Ministry
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is the Government of India's apex department for crop agriculture and the farm economy. It sets the minimum-support-price (MSP) regime through the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, runs the country's largest direct-cash and price-support schemes, and directs agricultural research through the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Because it governs the incomes of a workforce of hundreds of millions, it is one of the most politically exposed seats of power in the Union government.
Updated
- Headquarters
- Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi
- Departments
- 2 (Agriculture & Farmers Welfare; Agricultural Research & Education / ICAR)
- Budget 2025-26
- ~Rs 1.38 lakh crore (about 2.7% of the Union Budget)
- Sector weight
- Agriculture ~16% of GDP; ~46% of the workforce (approx.)
Role
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is the Union government’s principal department for crop agriculture and the incomes of the farm population. It works through two departments: the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, which runs schemes, extension and market policy, and the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, which houses the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Its most consequential lever is price: the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices recommends the minimum support prices that the Cabinet notifies for 22 mandated crops each year, and the ministry’s schemes — direct income support under PM-KISAN, price support under PM-AASHA, crop insurance and subsidised credit — translate those prices into transfers.
Agriculture is a State subject under the Constitution, so the ministry sets national policy and funds central schemes while implementation runs through state governments and their procurement agencies. That divided authority, and the fact that the sector still supports close to half the workforce while producing about a sixth of GDP, makes the ministry a seat of power whose decisions on MSP, procurement and market rules are among the most contested in Indian politics.
Desk maintained by IndiaStand editorial cycles. Officeholders are transient; this dossier tracks the institution.
Timeline since 1947
- reference
Department of Revenue, Agriculture and Commerce created
The colonial government set up the first central department to handle agricultural administration.
- reference
Ministry of Agriculture constituted at independence
The farm-administration machinery of the state passed to the independent Union government.
- reference
MSP and procurement architecture established
The Agricultural Prices Commission (later the CACP) and the Food Corporation of India were set up, creating the price-support and procurement system still in use.
- reference
Renamed Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Announced in the Independence Day address, the words 'Farmers Welfare' were added to signal a shift toward farmer-income programmes alongside production policy.
- reference
Animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries hived off
Those subjects were reorganised into a separate Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, leaving this ministry with two departments.
- reference
PM-KISAN direct income support launched
A Rs 6,000-per-year cash transfer to landholding farmer families became the ministry's single largest scheme.
- reference
Three 2020 farm laws repealed
After a year of protest at Delhi's borders, the government withdrew the three market-liberalisation laws; a demand for a legal MSP guarantee remained open.
- official
PM-AASHA price-support scheme continued at Rs 35,000 crore
The Cabinet extended the integrated price-support, price-deficiency and market-intervention scheme for pulses, oilseeds and copra.
- official
MSP for 14 kharif crops (2025-26) approved
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs raised the common-paddy MSP to Rs 2,369 per quintal on CACP's recommendation.
Frequently asked
- What is Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare?
- The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is the Government of India's apex department for crop agriculture and the farm economy. It sets the minimum-support-price (MSP) regime through the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, runs the country's largest direct-cash and price-support schemes, and directs agricultural research through the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Because it governs the incomes of a workforce of hundreds of millions, it is one of the most politically exposed seats of power in the Union government.
- When was Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare established?
- Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare was established 1947.
- What does Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare do?
- Its remit covers Crop-production policy, seeds, fertiliser-use guidance and extension, Minimum Support Price (MSP) recommendations via the CACP and its notification, Price-support and procurement schemes (PM-AASHA) and crop insurance, Farmer income support (PM-KISAN) and agricultural credit (interest subvention, KCC), Agricultural research and education through the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (DARE/ICAR).
- What is the latest on Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare?
- As of 2026-07-05: MSP for 14 kharif crops (2025-26) approved. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs raised the common-paddy MSP to Rs 2,369 per quintal on CACP's recommendation.