Opinion 7 imperatives to build a viksit agri economy by 2047

Second, India has started in pockets with regenerative farming practices such as organic farming and zero-budget natural farming. However, monoculture practices and excessive chemicals and fertiliser use dominates most farming systems, leading to soil degradation and biodiversity loss. France and the US lead in regenerative agriculture through structured policies, farmer incentives and R&D on sustainable practices. For India, the focus should be on a national regenerative farming policy and private sector-led R&D for capital efficient agro-ecology practices.

Third, robotics adoption in India is limited due to high costs and a large labour force in rural areas. Basic automation tools like seeders and sprayers are more common, but advanced technologies such as robotic harvesters are inaccessible to most farmers. To build a foundation for robotics and automation, India must develop low-cost robotic solutions tailored for small farms, set up AgTech hubs for testing and deploying automation and promote public-private partnerships to scale robotics innovation. Fourth, India’s alternative protein market is in its infancy, driven by startups. Affordability and scalability remain major barriers to adoption. The EU leads in alternative proteins with government-backed initiatives and cutting-edge R&D. In India, the focus must be on collaborating with global leaders to improve production, formulation techniques and public awareness on lab-grown proteins.

Fifth, digital twins are limited in Indian agriculture. Field trials are manual and time-consuming, increasing costs and delaying the deployment of new crop technologies. The US employs digital twin technology at-scale to model field trials virtually, reducing costs and speeding up the launch of agri-inputs. In India, partnering with AgTechs to pilot such projects, training researchers in digital modeling and exploring tax incentives for investing in digital twin solutions can not only boost transparency but also unlock productivity.

Sixth, blockchain is still at an experimental stage in India, with pilot projects in food traceability. Wider adoption is hindered by lack of infrastructure and farmer awareness. China has integrated blockchain across multiple agricultural supply chains, ensuring transparency, reducing fraud and improving market access. Export crops should be a focus for India blockchain scale-up, to materially improve price realisation for farmers.

Seventh, climate-smart farming techniques. While programmes like PM-KUSUM promote renewable energy for irrigation, large-scale climate-smart initiatives are limited. India needs to scale up micro-irrigation technologies, invest in climate-resilient seed varieties and bio-based crop protection products, and leverage AI to develop localised climate advisory systems.

India stands at a crossroads in modernising its agricultural practices. By embracing innovation and fostering public-private collaborations, it can become a global leader in sustainable and technologically advanced farming. The idea is not to copy-paste solutions that have worked elsewhere in the world, but rather to customise and adapt farming practices based on the Indian agri context. To act on these imperatives will require a strategic mix of investments, policy reforms, and grassroots engagement to ensure that smallholder farmers are not left behind in Viksit Bharat.

The writer is a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Views are personal