Mumbai: As global geopolitical tensions and climate uncertainties continue to challenge food supply chains, experts at the IMC Agriculture Conclave 2026 on Thursday stressed that India’s path towards agricultural self-reliance will depend on technology adoption, sustainable practices and stronger collectivisation among small farmers. The conclave, organised by the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry under the theme “Sustainability & Climate Tech for Atmanirbharta”, brought together policymakers, industry leaders and agriculture experts to discuss emerging risks to India’s food and fertiliser security.
Speaking at the event, Dr Sudhir Kumar Goel, IAS (Retd.) and former Additional Chief Secretary (Agriculture and Marketing), Government of Maharashtra, said India’s agriculture sector continues to face a structural imbalance despite employing nearly 46 per cent of the country’s workforce while contributing only around 18 per cent to the GDP. “A majority of Indian farmers are marginal landholders who lack the resources and capital needed to adopt modern technologies and advanced farming systems,” Dr Goel said.
He argued that farmer collectivisation — rather than land consolidation — could become the most practical route for accelerating agricultural reforms in India. “Small farmers must be enabled to pool resources and adopt technologies such as IoT and Artificial Intelligence to improve productivity, efficiency and farm incomes,” he said.
The discussion also focused heavily on India’s growing vulnerability to global supply disruptions, particularly in fertilisers and energy supplies amid continuing tensions in West Asia.
Aashay Doshi, Chairman of the IMC Agriculture and Food Processing Committee, warned that any prolonged geopolitical instability in the region could directly impact India’s agricultural economy. “The West Asia conflict can precipitate a serious shortage of fertilisers, which could threaten India’s food security. It risks reversing years of progress and shifting focus from nutrition security back to mere food availability,” Doshi said.
India currently consumes more than 60 million tonnes of chemical fertilisers annually, with nearly half dependent on imports. Experts at the conclave noted that uninterrupted LNG supplies remain crucial for domestic fertiliser production.
Dr Goel also advocated greater promotion of bio-fertilisers and sustainable alternatives as India attempts to reduce its long-term dependence on imported inputs. The conclave highlighted India’s continuing dependence on imports of several key food commodities despite possessing one of the world’s largest agricultural land bases.
India imports nearly $18 billion worth of edible oils annually, meeting more than 60 per cent of domestic demand through imports. The country imports nearly 16 million tonnes of edible oil every year. Similarly, India remains dependent on imports for around 20 per cent of its domestic pulses consumption, importing between five and seven million tonnes annually from countries such as Canada and Mozambique.
Sunita Ramnathkar, President of the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said sustainable and climate-smart agricultural systems were becoming increasingly critical as India balances food security, environmental pressures and economic growth. “The vision of Atmanirbharta in agriculture is not only about higher productivity, but also about building environmentally sustainable, technologically advanced and economically viable systems for farmers and stakeholders across the agricultural value chain,” she said.
The IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry is one of India’s oldest trade bodies, representing over 400,000 business and industry establishments through its membership network and affiliated trade associations.
