Cabinet aproves ₹2817 crore Digital Agriculture Mission to revolutionize farming
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Digital Agriculture Mission with an outlay of ₹2817 crore, including ₹1940 crore as the central share.
This mission is an umbrella scheme aimed at supporting digital agriculture initiatives, including the creation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), implementation of the Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES), and other IT initiatives by the Central and State Governments, as well as Academic and Research Institutions.
India’s digital revolution has significantly transformed governance and service delivery, establishing the country as a leader in citizen-centric digital solutions across finance, healthcare, education, and retail. Now, the government aims to bring a similar transformation to the agriculture sector.
The building of Digital Public Infrastructure for agriculture was first announced in the Union Budget 2023-24, and its augmentation was highlighted in the Budget 2024-25. This DPI will provide comprehensive data on farmers, including demographic details, land holdings, and crops sown, and will connect with relevant infrastructures of State Governments and various Ministries. Agristack is a farmer-centric DPI designed to offer efficient services and scheme delivery, with the creation of digital identities for farmers, known as ‘Farmer IDs’.
These IDs will be linked to various data points, including land records, livestock ownership, and crops sown. The mission will also include the Digital Crop Survey, which will be conducted in each season using mobile-based ground surveys. So far, 19 states have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Ministry of Agriculture to implement these initiatives.
The pilots for creating Farmer IDs have been conducted in one district each across six states: Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu. The mission is expected to create significant employment opportunities in the agriculture sector, particularly through digital crop surveys and data collection for remote sensing.
It aims to make service delivery mechanisms more efficient and transparent by leveraging data analytics, artificial intelligence, and remote sensing technologies. For farmers, this means easier access to government schemes, crop loans, personalized advisories, and more. The mission will also support government agencies in making schemes and services more efficient, such as paperless MSP-based procurement and crop insurance.
Overall, the Digital Agriculture Mission is poised to revolutionize the agriculture sector, ensuring that farmers receive timely guidance and services while establishing efficient value chains for agricultural inputs and post-harvest processes.
