- Why in news
- The 9th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AIMMAF) was held in New Delhi on 9 September 2026. It looked ahead to a new 2026-2030 Plan of Action and agreed to hold the 10th meeting in 2028.
- What it is
- AIMMAF is the ministerial forum where ASEAN agriculture and forestry ministers meet India's agriculture minister. It guides cooperation under the ASEAN-India partnership through multi-year Medium-Term Plans of Action. The meeting is co-chaired by India and the country chairing the ASEAN ministers on agriculture and forestry.
- Partnership level
- Agriculture and forestry cooperation is a component of the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
- Fellowship
- The ASEAN-India Fellowship for Higher Education in Agriculture and Allied Sciences was launched in 2024. It offers 50 Master's fellowships over five years for students from ASEAN Member States.
- Millets festivals
- ASEAN-India Millets Festivals were held in Jakarta and New Delhi in 2023.
Don’t confuse with AIMMAF vs AMAF: AMAF is the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry, an ASEAN-only body. AIMMAF is its meeting with India.
International bodies and relations: the largest group of news questions in Prelims (61 since 2013), often about background, members and location. In Mains, 27 news-triggered questions, mostly on India's interests.
Why it matters
- Strengthens food security and farm-sector ties with Southeast Asia under India's Act East policy.
- Gives India a platform to share millets, digital agriculture and soil health practices.
Problems
- Follow-through is hard, as meeting outcomes are non-binding and depend on voluntary resources.
- Supply shocks in fertiliser, energy and trade logistics, plus transboundary pests, can disrupt cooperation.
Way forward
- Turn the 2026-2030 Plan into a rolling work programme with clear lead agencies, timelines and funding.
- Link research, extension services, farmers' organisations and the private sector to scale technologies.
Put in your answer
ASEAN-India fellowship: Example of human-resource cooperation in agriculture: 50 Master's fellowships over five years.
Millets diplomacy: Millets Festivals in Jakarta and New Delhi in 2023 promoted nutrition and climate-resilient crops.
- 2017Mains GS2 · Q20Appraise Indian diaspora's role in South-East Asian countries' economy and society.
- 2006Prelims Q63Which listed country is not a member of ASEAN?
- 2026Prelims Q66Which India-ASEAN connectivity projects are part of their cooperation?
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Ministerial meeting under ASEAN-India partnership; lasting topic but few testable facts and no debate for Mains.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.