The minister of agriculture and farmers' welfare () is the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and a key member of the

union council of ministers The Union Council of Ministers is the Cabinet (government), principal executive organ of the Government of India, which serves to aid and advise the President of India in execution of their functions.Article 74 of the ''Constitution of India' ...

of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. The portfolio is usually held by a minister with cabinet rank who is a senior member of the council of ministers and is often assisted by one or two junior ministers or the ministers of state for agriculture and farmers' welfare and previously by a further junior minister of the deputy minister of agriculture. The current minister of agriculture and farmers' welfare is Shivraj Singh Chouhan who is holding the charge of the ministry since 10 June 2024 and is assisted by two ministers of state - Ram Nath Thakur and Bhagirath Choudhary since 10 June 2024.

History

The ministry was established on 15 August 1947 as the "Ministry of Food and Agriculture".

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...

, who later became the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

served as the inaugural minister of the ministry and served until his resignation on 14 January 1948. The ministry was renamed as the "Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Community Development and Cooperation" on 24 January 1966 under prime minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

and further renamed in 1971 as the "Ministry of Agriculture". In 1974, the Ministry of Irrigation was merged with the Ministry of Agriculture and renamed as the "Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation". In 1980, the Department of Irrigation was separated and the "Ministry of Agriculture" was reformed. On 27 August 2015, the ministry was renamed as the "Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare". In 2021, prime minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

announced that the Ministry of Co-operation has been carved out of from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfar.

Trivia

* Two future presidents had served as the ministers of agriculture, namely

(19471948) and

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the President of India from 1974 to 1977. Born in Delhi, Ahmed studied in Delhi and Cambridge and was called to the bar from the Inner ...

(19701974). * Four prime ministers held the portfolio of Agriculture during their premiership, namely V. P. Singh (in 1990),

P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and statesman from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first p ...

(in 1996), H. D. Deve Gowda (in 1996) and

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...

(twice, in 19981999 and in 2000). *

Sharad Pawar Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar (, pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �əɾəd̪ pəʋaːɾ born 12 December 1940) is an Indian politician. Pawar served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for four terms and in the Union Council of Ministers ...

holds the record of being the longest-serving minister of agriculture with a tenure of in office.

Titles

*19471951: Minister of Agriculture *19511966: Minister of Food and Agriculture *19661971: Minister of Food, Agriculture, Community Development and Cooperation *19711974: Minister of Agriculture *19741980: Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation *19802015: Minister of Agriculture *2015''present'': Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare

Cabinet ministers

Ministers of state

Deputy ministers

References

External links

* {{Heads of the Ministries of the Government of India Union ministers of India 1947 establishments in India Lists of government ministers of India