The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has announced an ambitious roadmap for 2047 that focuses on crop diversification, higher farm productivity and sustainable agriculture. As part of the plan, ICAR will limit the area under rice cultivation to 53-55 million hectares. It also plans to reduce the area under wheat and increase the cultivation of maize, nutritional cereals, pulses and horticulture crops.

ICAR Director General M L Jat said the crop diversification strategy has been prepared in consultation with NITI Aayog. He said the council has also formed 52 task teams across its divisions and institutions to support demand-driven research. Each team will work under a defined "theory of change" framework to achieve the long-term goals.

Speaking at ICAR's 98th Foundation Day, Jat outlined the targets for India's agriculture sector by 2047. He said the council aims to increase total agricultural production to 2.1 billion tonnes from the current 1.3 billion tonnes. Horticulture production is expected to rise to 797 million tonnes from 369.7 million tonnes. Milk production is targeted to reach 628 million tonnes from 247.87 million tonnes. Fisheries output is expected to grow to 40 million tonnes from 19.5 million tonnes. Agroforestry cover will also expand to 50 million hectares from the present 28.4 million hectares.

The roadmap also sets targets for improving farm efficiency. Farm mechanisation, which now stands at 47 per cent, will increase to more than 80 per cent by 2047. Nutrient use efficiency will improve from 35 per cent to over 75 per cent. Water use efficiency will rise to between 40 and 80 per cent. The council also aims to eliminate post-harvest losses, which currently stand at around 20 per cent.

ICAR plans to provide contextualised and farmer-specific services across the country with the goal of achieving 100 per cent coverage. Officials said the roadmap also focuses on self-sufficiency in domestic fertiliser production, land degradation neutrality, net-zero agriculture and better nutrition outcomes.

The council also launched a new integrated scheme called HARVEST, which stands for Harnessing Agri-Food Research, Vibrant Extension and Education for Science-led Transformation. The scheme combines eight existing ICAR programmes under one framework. It will operate with support from a Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Impact Assessment (MELIA) platform, a central data management system, a knowledge and communication strategy and a national gender platform.

Jat said ICAR has started preparing state-specific, science-based agricultural roadmaps following directions from the Prime Minister. West Bengal's roadmap was presented this week after similar plans for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Maharashtra and Goa. He added that roadmaps for the remaining states will also be prepared.

Reviewing the council's performance over the past year, ICAR said foodgrain production increased by 19 million tonnes. The additional production is estimated to be worth Rs 60,000 crore. Officials said foodgrain production has more than tripled over the last 12 years compared with the growth recorded between 2001 and 2014-15.

Horticulture production increased by 97 million tonnes during the same period. Last year's rise alone added an estimated value of Rs 20,000 crore. The dairy and livestock sector contributed Rs 50,000 crore in value during the year. Fisheries production has doubled since 2014 and added Rs 40,000 crore in value last year, Jat said.

According to officials, the combined contribution of agriculture, horticulture, dairy and fisheries was Rs 1,70,000 crore in value last year, with research activities accounting for nearly one-third of this value, which was around Rs 55,000 crore.

ICAR also highlighted several achievements across different sectors, including the release of 386 crop varieties across 34 crops in 2025. Among them, 94 per cent are climate-resilient, and 29 are biofortified. The council also released 117 horticulture varieties covering 57 crops.

Officials said foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in livestock declined by 85 per cent. They also announced that a vaccine for African swine fever is ready for release. During the year, researchers discovered six new fish species.

The council reported an 85 per cent reduction in stubble last year. Parliament also acknowledged this achievement. ICAR said its intellectual property portfolio grew by 33 per cent between 2021 and 2025.

Under the 'Khet Bachao' campaign, which continued through June, ICAR deployed 1,657 teams across 728 districts. These teams organised more than 1.31 lakh programmes. The campaign reached one crore farmers directly and another five crore people through media outreach, Jat said.

ICAR also recorded its highest-ever expenditure utilisation of 99.73 per cent during the previous financial year.

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Ministers of State Bhagirath Chaudhary, Ramnath Thakur and S K Singh Baghel, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Secretary Naresh Pal Gangwar, and NITI Aayog member K V Raju attended the Foundation Day event.