Union Agriculture Minister says BRICS meeting in Indore to focus on food security, farmer welfare

A five-day meeting of the BRICS group will begin in Indore on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, to discuss food security, smart agriculture, global agricultural trade and farmer welfare, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday, June 8, 2026.

He said the talks under India’s chairmanship will include a three-day agriculture working group meeting from June 9 and a two-day BRICS ministerial meeting from June 12.

BRICS is an intergovernmental organization consisting of eleven major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.

Emphasizing the importance of the meeting, Mr. Chouhan said that BRICS is a very strong voice of developing countries in the world.

“About half of the world’s population lives in BRICS countries. They own 42% of global agricultural land and contribute more than 42% of production. 70% of the 58 crore farmers worldwide are small farmers living in BRICS countries,” he said.

The Union Minister said that the five-day meeting will discuss food security, farmer welfare, nutrition, climate-resilient smart agriculture, facilitation of international agricultural trade, supply chains, “digital agriculture”, research, knowledge exchange, artificial intelligence and robotics.

He said that a joint declaration will be issued after the consensus between BRICS Agriculture Ministers. Mr. Chouhan reminded that India chaired the BRICS meetings in 2012, 2016 and 2021.

Last month, Mr Chouhan had told reporters in Indore that the BRICS meeting, to be held under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would be a historic opportunity for the global agriculture sector. “It will give the world a new direction,” he said.

Coincidentally, the meeting is being held in the financial capital of Madhya Pradesh at a time when the State government has declared 2026 as the Year of Agricultural Prosperity.