*Climate-smart, digital and regenerative agriculture form the new triad of food security cooperation. Discuss with reference to recent BRICS initiatives.*

Q. Climate-smart, digital and regenerative agriculture form the new triad of food security cooperation. Discuss with reference to recent BRICS initiatives. (15 marks, 250 words)

Food security cooperation has moved beyond buffer stocks and yields toward resilience, sustainability and technology. Under India's BRICS Chairship, the Indore Declaration (13 June 2026) operationalises this triad, positioning Indore as a hub of agricultural diplomacy [1][4].

Climate-smart agriculture - The BRICS Land Restoration Partnership, launched at the 15th Brasilia Meet (2025), tackles land degradation, desertification and declining soil fertility [2]. - Indore's pillar on climate-resilient farming aligns cooperation with FAO/UNFCCC climate-smart agendas, shielding smallholders from price and weather shocks.

Regenerative agriculture - The BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Agro-Ecology and Regenerative Agriculture, coordinated by ICAR-IIFSR, Modipuram, mainstreams soil health and agro-ecology [1]. - Shifts the paradigm from input-intensive to restorative systems, addressing long-term productivity.

Digital agriculture - The BRICS Network on Digital Agriculture, coordinated by IIT Delhi, deploys AI, geospatial tools and Digital Public Infrastructure, extending India's AgriStack model multilaterally [1]. - The revived Agricultural Research Platform (operational 2021, secretariat at NASC, New Delhi) becomes a 'Knowledge-to-Action' hub, converting R&D into field practice [1][3].

Together, the three prongs replace a narrow productivity focus with a resilient, equitable and data-driven food-security architecture. Anchored in Indian institutions and the expanded BRICS bloc, they consolidate India's leadership of Global South agri-diplomacy and advance SDG-2 (Zero Hunger) through farmer-centric, climate-conscious cooperation.

(~250 words)

Sources: 1. Under India's Chairship, 16th BRICS Agriculture Ministers' Meeting Concludes in Indore (PIB, 2026) — Indore Declaration; Agro-Ecology CoE at IIFSR; Digital Agriculture Network (IIT Delhi); Knowledge-to-Action hub 2. India Reaffirms Commitment to Sustainable Agriculture at 15th BRICS Meet, Brasilia (PIB, 2025) — BRICS Land Restoration Partnership 3. BRICS-Agricultural Research Platform operationalised (PIB, 2021) — 2021 operationalisation; NASC secretariat 4. Indore to Emerge as Global Hub of Agricultural Diplomacy (PIB, 2026) — India's BRICS Chairship framing