Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday, June 11, 2026, highlighted India's agricultural growth under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing a rise in foodgrain production from 265.05 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 2013-14 to a record 357.73 MMT in 2024-25 — an increase of over 92 MMT in a decade.

Context

Joshi's post, shared under the hashtag #12YearsOfKisanSamriddhi (12 Years of Farmer Prosperity), marks what the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is framing as a milestone anniversary of agricultural policy under the Modi government, which came to power in May 2014. The minister credited both farmer effort and government policy for the output surge, stating the figures reflect 'the hard work of our farmers and the government's unwavering commitment to their prosperity.'

The production data cited by Joshi is drawn from official estimates compiled by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics under the Ministry of Agriculture. The 2024-25 figure of 357.73 MMT is presented as a record high for the country.

Policy Backdrop

India's foodgrain output has trended upward over multiple decades, driven by expanded irrigation coverage, adoption of high-yielding seed varieties, and sustained procurement operations by government agencies. The National Food Security Act, 2013, which expanded subsidised grain access to roughly two-thirds of the population, was already in place when the Modi government took office.

A key policy addition in the post-2014 period was the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), launched in February 2019, which provides direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year to eligible landholding farmer families. The government had also announced, in February 2016, a target to double farmers' income by 2022, spurring renewed focus on irrigation, crop insurance, and market-linkage reforms.

Ministers across successive governments have regularly cited official production statistics to underscore national food self-sufficiency, particularly in wheat and rice — the two dominant cereals in the public distribution system.

Stakeholders and Impact

The figures carry direct relevance for India's approximately 140 million farm households, whose livelihoods are tied to both output volumes and the prices at which produce is procured. Higher production underpins the National Food Security Act pipeline, which subsidises grain for hundreds of millions of beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System (PDS).

However, farmer organisations and policy analysts have noted that rising output does not automatically translate to higher incomes, pointing to persistent debates around Minimum Support Price (MSP) legislation, post-harvest losses, and climate-related risks to crop yields. The coexistence of record production figures and ongoing farmer agitation on MSP guarantees has been a recurring feature of the policy landscape.

What's Next

The Directorate of Economics and Statistics is expected to release final 2024-25 production estimates and early advance estimates for 2025-26 in the coming months, which will either confirm or revise the record figure cited by the minister. Agriculture allocations in the next Union Budget will be closely watched for signals on whether the government plans to build on the production gains with additional investment in storage, market infrastructure, or income-support schemes. The #12YearsOfKisanSamriddhi campaign also suggests the BJP intends to make agricultural performance a central plank of its political messaging in the near term.