9th ASEAN-India Agriculture Ministerial Meeting Held in New Delhi

New Delhi hosted the 9th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry on 9 September 2026. The meeting was co-chaired by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, and Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines, which holds the ASEAN chair.

The frameworks welcomed

The plan of action covers policy dialogue, digital innovation, technology cooperation, joint research, capacity building and farmer exchanges.

The priorities agreed

The ministers named climate-resilient agriculture, low-emission rice, water productivity, digital agriculture using artificial intelligence, soil health, food safety, post-harvest management, circular bioeconomy, agroforestry and resilient value chains as the areas for practical cooperation. They also pressed for stronger links between research institutions, technology developers, extension agencies, private firms and farmers.

A symbol and a date

A highlight was the unveiling of the India-ASEAN Friendship Spike for Agriculture and Forestry, a symbol of the partnership. The meeting agreed that the 10th such ministerial will be convened two years later.

The working group that came first

The 10th ASEAN-India Agriculture Working Group Meeting had been held a day earlier, on 8 September 2026, in New Delhi. It brought together 45 delegates from 11 ASEAN member states and was co-chaired by India and the Philippines, with Dr M.L. Jat, Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Director General of ICAR, leading the Indian side.

What India showed the visitors

The delegates visited ICAR-IARI at Pusa, including its Centre of Protected Cultivation, the Nanaji Deshmukh Phenomics Facility and the gene bank of the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources. An exhibition displayed Kisan Sarathi, which serves 3.03 crore registered farmers in more than 3.5 lakh villages in 13 Indian languages through over 3,500 Krishi Vigyan Kendra experts and 4,500 ICAR scientists. The indigenous African Swine Fever vaccine and a shrimp farming model of 40 to 50 tonnes over 120 days were also shown.