New Delhi, Oct 22: India showcased its agricultural revolution led by small farmers, which rests on diversity, resilience, sustainability and greater self-sufficiency, at ‘SIAL Paris 2026’ exhibition. These themes defined the India pavilion, which carried a simple title: “Feeding Our Tomorrow”, according to an article in Euronews.
Chairman of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), Jawed Ashraf, led India’s presence as Partner Country at the exhibition, held at Paris Nord Villepinte from October 17-21, 2026. He was India’s ambassador to France and Monaco from 2020 to 2024, according to the report.
Ashraf described a shift towards more sustainable, climate-resilient farming, with less chemical use and better traceability. Drones, sensors, artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) help farmers manage water, fertilisers and crop protection more efficiently, a growing advantage as extreme weather puts pressure on food production.
India already produces grains, fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat and seafood for roughly one sixth of humanity, and Ashraf sees that capacity, paired with more sustainable methods, as part of the answer. The UN has designated 2026 the ‘International Year of the Woman Farmer’, and Ashraf used the occasion to highlight the role women play in India’s agricultural transformation.
Many farmer-producer organisations are founded and run by women, raising household incomes and giving women greater independence and influence in their communities. One of those women travelled to Paris. Priyanka Rhushikesh Mohite, from Nashik in Maharashtra, is a certified agricultural drone pilot.
Her drone sprays nano fertilisers and spreads seeds. Watering an acre once took a full day and around 200 litres of water. With the drone, she says, it takes seven to eight minutes and 10 litres, the report mentioned. At SIAL, the emphasis was on India’s packaged, ready-to-eat and premium foods, backed by traceability and geographical indication tags for products tied to particular places, such as Naga chilli and Mithila makhana, the edible seeds of the fox nut plant.
ITPO is also considering offices in several European cities, with Frankfurt, Paris, Milan and Rotterdam, among the options. For India, the challenge now is to turn that kind of progress into something more widespread, while building a stronger presence for its food producers in European markets, the article added.
The EU-India free trade agreement (FTA) was concluded in January 2026 and is expected to be signed by the end of the year. It builds on India’s arrangements with the UK and the European Free Trade Association, which have opened further opportunities for Indian food products through zero or reduced tariffs. Ashraf believes the benefits could reach farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), provided they meet market requirements and reach European buyers.
IANS