Image Source: ICRISAT

At a time when climate resilience and food security are no longer parallel agendas but deeply intertwined, India is taking a decisive step to align its massive agricultural investments with biodiversity goals. On June 25, a high-level roundtable hosted by ICRIER, UNDP BIOFIN, and ICRISAT brought together a rare coalition of policymakers, scientists, and grassroots leaders to discuss how India’s Rs 6.3 trillion agrifood budget can be repurposed for biodiversity conservation—without compromising productivity.

The gathering, held at ICRISAT’s Patancheru campus, marks a significant shift in how the country views its agri-subsidy architecture—not merely as tools of food production, but as levers for ecological restoration.

“Food security is no longer enough. Today, agriculture must also deliver nutrition security and ecological sustainability,” said Dr. Himanshu Pathak, Director General of ICRISAT. He positioned science and technology as the compass guiding this shift, with ICRISAT’s global expertise in germplasm conservation offering a ready foundation.

India’s move is more than symbolic. In October 2024, the country unveiled its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. That commitment is now transitioning from document to dialogue to deployment.

A landmark study by ICRIER and UNDP’s BIOFIN initiative, unveiled during the roundtable, tracked 46 government schemes across eight ministries over 25 years—mapping how many have directly or indirectly affected agrobiodiversity. Dr. Ashok Gulati, lead author and Distinguished Professor at ICRIER, summed it up clearly: “We need to rethink, reorient, and repurpose our policies so they don’t harm biodiversity. It’s time we put SWAB—Soil, Water, Air, Biodiversity—at the center of our agri-reform story.”

UNDP Resident Representative Dr. Angela Lusigi emphasized that redirecting even a portion of existing subsidies toward biodiversity-positive investments could be a game-changer for India’s long-term economic and environmental resilience. “We are shifting from biodiversity-negative subsidies to nature-positive solutions. The challenge now is scale and coordination,” she said.

The event also highlighted India’s federal push-pull dynamics—with Telangana emerging as the first state to align its Biodiversity Action Plan with global goals. C Achalender Reddy, Chair of the National Biodiversity Authority, called the roundtable a “historic moment” and encouraged greater political engagement. “This is the start of a serious course correction,” he noted.

Voices from grassroots groups like WASSAN, Deccan Development Society, and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) echoed the need for region-specific approaches. Concerns such as monocropping, stubble burning, poor soil health, and inefficient fertilizer use were flagged as key stressors—both economic and ecological.

A consensus emerged: India’s next green revolution must be rooted in biodiversity, not just yield. The roundtable set the stage for pilot initiatives—starting with Telangana—to test what biodiversity-aligned agriculture could look like at scale.

If implemented with intent and integrity, this shift could redefine India’s agricultural future—not just as a breadbasket, but as a global model for nature-positive farming.