The Ministry of Agriculture, a ministry of the Government of Maharashtra, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws related to agriculture in the state of Maharashtra.Adv Manikrao Shivajirao Kokate is the current minister heading this ministry.
List #PortraitMinisterConstituencyTerm of officeChief MinisterParty1P. K. SawantChiplun1 May 19607 March 1962Yashwantrao ChavanIndian National Congress2Balasaheb DesaiPatan8 March 196220 November 196220 November 196224 November 1963Marotrao Kannamwar(1)P. K. SawantChiplun25 November 19635 December 1963himself5 December 19631 March 1967Vasantrao Naik3Gopalrao KhedkarAkot1 March 196727 October 19694Keshavrao SonawaneLatur City27 October 196913 March 19725Vasantdada PatilMLC13 March 19724 April 19736Hari Govindrao VartakVasai4 April 197317 March 19747Anant NamjoshiGirgaon17 March 197421 February 19758Sharad PawarBaramati21 February 197516 April 1977Shankarrao Chavan(6)Hari Govindrao VartakVasai16 April 197717 May 19779Purushottam DakateUmred17 May 197718 July 1978Vasantdada Patil10Arjunrao Kasture18 July 197817 February 1980Sharad PawarIndian Congress (Socialist)11Bhagwantrao M. GaikwadKalameshwar9 June 198021 January 1982A. R. AntulayIndian National Congress21 January 19822 February 1983Babasaheb Bhosale12Nanabhau YambadwarMLC2 February 19835 March 1985Vasantdada Patil13Narendra TidkeSavner12 March 19853 June 198514Vijaysinh Mohite–PatilMalshiras3 June 198512 March 1986Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar(11)Bhagwantrao M. GaikwadKalameshwar12 March 198626 June 1988Shankarrao Chavan15Vilasrao DeshmukhLatur City26 June 19884 March 1990Sharad Pawar16Shivajirao DeshmukhMLC4 March 199025 June 199117Rohidas PatilDhule Rural25 June 19916 March 1993Sudhakarrao Naik18Harshvardhan DeshmukhMorshi6 March 199314 March 1995Sharad PawarIndependent19Shashikant SutarShivajinagar14 March 19951 February 1999Manohar JoshiShiv Sena20Radhakrishna Vikhe PatilShirdi1 February 199918 October 1999Narayan Rane21 Ranjeet DeshmukhMLC18 October 199918 January 2003Vilasrao DeshmukhIndian National Congress22Sushilkumar ShindeSolapur South18 January 20031 November 2004himself23Vilasrao DeshmukhLatur City1 November 20049 November 2004himself24Balasaheb ThoratSangamner9 November 20048 December 2008Vilasrao Deshmukh8 December 200811 November 2010Ashok Chavan(20)Radhakrishna Vikhe PatilShirdi11 November 201028 September 2014Prithviraj Chavan25Eknath KhadseMuktainagar31 October 20144 June 2016Devendra FadnavisBharatiya Janata Party26Chandrakant PatilMLC4 June 20168 July 201627Pandurang FundkarMLC8 July 201631 May 2018(26)Chandrakant PatilMLC1 June 201816 June 201928Anil BondeMorshi16 June 201912 November 201929Subhash DesaiMLC28 November 201930 December 2019Uddhav ThackerayShiv Sena30Dadaji BhuseMalegaon Outer30 December 201927 June 202231Shankarrao GadakhNevasa27 June 202230 June 202232Eknath ShindeKopri-Pachpakhadi30 June 20229 August 2022himself33Abdul SattarSillod9 August 20222 July 2023Eknath Shinde34 Dhananjay MundeParli2 July 20235 December 2024Nationalist Congress Party35Manikrao KokateSinnar15 December 202431 July 2025Devendra FadnavisBharatiya Janata Party36 Dattatray Vithoba BharneIndapur 31 July 2025incumbent
History Department of agriculture was established in 1883 after recommendation of Famine Commission(1881). Varies hybrid varieties of crops were deployed in 1965-66 which laid down the foundation of Green Revolution.
Structure Agriculture section has three different ministers and divisions. Dadaji Bhuse, Minister of Agriculture Sandipanrao Bhumre, Minister of Horticulture Shankarrao Gadakh, Minister of Soil and Water Conservation
International Partnerships Ministry signed an MoU with United States Department of Agriculture in June 2021 for better collaboration between United States of America and Government of Maharashtra.
References