top of page

By:

Parashram Patil

14 January 2026 at 8:49:45 pm

Crops of Conflict

As water and climate become instruments of geopolitical leverage, India has an opportunity to turn agricultural resilience into a new form of South-South diplomacy. Climate change is making an old truth harder to ignore: food security is national security. As water becomes scarcer, harvests more erratic and trade policies more protectionist, agriculture is moving from the margins of geopolitics to its centre. Nowhere is this clearer than in Africa, where fragile food systems intersect with...

Crops of Conflict

As water and climate become instruments of geopolitical leverage, India has an opportunity to turn agricultural resilience into a new form of South-South diplomacy. Climate change is making an old truth harder to ignore: food security is national security. As water becomes scarcer, harvests more erratic and trade policies more protectionist, agriculture is moving from the margins of geopolitics to its centre. Nowhere is this clearer than in Africa, where fragile food systems intersect with contested rivers, conflict and disrupted supply chains. For India, this presents not merely a humanitarian challenge but an opportunity to practise a more strategic form of food diplomacy. Clear Warning The Nile basin offers the clearest warning. Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia depend heavily on the river, directly or indirectly, for agriculture and livelihoods. Egypt obtains roughly 90-95 percent of its water from the Nile, with most of its withdrawals going to agriculture. Wheat, rice, maize and cotton are therefore inseparable from the country's water security. Sudan is similarly dependent on the Main Nile and its Blue and White Nile tributaries for crops including sorghum, wheat, cotton and sugarcane. Ethiopia, by contrast, relies much more heavily on rain-fed agriculture, but the Blue Nile remains crucial to its plans for agricultural and economic expansion. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has transformed this already delicate equation. The Blue Nile supplies roughly 85 percent of the Nile's runoff, giving Ethiopia substantial geographical leverage upstream. Egypt and Sudan, downstream and more dependent on the river, have consequently viewed the dam through the prism of food and water security. The dispute has its roots partly in the 1959 agreement that allocated Nile waters between Egypt and Sudan, but the rise of Ethiopia as a major upstream power has altered the political balance. The stakes are enormous. A disruption to water availability is not simply an environmental problem when millions depend on irrigated agriculture. It can affect food prices, livelihoods, migration and political stability. Across the basin, the consequences potentially extend to hundreds of millions of people. The lesson is straightforward: rivers can become geopolitical infrastructure, and crops can become strategic assets. Critical Role This is where India can play a useful role. Its longstanding diplomatic, commercial and maritime links with Africa give it an established platform. Its experience in producing wheat, rice and millets, meanwhile, gives it something more tangible: the ability to contribute to food-supply resilience. Egypt, for instance, remains heavily dependent on imports and is projected to require around 13 million tonnes of wheat imports to bridge its consumption gap. Sudan’s agricultural crisis is still more acute. Conflict and climate stress have sharply reduced cereal production, leaving output well below recent historical averages. India could therefore build food diplomacy around two complementary tracks. The first is supply. Predictable grain arrangements and strategic food buffers could help vulnerable countries absorb shocks in international markets. The second is technology. India's experience with micro-irrigation, precision farming and water-use efficiency offers tools that may help African farmers produce more with less water. The Per Drop More Crop component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana is one example. Drip irrigation, improved canal management, seepage reduction and precision agriculture cannot resolve a dispute over the Nile, but they can reduce the amount of water required to produce a given crop. For this to become a durable strategy, however, India will need to move beyond individual projects. Bilateral agricultural agreements with African countries could be converted into longer-term trade corridors and grain-supply arrangements. Multilateral platforms, including BRICS, could provide mechanisms for greater transparency in food distribution and market stabilisation. Seed exchanges could focus on drought-tolerant millets, biofortified wheat and heat-resistant maize suited to increasingly volatile climates. Indian private enterprise could be brought into this architecture. Agritech startups and Farmer-Producer Organisations could be encouraged to enter African markets through export-linked grants, incubation programmes and risk-sharing mechanisms. EXIM Bank credit lines and export guarantees could reduce the financial risks of deploying solar cold chains, irrigation systems and agricultural technologies in politically volatile markets. Public-private partnerships could also help Indian firms adapt AI-based crop advisory systems and IoT-enabled water sensors to African soils and farming practices. The larger opportunity is strategic. India’s relationship with Africa need not be confined to trade, infrastructure or diplomatic declarations. Agriculture offers a practical form of South-South cooperation in which food, technology and water efficiency reinforce one another. (The writer is a member of Maharashtra Agriculture Price Commission. Views personal.

‘AI Has Reinforced the Importance of Human Qualities’

Writer: Shiv Sethi
Shiv Sethi
Aug 2
3 min read

Few careers reconcile the precision of algorithms with the poetry of human aspiration as effortlessly as that of Nihit Mohan. Based in Singapore, he has spent nearly two decades at the forefront of global banking, steering initiatives in finance, analytics and artificial intelligence, even as his parallel vocation as an author has sought to illuminate the quieter, less measurable dimensions of human existence. His books contend that the defining forces of a meaningful life are seldom found in balance sheets or technological breakthroughs, but in the cultivation of gratitude, resilience, imagination and purpose. In this reflective conversation with Shiv Sethi, Nihit traces the evolution of a life shaped by equal measures of professional discipline and philosophical curiosity, offering a compelling meditation on success, significance and the boundless possibilities of human potential. Excerpts…


Your professional journey has been in banking and artificial intelligence. What inspired you to become an author?

Writing was never a career ambition; it was a natural progression of observation. Nearly two decades in global banking revealed that technical expertise alone rarely defines success. The people who consistently made the greatest impact possessed qualities such as resilience, curiosity, empathy and purpose—attributes that are seldom taught in classrooms. Over time, these observations evolved into a desire to document the lessons that shape meaningful lives. What School Doesn't Teach You became an attempt to bridge the gap between academic learning and life's practical wisdom, while every subsequent book has continued that exploration of human potential.


Your books revolve around the idea of 'Human Superpowers.' What does that phrase represent?

Human superpowers are not extraordinary gifts reserved for a select few; they are the innate qualities that exist within every individual. Gratitude transforms perspective, faith builds resilience, creativity drives innovation and perseverance sustains progress. These abilities often remain dormant because people underestimate their own capacity for growth. Through the Human Superpowers series, the intention has been to remind readers that lasting success begins with developing the individual rather than merely pursuing external achievements. When inner strengths evolve, professional and personal accomplishments naturally follow.


How has fatherhood influenced your thinking and your writing?

Fatherhood redefined the meaning of success. It shifted the focus from achievement to legacy and from ambition to responsibility. Observing a child learn with curiosity, courage and authenticity highlighted how naturally these qualities exist before adulthood gradually suppresses them. That experience encouraged a deeper exploration of education, relationships and personal growth. Many of the ideas found in his books stem from the desire to preserve those timeless lessons—not only for his own son but for every reader seeking to rediscover the qualities they once possessed naturally.


Does your work in artificial intelligence conflict with your philosophy of human development?

On the contrary, the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence has reinforced the importance of distinctly human qualities. Technology continues to transform how organisations analyse information and make decisions, but wisdom, compassion, ethics and imagination remain uniquely human. Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for people, it is seen as an opportunity to elevate human contribution. The future belongs to individuals who combine technological competence with emotional intelligence, creativity and purpose. In many ways, technology and humanity are not opposing forces but complementary ones.

What advice would you offer aspiring authors and young professionals?

The greatest mistake is waiting for the perfect moment to begin. Writing, like any meaningful pursuit, is built through consistency rather than inspiration alone. Reading widely, remaining curious and embracing failure as a teacher are far more valuable than chasing immediate recognition. Authenticity should always take precedence over popularity. Whether building a career or writing a book, the objective should not be to impress people but to create something that genuinely improves another person's life. Impact, after all, outlives achievement.

Looking ahead, what legacy would you like to leave behind?

Professional accomplishments eventually become milestones in a career, but ideas possess the ability to outlive the individual who created them. The aspiration is therefore not merely to be remembered as a banking leader or an author, but as someone who encouraged people to think differently about themselves and their potential. If a reader finishes a book with greater confidence, renewed hope or the courage to begin again, then the work has achieved its true purpose. Extraordinary lives are seldom created by extraordinary circumstances; they are built through ordinary choices made with consistency, intention and purpose.

Comments

bottom of page