India’s rice yield growth slows; hybrids and new varieties seen as key to future gains

India’s rice productivity growth has slowed significantly despite increased acreage, prompting experts to call for a greater focus on high-performing hybrids, improved agronomy, and the adoption of newly developed genome-edited varieties to meet future food security needs.

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K_Ananthan

India’s rice productivity growth is showing signs of slowing just as the country prepares to bring new genome-edited varieties to farmers. Two such varieties - DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala) and Pusa Rice DST1 - were developed in 2025. The government is now preparing to release Pusa Rice DST1 for commercial production in the coming rabi season.Rice yield growth loses momentumData from the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare show that yield rose 9.4 per cent in 2001-02 and 5.9 per cent in 2005-06, but growth has become more subdued in recent years. Yield growth slowed to 1.6 per cent in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, before declining to 0.5 per cent, reaching 2,915 kg/ha in 2025-26.Rice acreage, meanwhile, has expanded more rapidly, with area growth reaching 7.2 per cent in 2024-25 before slowing to 3.1 per cent in 2025-26.Its production crossed 1,500 lakh tonnes in 2024-25, growing 9 per cent, before slowing to 2.6 per cent in 2025-26.“The slowdown in yield is real, and to an extent it was predictable,” said Anand Chandra, Co-founder and Executive Director, Arya.ag, a grain commerce platform. Earlier gains from high-yielding varieties, irrigation and fertiliser use have largely matured, while the gap between research station and farmer-field yields remains, he said.Hybrids could help raise productivityAjai Rana, Chairman, Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII), and CEO, Savannah Seeds, a seed and agri-technology company, pointed to China and the US, where hybrid rice covers more than half of the rice area, compared with just 7-8 per cent in India. India needs hybrids that combine a reliable yield advantage of more than 25 per cent with locally preferred grain quality and climate resilience to accelerate productivity growth, he said.DRR Dhan 100 has recorded a yield improvement of around 19 per cent in trials, while Pusa Rice DST1 is designed to perform better under drought and saline conditions.But Chandra cautioned that better seeds alone will not significantly lift the national average. Timely planting, balanced nutrition, efficient water management, higher seed replacement, and stronger extension services will also be required.Higher yields key to future food securityThe productivity challenge is becoming increasingly important as India plans for future food security needs. Chandra estimates an additional 150-200 lakh tonnes of rice by the middle of the next decade, while Rana puts the requirement at 169-185 million tonnes.Both argue that most of the additional production should come from yield improvement rather than further acreage expansion.They see scope to substantially raise rice productivity over the next 10-15 years, with targets ranging from 3,600 to 6,000 kg/ha. Rana’s higher benchmark would require high-performing, climate-resilient hybrids, better irrigation, and improved agronomy. Current programmes are promising, he said, but India needs a mission-driven public-private effort to achieve the six-tonnes-per-hectare target.Published on August 20, 2026