According to the Economic Survey 2025–26, India’s agricultural sector has shown a continuous growth trajectory; however, structrural issues have limited growth in farmers’ incomes. Key issues affecting agriculture include the fragmentation of landholdings, low productivity levels, and gaps in the available storage and marketing infrastructure.

Agricultural and allied activities make up almost one-fifth of India’s GDP and employ more than 46% of the workforce. Foodgrains have seen some increase in production levels, while yields for several crops are still significantly below the global average, which prevents long-term growth.

It highlights how the growth of livestock and fisheries, along with horticulture, has driven a lot of agricultural growth over the past decade. For example, livestock and fisheries have grown at a faster rate than crop production, resulting in the diversification of income sources for many rural communities. Horticulture may surpassed food grain production last year, indicating a trend towards more economically valuable crops.

Despite this, continued challenges remain. The lack of sufficient land and irrigation, limited access to quality seeds or technology for improved farming techniques, and poor post-harvest support all lead to low productivity rates. Lastly, it will be noted that the excessive use of chemical fertilizers (especially nitrogen-based) has caused declining soil quality in several regions across India.

The survey pointedly illustrated the restricted opportunities to increase agricultural land, and thus should now focus on enhancing productivity, especially through improved seed quality, balanced fertilizer application, better irrigation, and improved accessibility to institutional credit.

There are existing programs like the Soil Health Card and numerous micro-irrigation initiatives; however, growth has been furthered by the variation of growth occurring from state to state and at the crop level.

Post-harvest was identified as another major problem. Post-harvest losses experienced by farmers are attributable to poor storage conditions, lack of cold storage options/ facilities, and insufficiently developed market links associated with post-harvest goods (e.g., agriculture-related produce). Although there has been significant market access improvement through the introduction of the Agri- Infrastructure Fund and e-NAM, there is an additional need for investment in reducing regional differences.

The report also noted that climate change was resulting in production risk factors related to the production yields of rice, wheat, and pulses. While the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana crop insurance schemes have alleviated the effect of low yields on farmers' income, wide-reaching coverage and faster claim processing/shedding have been identified as needing improvement.

Agriculture continues to move forward, with positive results being achieved within the sector. Continued advancement will require sustained investments into improving efficiency, procuring technology and resources, and other relevant factors. Creating new opportunities to improve farmers' income over the long term will create stable conditions that allow for long-term food security.