Punjab lessons loom large, experts warn of consequences.

Rinku Behera / Manav Mander

India has overtaken China as the world’s largest rice producer, reaching 150.18 million tonnes in 2025 as compared to China’s 145.28 million tonnes, marking a historic milestone in the nation’s agricultural journey, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said at New Delhi on Sunday.

Meanwhile, experts emphasise that emerging rice-producing states should draw lessons from Punjab’s experience.

“Surpassing China is a remarkable achievement. We have filled our granaries to capacity, and are no longer a nation dependent on others for sustenance. Today, we are a country that supplies rice to the world,” Chouhan said after unveiling 184 new crop varieties spanning 25 field crops at a function.

Addressing scientists and agricultural experts, the minister said, “It is our duty to contribute our utmost to building an Aatmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat.”

Meanwhile in an exclusive interview with The Tribune, Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, offered a complex perspective — celebrating the achievement, while cautioning against its ecological costs.

Gosal noted that the government had been working to replicate Punjab’s success in eastern India and had even launched a movement the ‘Green Revolution in Eastern India’, targeting states like Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, eastern Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

“The government has given a push to agriculture in these states with incentives, subsidies and high-quality manures,” he said, adding that the effort aims to overcome constraints limiting rice-based cropping systems.

Calling Punjab, the “national laboratory for agriculture”, Gosal emphasised that innovations were tested in the state first. “Punjab has already suffered the loss in the form of depleting water tables. Now the same pattern will be repeated in other states, with stubble burning cases also being reported there,” he warned.

Another factor driving India’s record output is the adoption of short-duration, high-yielding rice varieties. For instance, PB126 matures in 123 days, and is disease-resistant and also requires less water. PR131 and PB121 are also gaining popularity in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

“These varieties have boosted yields while reducing water demand, making them attractive to farmers across northern states,” Gosal explained.

The PAU is now working on developing flood-tolerant rice varieties, aimed at supporting cultivation in eastern India’s flood-prone regions. “These innovations will help sustain productivity while addressing climate-related challenges,” Gosal added.

Published Date: January 5, 2026