Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday, 12 June 2026, held a wide-ranging meeting with representatives from BRICS member and partner countries, focusing on the livelihoods of small and marginal farmers, women's participation in agriculture, and the strengthening of global food security — with a joint declaration, to be called the Indore Declaration, expected the following day.

Context

The meeting, held under the #BRICS2026 framework, brought together agricultural representatives from across the grouping to exchange best practices and hold bilateral interactions. Discussions covered agricultural trade, research, innovation, and technology sharing — areas that have formed the backbone of BRICS agricultural diplomacy since ministerial-level meetings began in the early 2010s.

Chouhan noted that nearly half of the world's population resides in BRICS nations, and that the grouping accounts for over 43% of global agricultural production — figures that underscore why cooperation within the bloc carries outsized significance for the trajectory of sustainable agriculture worldwide.

Policy Backdrop

BRICS agriculture ministers have convened periodically since at least 2013, with India's 2021 chairmanship producing a dedicated action plan on agricultural research. The grouping's expansion in 2024 — adding Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE as full members, alongside partner countries — has widened the agricultural agenda considerably, bringing in African and Middle-Eastern economies with distinct agro-climatic profiles and food-security challenges.

India has consistently used BRICS and comparable South-South platforms to foreground the concerns of smallholder farmers and advocate for climate-resilient agricultural practices. The choice of Indore — located in Madhya Pradesh, the state Chouhan governed for four terms — lends the meeting a degree of personal and political resonance for the host minister.

Stakeholders and Impact

The explicit focus on small and marginal farmers and women in agriculture signals an intent to move beyond macro-level trade statistics and address structural vulnerabilities within member economies. Smallholders dominate farming in most BRICS nations, and women contribute a disproportionate share of agricultural labour while often lacking equal access to land, credit, and technology.

Bilateral interactions held on the sidelines are expected to open pathways for agricultural trade and technology transfer between member states — outcomes that could benefit Indian farmers through access to improved seed varieties, irrigation technologies, and export markets within the expanded bloc.

What's Next

Chouhan expressed confidence that the Indore Declaration, anticipated on 13 June 2026, will 'contribute to strengthening cooperation among BRICS nations and advancing global food security.' The final text of the declaration and any binding follow-up mechanisms will be closely watched as a measure of how much the expanded BRICS grouping can translate ministerial consensus into concrete agricultural deliverables.

The outcomes from Indore are also expected to feed into the agenda of the next full BRICS summit, where agriculture and food security are likely to figure among the core multilateral priorities.