Mission Digital Agriculture: Technology to Improve Farmers' Lives

Nitin Konde, Apoorva Bajj

Sep 6, 2024 — 4 min read

Mission Digital Agriculture: Technology to Improve Farmers' Lives

The advent of digital identities, secure payment methods, and online transactions has had a profound impact on India's government and the provision of public services in the last several years. Thanks to these advancements, India is now at the forefront of citizen-centric digital solutions, and its digital ecosystem is booming in many different areas, such as retail, healthcare, education, and finance.

With a considerable financial commitment of INR 2,817 crore, including a central government share of INR 1,940 crore, the 'Digital Agriculture Mission' was approved on September 2, 2024, by the Union Cabinet Committee, which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to bring about a comparable revolution in the agriculture sector.

Appreciating this move, Akshat Jain, CEO of KLK India stated, "Mission Digital Agriculture represents a transformative step in empowering India's farmers. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and sustainable energy solutions like solar, we can revolutionize agricultural productivity, enhance resource efficiency, and improve the livelihoods of millions. At KLK Ventures, we believe that integrating renewable energy into digital farming tools not only boosts crop yield but also reduces costs for farmers, creating a more resilient and self-reliant agricultural sector. The future of farming is digital, and solar will be its driving force".

The goal of the Digital Agriculture Mission is to provide a framework within which different digital agriculture projects can thrive. The Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES), the creation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), and the support of IT projects by the federal, state, and academic sectors are all part of this.

Two primary components, Agri Stack and Krishi Decision Support System, form the foundation of the scheme.

Furthermore, the purpose encompasses 'Soil Profile Mapping,' which seeks to empower digital services focused on farmers to deliver accurate and fast information to the agriculture sector.

AgriStack: To Streamline Services and Scheme

AgriStack is a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that aims to simplify the delivery of services and schemes to farmers, with a focus on their needs. The Farmers' Registry, the Crop Sown Registry, and the Geo-referenced village maps make up its three main parts.

An essential component of AgriStack is the implementation of a 'Farmer ID,' which functions as a reliable digital identification for farmers and is comparable to the Aadhaar card.

The State Governments or Union Territories will generate and keep track of these IDs, and they will be associated with a variety of data about farmers, such as land records, livestock ownership, crops planted, and benefits received. Nineteen states have inked memorandums of understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture, a step towards a more coordinated effort between the federal and state governments to implement AgriStack. The Digital Crop Survey and Farmer IDs were pilot programs in six different states.

The six states are as follows: Tamil Nadu (Virudhnagar), Uttar Pradesh (Farrukhabad), Gujarat (Gandhinagar), Maharashtra (Beed), Haryana (Yamuna Nagar), and Punjab (Fatehgarh Sahib).

Krishi Decision Support System - To Integrate Remote Sensing Data on Crops

As part of an all-encompassing geospatial system, the Krishi Decision Support System (DSS) will incorporate meteorological, agricultural, soil, and water resource data acquired by remote sensing. As part of the effort, 29 million hectares of soil profile inventory have already been mapped, and precise soil profile maps on a 1:10,000 scale for about 142 million hectares of agricultural land are planned.

Experiments with crop-cutting will utilize the Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES) to produce accurate yield estimates, further improving the precision of agricultural output, as part of the Digital Agriculture Mission.

Nearly 2,50,000 educated local youth and Krishi Sakhis stand to gain from the mission's projected expansion of agricultural employment opportunities, both directly and indirectly.

The mission's use of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and remote sensing would enhance the delivery of services to farmers, such as making government schemes, agricultural loans, and real-time warnings easier to access.

What Lies Beyond?

In addition to the Digital Agriculture Mission, the Union Cabinet gave its approval to six other significant projects, totaling INR 14,235.30 crore.

To guarantee food security and resilience to climate change by 2047, INR 3,979 crore will be allocated to Crop Science. Additionally, INR 2,291 crore will be used to enhance Agricultural Education, Management, and Social Sciences to assist students and researchers. To improve income from livestock and dairy, INR 1,702 crore has been set aside for Sustainable Livestock Health and Production, and INR 1,129.30 crore is earmarked for Sustainable Development of Horticulture. Furthermore, Krishi Vigyan Kendra will be fortified with INR 1,202 crore, while Natural Resource Management will receive INR 1,115 crore.

These all-encompassing methods can improve the lives of millions of farmers in India by utilizing digital technologies to increase agricultural sector productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. India plans to further establish itself as a world leader in technologically advanced solutions for vital economic areas by bringing the digital revolution to the agricultural sector.