Agriculture is central to the inclusive and sustainable development in the EMDCs, particularly in ensuring food security and supporting rural livelihoods. Agriculture encompasses a vast domain including agricultural production, agri-value chains, fisheries and aquaculture, agricultural trade and investment, digital agriculture, and climate-resilient farming systems, among others. Besides food security and nutrition, agricultural cooperation within the BRICS framework assigns emphasis on addressing common challenges such as climate change, natural disasters, market volatility, supply chain disruptions, and related aspects. In particular, agri-business offers potential for BRICS to explore cooperation among the member countries. In the past, the BRICS Agriculture Ministerial Track and the Agricultural Cooperation Working Group (ACWG) have extensively covered the possible cooperation mechanisms among the BRICS countries (BRICS China, 2011a; BRICS India, 2021a; BRICS China, 2022).

The existing BRICS initiatives in the agriculture sector include the BRICS Agricultural Information Exchange System, BRICS Agricultural Research Platform (ARP), and BRICS Strategy on Food Security Cooperation. These mechanisms aim at promoting information sharing, agricultural research collaboration, technology exchange, and policy coordination among the member countries. The BRICS Strategy on Food Security Cooperation identifies priority areas such as digital agriculture, agricultural science and technology, agricultural machinery and inputs, trade and investment, climate adaptation, food loss and waste reduction, fisheries and aquaculture, and agricultural best practices (BRICS China, 2022). Further, the Action Plan 2021–2024 for Agricultural Cooperation emphasises strengthening agri-value chains, promoting agro-biodiversity, enhancing climate resilience, advancing digital agricultural solutions, cooperation on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and improving agricultural trade facilitation (BRICS India, 2021a).

BRICS also underscores the critical role of agricultural innovation, capacity building, and technical cooperation to improve productivity and sustainability (BRICS India,2021a; BRICS China, 2022; BRICS Brazil,2025). Efforts in that endeavour include joint research on climate-resilient crops and technologies, promotion of sustainable use of water and natural resources, exchange of best practices in food security and nutrition, strengthening of rural extension services, and support for smallholder and family farmers through technology transfer, training programs, and digital infrastructure (BRICS China, 2011a; BRICS India, 2021; BRICS China, 2022, BRICS Brazil, 2025). In addition, BRICS countries cooperate on fisheries and aquaculture development, biodiversity conservation, sustainable agricultural inputs, and mechanisms for reducing food loss and waste across value chains ((BRICS China, 2011a; BRICS India, 2021a; BRICS China, 2022).

Institutional cooperation in agriculture at the BRICS level is facilitated through the Agricultural Cooperation Working Group (ACWG), which coordinates implementation of agricultural action plans, organises annual meetings, and promotes regular policy dialogue and information exchange among member countries (BRICS China, 2011b). Cooperation modalities include seminars, joint research initiatives, knowledge sharing, technical exchanges, training programs, exhibitions, trade and investment forums, and collaborative projects under agreed thematic priorities (BRICS China, 2011a; BRICS China, 2011b; BRICS China, 2022).

Recent discussions under the BRICS Agriculture Working Group have also emphasized financing alternative food systems, strengthening family farming, promoting aquaculture and artisanal fisheries, expanding inclusive credit and insurance systems, and supporting digital transformation in agriculture (BRICS Brazil, 2025). These platforms facilitate the exchange of experiences on policies such as inclusive agricultural credit, public procurement for food security, farmer registries, irrigation programmes, and agricultural insurance schemes. This also includes discussions on institutional arrangements including family farming support programmes, rural extension services, and partnerships with public development banks. Technological innovations such as digital agricultural infrastructure, climate-resilient farming technologies, agroclimatic monitoring systems, and data-driven tools for agricultural planning are also part of the discussion.

Collectively, these efforts attempt for BRICS economies to contribute, learn and work towards more resilient food systems, enhanced agricultural productivity, and inclusive and sustainable agribusiness development (BRICS Brazil, 2025).

NDB is exploring ways to support agribusiness as part of its broader mandate on sustainable development. The Bank aims to expand its operations to finance activities such as food processing, agricultural storage and cold chains, which can reduce post-harvest losses and improve the reliability and quality of food supplies. It may also support related manufacturing sub-sectors that strengthen food systems and local industry, including industrial parks and science and technology parks focused on agrifood value chains. Through this potential engagement, NDB seeks to enhance food security, increase domestic value addition and help member countries boost their export competitiveness in agricultural and processed food products.