India: ICAR to cap rice, wheat cultivation area under crop diversification plan

• Policy aims to reduce India’s overdependence on rice, wheat cultivation
• 52 task teams formed to prepare agriculture roadmap for 2047

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has unveiled a long-term roadmap for 2047 that focuses on crop diversification, higher productivity, and sustainable agriculture. Under the plan, the area under rice cultivation will be capped at 53-55 million hectares, while a similar reduction is proposed for wheat acreage, both aimed at reducing India’s overdependence on rice and wheat cultivation. Instead, the strategy aims to expand the cultivation of maize, nutri-cereals, pulses, and horticultural crops.

ICAR Director General ML Jat said the crop diversification strategy has been prepared in consultation with NITI Aayog as part of the country’s long-term agricultural development agenda.

52 task teams to drive demand-led agricultural research

To support the roadmap, ICAR has constituted 52 multidisciplinary task teams across its divisions and institutions. These teams will undertake demand-driven research and work under a defined “theory of change” framework to achieve the roadmap’s objectives by 2047.

Production targets for 2047

ICAR has set ambitious production goals across major agricultural sectors by 2047:

• Agricultural production: Increase from 1.3 billion tonnes to 2.1 billion tonnes
• Horticulture production: Rise from 369.7 million tonnes to 797 million tonnes
• Milk production: Grow from 247.87 million tonnes to 628 million tonnes
• Fisheries production: Increase from 19.5 million tonnes to 40 million tonnes
• Agroforestry cover: Expand from 28.4 million hectares to 50 million hectares

Outlook

The roadmap signals a long-term policy shift towards diversified cropping systems by limiting further expansion of rice and wheat while promoting maize, pulses, nutri-cereals, and horticulture. Alongside the target to increase farm mechanisation from 47% to over 80%, the initiative is expected to drive productivity gains, improve resource-use efficiency, and shape future agricultural research and development under India’s Vision 2047 framework.