edited seeds, and climate-smart agronomy, positioning innovation-led companies like DCM Shriram at the centre of this transition.

Climate change and input shortages are reshaping Indian agriculture. How is DCM Shriram responding to these challenges?

Climate change has become the defining agronomic disruptor, altering sowing patterns, compressing crop windows, and depressing yields—most visibly in wheat, where extreme heat has already triggered up to a 9 percent productivity decline. At the same time, the global fertiliser imbalance has intensified the pressure on nutrient availability.

DCM Shriram has responded with a multi-layered innovation pipeline built around climate-resilient genetics and adaptive nutrition. Its flagship wheat and paddy cultivars—Shriram Super 303, Shriram Super 111, Shriram Super 252, and Shriram Super 272—have been bred to withstand heat stress, disease variability, and late-season climatic shocks. On the nutrition front, the company’s formulations like Shriram Suryamin are specifically engineered to help crops perform under water scarcity and temperature volatility. The core logic is simple: arm farmers with seed and nutrition packages that create resilience before the climate creates risk.

Fertiliser supply chains remain volatile. How are you helping farmers secure timely access and avoid spurious inputs?

India’s fertiliser markets operate under extreme seasonality, and disruptions—whether logistical, geopolitical, or pricing-related—tend to hit smallholders hardest. DCM Shriram has integrated advance booking systems to guarantee farmers assured supply during peak demand. This moves input access from uncertainty to predictability. The company has also intensified awareness drives to counter spurious or adulterated fertilisers, which remain a significant challenge in rural markets. By strengthening dealer monitoring and pushing product authentication tools, the company ensures that farmers receive the genuine formulations—especially premium nutrition solutions like Shriram Suryamin, which depend on purity and precise composition to deliver performance.

How is DCM Shriram driving productivity through biofortification and crop-specific nutrition?

Productivity enhancement today is no longer just about yield—it is about nutrient density, soil synergy, and cost-efficiency. DCM Shriram’s biofortified seed innovations, led by cultivars such as Shriram Super 303, reflect this scientific shift. Meanwhile, crop-specific fertilisers, including nutrition enhancers like Shriram Suryamin, align nutrient delivery with crop physiology and climatic stress profiles. The results have been decisive: higher productivity, lower cost of production, and better resilience against heat and moisture stress. Farmers who adopt these seed-plus-nutrition combinations report significant improvements not just in output but in input-use efficiency and soil vitality.

What role do farmer engagement and extension services play in driving adoption?

The decisive moment for any agri-innovation happens not in the lab, but on the field. DCM Shriram’s extension engine is built around immersive demonstrations where farmers witness the performance of seeds such as Shriram Super 111, Shriram Super 252, and Shriram Super 272 under real-time conditions. The company conducts large-scale pre-season training to prepare growers for climate risks, optimal sowing patterns, irrigation strategies, and nutrient integration. Seeing cultivars consistently outperform under stress—particularly the Super-series hybrids—creates behaviour change faster than any marketing effort could. Live performance is the strongest form of persuasion.

How does your agroadvisory ecosystem strengthen farmer decision-making?

With a network of 700 agronomists, DCM Shriram brings scientific agronomy directly to the farm gate. These experts enable farmers to interpret soil conditions, climatic patterns, and varietal performance data—turning intuition-driven farming into evidence-driven decision-making. Farmers quickly recognise that a strategic seed shift—say, from a local variety to Shriram Super 303 or Super 272—can dramatically improve profit margins. Benchmarking analyses comparing cultivar performance under real stress conditions ensure that farmers choose the best-fit seed rather than the most familiar one. This is where climate-resistant varieties and sustainable nutrition products like Shriram Suryamin come together to deliver measurable, multi-seasonal gains.

What major shifts will redefine India’s agricultural future?

Indian agriculture is entering an inflection point where biostimulants, gene editing, and climate-resilient seeds will dominate the innovation agenda. The future agronomy model will be shaped by cultivars engineered for heat resilience (like the Shriram Super portfolio), nutrient efficiency, and low-water tolerance—traits that will become indispensable as weather volatility intensifies. As regulatory support for sustainable inputs increases, expect a rapid shift toward biological formulations, gene-edited traits, and digitally guided agronomy. Over the next decade, India will move from conventional agriculture to a high-performance, climate-aligned, scientifically validated farming ecosystem—and companies with strong product science, such as DCM Shriram, will lead this transformation.

—- Suchetana Choudhury (suchetana.choudhuri@agrospectrumindia.com)