Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday, 28 May 2026 inaugurated the two-day 'Rashtriya Krishi Sammelan — Kharif Abhiyan 2026' at Pusa, New Delhi, bringing together agricultural experts, senior officials and state ministers to finalise the country's monsoon-season crop strategy.

What the conference covers

On the first day, experts and officials from across the country engaged in detailed deliberations on a range of issues affecting Indian agriculture. Chouhan described the mood as one of serious collective reflection — 'गंभीरता से चिंतन' ('serious contemplation') — on the challenges and opportunities facing the farming sector ahead of the 2026 kharif season.

The second and concluding day is scheduled to bring together state agriculture ministers, who will work with the central team to finalise a comprehensive roadmap covering kharif crop preparedness and strategy. The outcomes of that session are expected to guide state-level implementation through the monsoon months.

Context

The conference is held at the campus of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa — India's premier public agricultural research body, established in 1905 — lending institutional weight to the annual exercise. The Union Agriculture Ministry has convened pre-kharif and pre-rabi national conferences for more than a decade as a mechanism to synchronise central schemes with state-level delivery.

Chouhan invoked the slogan 'One Nation, One Agriculture, One Team' as the guiding spirit of the gathering, a framing that mirrors earlier 'One Nation' policy initiatives across markets, taxation and infrastructure aimed at reducing inter-state divergences in the sector.

Policy backdrop

The minister paid tribute to Indian farmers — addressing them as 'annadata' ('providers of food') — for achieving record foodgrain production despite adverse conditions and the mounting pressures of climate change. 'Even amid adversity and the challenges of climate change, our farmers have brought glory to the nation by achieving record foodgrain production,' Chouhan said. 'For this, I bow to the farmers of the country from the bottom of my heart.'

The emphasis on climate-resilient output builds on the National Food Security Mission, launched in 2007, and subsequent programmes designed to improve productivity while managing monsoon variability. The conference serves as a live coordination mechanism for rolling these schemes into seasonal field-level action.

Stakeholders and impact

State agriculture departments are the primary operational stakeholders: the roadmap agreed on day two will shape decisions on seed distribution, fertiliser allocation and crop-insurance coverage for the kharif 2026 season. Farmers across rain-fed and irrigated belts stand to be directly affected by the advisories and targets that emerge.

Ministers of State Ram Nath Thakur and Bhagirath Choudhary were also present at the inauguration, along with other dignitaries, signalling full ministerial representation from the Union Agriculture Ministry.

What's next

All eyes will be on the day-two session with state agriculture ministers, after which the ministry is expected to release the agreed kharif 2026 roadmap along with any fresh advisories on seeds, fertilisers or crop insurance. The strategy document will need to reach state departments well before the monsoon arrives, making the coming days critical for translating conference outcomes into ground-level action. Chouhan's framing — 'together we will change farmers' lives and make India developed and self-reliant' — signals that the ministry intends to hold states collectively accountable to the shared plan.