Towards Sustainable Transformation of Agri-Food System in India: Challenges and Policy Imperatives*

India’s agri-food system has undergone a significant transformation over the past six decades, driven by technological advancements, investments in infrastructure, and policy support. This transformation has ensured nation’s food security, enhanced agriculture’s resilience to climate risks, and contributed to poverty reduction. However, the agri-food system stands at a pivotal juncture facing several interconnected challenges, such as growing water scarcity, soil degradation, depletion of non-renewable energy sources, climate change, decreasing agricultural land, low fertilizer and water use efficiency, low investment in agricultural research, poor targeting of agricultural credit, and underdeveloped markets and value chains. To effectively address these challenges, it is imperative to implement a comprehensive and adaptive policy framework that prioritizes investment in the management of land, water, and energy resources, in adaptation and mitigation of impacts of climate change, and agricultural research. JEL Classification: O13, O33, Q01, Q18