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Digital Agriculture Mission
Context:
The Union Cabinet recently approved the Digital Agriculture Mission with an outlay of Rs. 2817 Crore, including a central share of Rs. 1940 Crore.
More on news
- Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Agriculture was announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 and augmented in the Budget 2024-25.
- DPI for Agriculture will provide comprehensive data on farmers, including demographic details, land holdings, crops sown, livestock, fisheries, soil health, family details, and benefits available.
- It aims to connect with relevant DPIs of State Governments and Central Ministries to innovate farmer-centric digital services.
About Digital Agriculture Mission
- The Mission aims to support digital agriculture initiatives, including creating DPI, implementing the Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES), and other IT initiatives by central and state governments, academic and research institutions.
- Mission targets creating digital identities for 11 crore farmers by FY 2026-27.
Components of the Mission:
- Agristack: A farmer-centric DPI with three foundational registries (Farmers’ Registry, Geo-referenced village maps, Crop Sown Registry) to be maintained by state governments.
- Farmers will receive a digital identity (Farmer ID) linked to land records, livestock, crops, demographic details, and benefits.
- Digital Crop Surveys will record crops sown each season.
- MoUs signed between the Centre and 19 State Governments for DPI creation and implementation.
- Krishi Decision Support System: A geospatial system unifying information on crops, soil, weather, water resources, etc.
- Soil Profile Mapping: A detailed soil profile inventory to be completed on a 1:10,000 scale for 142 million hectares of agricultural land.
- So far, 29 million hectares have been mapped.
Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES):
- Provides yield estimates based on crop-cutting experiments.
- Aims to accurately estimate agricultural production.
- Pilots conducted in six states for Farmer IDs and in 11 states for the Digital Crop Survey.
Expected Outcomes:
- Efficient and transparent service delivery to farmers through digital identification and authentication.
- Enhanced government scheme efficiency, paperless MSP-based procurement, accurate crop production estimation, and improved crop insurance processes.
- Support for crop diversification, irrigation needs, and balanced fertiliser use.
- Development of efficient value chains for agricultural inputs, post-harvest processes, and customised advisory services for farmers.
- Employment opportunities for approximately 2.5 lakh trained local youth and Krishi Sakhis in digital crop surveys and data collection.