Signaling a renewed push for climate-aligned agriculture, NITI Aayog Member Dr. Ramesh Chand has urged India to pursue a gradual but steady reduction in farm-sector emissions, warning that the country’s food systems must evolve in step with global climate imperatives.

Speaking at the 33rd Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Research Association (AERA), Chand positioned emissions cuts not as a threat to farmers’ income security, but as a “necessary transition” that India must manage with precision, new technologies, and incentives that reward sustainable practices.

At the centre of his remarks was a call to unlock direct market access for rural women, whom he described as the “quiet engines” of India’s agrarian landscape. “Women account for 34 per cent of the total workforce, with their participation in agriculture rising to 12 per cent. Their productivity and contribution are consistently higher than their male counterparts,” Chand noted, adding that enabling women to sell directly into markets could have a transformative economic impact on both households and local ecosystems.

Chand’s comments come at a time when India faces a dual challenge: maintaining food security for a growing population while decarbonizing an agriculture sector responsible for a significant share of methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Policy analysts say a calibrated emissions reduction pathway—aligned with technology adoption in fertilizers, livestock, and water-use efficiency—will be essential to managing this transition without disrupting rural livelihoods.

Adding to the forward-looking tone of the conference, ICRISAT Director General Himanshu Pathak emphasized that the agri-food sector is entering a period of unprecedented innovation pressure—and opportunity. From gender inclusion to climate volatility, he said, today’s challenges demand breakthroughs across breeding science, digital agronomy, value-chain linkages, and public–private R&D models.

Pathak stressed that innovation will accelerate only through robust collaborations, strategic partnerships, and sustained investments, urging the scientific community to fast-track the release of climate-resilient crop varieties that can withstand erratic monsoons, rising temperatures, and emerging pests.

With policymakers, scientists, and industry leaders aligning on climate adaptation and gender equity as core priorities, India’s next decade of agricultural transformation, observers say, may hinge as much on inclusive market design as on technological horsepower.