Due to rising temperatures and uneven distribution of rainy days, which have raised issues related to food production and incomes from rural areas, India is planning to extend its climate-smart agricultural programs (such as irrigation, soil health management, and adaptive agriculture).

The government is working towards the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, which aims at improving water with micro irrigation methods, improving rainfed crop production systems by increasing soil management, improving the efficiency of water usage, and reducing the impact of climate change on farmers.

Under the “Per Drop More Crop” programme, by 2015-16, 109 lakh hectares of land have been covered, and the government has allocated over ₹26,000 crores in assistance.

Under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, officials set out a target to bring 100 lakh hectares into micro-irrigation by 2025-26 and by 2029-30 in order to improve drought preparedness and help reduce the impact on groundwater supplies.

The government is continuing to work on another area of focus for climate change adaptation: improving soil health. Since 2015, over 250 million Soil Health Cards have been issued to encourage farmers to use balanced nutrients on their farms and improve soil fertility. In 2025-26, approximately 97 lakh soil samples will be taken, and nearly 93 lakh will be analysed through this programme.

According to an assessment done by NITI Aayog, which was mentioned in government documents, farmers reported greater improvement in their soils after implementing the recommended practices, including reduced reliance on excessive fertilisers.

There is also a focus on creating new crop varieties that have better resistance to heat, drought or erratic rainfall patterns. Almost 3,000 new climate-resistant varieties of crops were released via the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) between 2014 and 2025.

Researchers cautioned that Indian agriculture will continue to be at risk because of poor soil health, groundwater depletion, and the large percentage of food produced by rain-fed farming systems.

Researchers also stated that for long-term agricultural resilience to be achieved, a combination of irrigation efficiency, soil regeneration, weather-based advisory systems, and environmentally sustainable agricultural practices must all be used together to achieve the intended results, rather than just one method being relied upon.