So far, 34 states and UTs have adopted the Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM), which is aimed at transforming India’s farm sector through technology, two government officials told Mint, requesting anonymity. These states and UTs will now help create and implement digital public infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture, said one of the people cited above.
Since agriculture is a state subject, signing up for DAM is voluntary. The farm sector accounts for 16% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs close to half of the population.
The goal of the initiative is to help policymakers to easily spot trends in this sensitive sector of the economy, make timely policy interventions, and prevent the misuse of subsidies. It aims to unite India’s diverse agriculture ecosystem by fostering collaboration among states and key stakeholders through a standardised, protocol-driven framework for exchanging data.
The Centre believes the DPI created under the mission could help agritech companies build innovative, farmer-centric services that bridge the last-mile delivery gap, enhance farmer income, and contribute meaningfully to the goal of achieving a data-driven, resilient, and transparent future for Indian agriculture.
While farmers increasingly have access to smartphones and low-cost data, large-scale awareness, training, and trusted guidance on last-mile delivery are typically delivered through state government channels such as Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), extension teams, and farmer producer organisation (FPO) networks. DAM does not aim to replace these but work alongside them. The agencies will help in disseminating information among farmers.
“Without such an ecosystem push, the uptake of digital tools for crop planning, input use, and risk management tends to remain limited, which can delay improvements in productivity and resilience,” said Swapnil Jadhav, founder & CEO of MapMyCrop.
Queries emailed to the union agriculture ministry, West Bengal’s department of agriculture and the Delhi government’s agriculture unit remained unanswered.
Data sharing concerns
Under the mission, states are required to maintain and share key datasets to build the national AgriStack. These include a farmers’ registry containing their identities, family details, landholding records, crops grown, and livestock owned, along with village-level geo-referenced maps. States must also update digital crop survey data showing what crops are sown on each plot every season.
A senior Delhi government official said the Union Territory has a very small farming population, which is why it has not yet joined the mission. Officials in the West Bengal government declined to comment.
At least one expert pointed to concerns over sharing data, and said both governments should meet with the Centre to clear the air. “It is compulsory for states to share detailed social and economic profiles of farmers, farmland and crops in real time to become partners in the agriculture mission. There is an inherent concern and risk that the information will be used for political purposes by the central government,” said Prof Sudhir Panwar, a farm expert and former member of the Uttar Pradesh Planning Commission.
He added, “State governments should make their apprehensions clear so that the Centre can respond. The situation of farmers depends on how the central government will use these platforms to disburse essential services such as loans, seeds and fertiliser, and to procure crops.”
‘Delhi, West Bengal risk falling behind’
Experts said by not joining the mission, Delhi and West Bengal risk falling behind in India’s digital agriculture revolution. “States that have not yet joined the Digital Agriculture Mission may risk slower progress simply because they miss out on the support systems that help farmers adopt technology meaningfully,” said Jadhav. The agritech startup uses satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to provide services that help farmers monitor crops, predict yields, and optimise supply chains.
According to the 2015-16 agriculture census, the total number of farmers in Delhi was 21,000 and it had a net sown area of about 29,000 hectares. Experts said, however, that the number of farmers has fallen dramatically over the past nine years because of urbanisation. This was evident from the fact that the net sown area fell to 21,900 hectares in 2023-24, they said.
West Bengal, meanwhile, had around 7.2 million farmers and a net sown area of 5.5 million hectares, according to the 2015-16 census. The net sown area was more or less same in 2024-25, according to state government data. The state produces a surplus of rice, vegetables and potatoes. It also grows pulses, oilseeds, and maize.
According to the second official cited above, as the Centre steps up support and funding for farmers, pressure may mount on Delhi and West Bengal to reconsider.
Digital public infrastructure for agriculture
Launched in September 2024 with a budget of ₹2,817 crore, the mission seeks to build robust DPI for Indian agriculture such as AgriStack, Krishi Decision Support System, and a comprehensive soil fertility and profile map.
AgriStack comprises three registries – farmer registry, geo-referenced village map registry, and crop sown registry – and helps answer three key questions: who the farmer is, where the land is, and what crop is grown on it. By assigning each farmer a unique digital ID, it can also help accurately track subsidies, credit, insurance and procurement services.
The government announced recently that more than 73.7 million farmer IDs had been created as of 25 October, and that 558,000 of India’s 654,000 villages had been geo-referenced. It said a digital crop survey (DCS) was being conducted in 440,000 villages during the kharif season as of 25 October (the target is 477,000 villages).
The Krishi Decision Support System (Krishi-DSS) integrates remote-sensing data on crops, soil, weather, and water resources into a comprehensive geospatial system. It has 16 modules, and farmers can use it to access detailed soil data, including soil type, pH, and health metrics to help choose the right crops and adopt water-conservation measures.
Prakash Jayaram, partner, government and public services at EY India, said, “This initiative aims to facilitate evidence-based policymaking in agriculture and allied sectors, while simultaneously encouraging grassroots innovation and entrepreneurship. Using AgriStack, farmers will have quicker and easier access to government schemes, crop loans, seeds and fertilisers, and also to wider markets, including easier, minimum support price-based government procurement.” He likened the scheme to Aadhaar and UPI, which have made it easier to receive government benefits and make payments, respectively.
