To be a globally recognised centre of excellence in agronomic research, education, and innovation, leading the transformation of crop and cropping system management toward sustainable, climate-resilient, and resource-efficient agriculture.Building on a rich legacy since 1905, the Division envisions advancing cutting-edge science and technologies in precision agriculture, conservation agriculture, organic and natural farming, and integrated farming systems, ensuring enhanced productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability across diverse agro-ecosystems.

The Division aspires to:

• Pioneer innovative agronomic solutions that optimize water, nutrient, and energy use while safeguarding soil health and biodiversity.
• Lead the development of climate-smart and regenerative agricultural practices that reduce environmental footprint and enhance resilience to changing climatic conditions.
• Serve as a hub for high-quality education, capacity building, and human resource development, nurturing future leaders in agricultural science and practice.
• Strengthen linkages between research, policy, and field-level application, delivering scalable technologies tailored to farmers, especially small and marginal landholders.
• Foster interdisciplinary collaboration and leverage modern tools such as digital agriculture, remote sensing, and mechanization to drive data-driven agronomy.

Through integrated research, teaching, and outreach, the Division aims to contribute significantly to national food and nutritional security, farmers’ livelihoods, and sustainable natural resource management, while aligning with the vision of Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Indian Agricultural Research Institute.

Goals and Targets

Goals

The Division aims to conduct research on resource use efficiency, conservation of soil and water, organic farming, integrated farming systems, improving the productivity of food crops in irrigated and rainfed areas, and provide quality education and develop well trained human resources for future agricultural research. Our research and teaching programs always align with the vision of Indian Council of Agricultural Research and ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. To accomplish this goal, the division will carry-out applied and strategic research, and development of quality human resources (UG, PG and Ph.D. teaching) for enhancing resource use efficiency and conservation of natural resources. Research for management of natural resources can significantly contribute in climate smart technologies, while the modern concepts (organic farming, natural farming, conservation agriculture, precision farming, regenerative agriculture, circular agriculture, integrated farming systems) in agronomy for improving inputs use efficiency and minimizing soil and environmental pollution and thus our goal can help in greener production and also enhance productivity gains across various agro-ecosystems.

Targets

• Development of precision water, nutrient and weed management protocols for predominant cropping systems under irrigated and rainfed conditions.
• Management protocols for natural farming-based production systems.
• Development of IFS modules for enhanced productivity, profitability and resource use efficiency for small and marginal land holding farmers.
• Assessment of organic farming modules for major cropping systems.
• Evaluation of crop and enterprise diversification modules for sustainable resource-use.
• Development of crop establishment, nutrient, water and weed management protocols for conservation agriculture (CA)-based cropping systems.
• Assessment of soil health change in different management options and farming situations.