BRICS New Delhi Summit Highlights Agro-Ecology, Digital Agriculture and Climate-Resilient Agriculture

15 September 2026, New Delhi: Agriculture featured in the broader resilience, food security and sustainability agenda at the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit held in New Delhi on September 12–13, with India’s BRICS chairship highlighting cooperation on agro-ecology, digital agriculture and climate-resilient agriculture.

The agriculture-related outcomes were outlined during the special press briefings held on September 12 and 13 as officials reviewed the outcomes of India’s BRICS chairship and the New Delhi BRICS Leaders’ Declaration.

On September 12, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs Sudhakar Dalela said the New Delhi Declaration contained more than 50 practical outcomes across four pillars: resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability.

Agro-ecology and digital agriculture under resilience

Under the resilience pillar, the initiatives focused on strengthening food and health security. Among the outcomes highlighted were the BRICS Centers of Excellence on Agro-ecology and the BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture.

The two initiatives were presented as part of a wider set of resilience measures, which also included the BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle, cooperation on mental wellness and disaster risk reduction and management.

The September 13 briefing reinforced food security as one of the sectors in which BRICS cooperation is expected to deliver visible outcomes. Dalela said there was broad convergence during the summit that BRICS cooperation should deliver visible outcomes in sectors including health, food security, energy, digital public infrastructure and disaster resilience.

Climate-resilient agriculture included under sustainability

Agriculture also featured under the sustainability pillar. The September 12 briefing identified climate-resilient agriculture among the important highlights of the sustainability agenda.

The same pillar also covered cooperation on smart grids, energy storage, climate-resilient urban infrastructure, sustainable urban mobility and sustainable lifestyles.

The briefing did not provide details on specific programmes, technologies, crops, implementation timelines or targets associated with climate-resilient agriculture.

Agriculture part of wider development agenda

Agriculture was also explicitly included in the broader development agenda of India’s BRICS chairship.

During the September 12 press briefing, Dalela said BRICS has three broad verticals covering political and security, economic and financial, and people-to-people collaboration. He said India’s chairship had prioritized development-oriented initiatives that could directly relate to people’s lives, including trade, investment, agriculture, health and technology.

He said BRICS would continue to enhance collaboration on the development side of the partnership.

Outcomes designed to continue beyond summit

The September 13 briefing provided further context on how the outcomes developed during India’s chairship are intended to continue.

Dalela said the initiatives developed under the four themes of resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability were intended as platforms, frameworks and guidelines rather than one-off events. He said these mechanisms would continue to generate engagement as BRICS moves into its third decade.

This includes the agriculture-related initiatives identified under the resilience and sustainability pillars.

Focus on Global South

The September 13 briefing also emphasized that the outcomes of India’s chairship were intended to have relevance beyond BRICS.

Dalela said a common thread in discussions on both September 12 and 13 was how BRICS could develop outcomes and deliverables relevant to the Global South. India had invited the chairs of developing-country groupings including ASEAN, the African Union, CELAC, the Gulf Cooperation Council and BIMSTEC to share what BRICS was doing and to understand their expectations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message during the September 13 open session was that solutions developed within BRICS should not remain confined to the grouping but should be adaptable and accessible to the needs of the Global South.

Agriculture receives limited but specific attention

The two-day press briefings show that agriculture was not a dominant subject of discussion in the media briefings, which dealt extensively with global governance reform, geopolitical issues, trade, energy, innovation and India’s broader BRICS chairship.

However, agriculture was specifically identified in several areas. These include food security under the resilience pillar, the BRICS Centers of Excellence on Agro-ecology, the BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture and climate-resilient agriculture under the sustainability pillar.

The September 13 briefing further placed agriculture alongside trade, investment, health and technology as areas linked to BRICS’ development-oriented cooperation.

The briefings, however, did not provide further agriculture-specific details on implementation, funding, individual projects, crop priorities or farmer-level measures. As a result, the agriculture takeaway from the New Delhi Summit is primarily the inclusion of agro-ecology, digital agriculture and climate-resilient agriculture within BRICS’ wider resilience, sustainability and development cooperation framework.

Also Read: UPL Expands Nature-Based Agriculture Portfolio with Investment in Japan’s PhytoChrome

Global Agriculture is an independent international media platform covering agri-business, policy, technology, and sustainability. For editorial collaborations, thought leadership, and strategic communications, write to pr@global-agriculture.com