Why in the news?

Recently, the Union Cabinet approved the Digital Agriculture Mission with a total outlay of ₹2,817 Crore.

About Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM)

• It is an umbrella scheme based on the structure of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) aimed at using technology to improve farmers’ lives.
• It is in line with the Union Budgets’ 2024-25 and 2023-24 announcement of implementing DPI in agriculture.

Key features of the Mission

• It is built on 2 foundational pillars:
  • Agri Stack (Kisan ki Pehchaan): A farmer-centric DPI to streamline services and scheme delivery to farmers with 3 key components:
    • Farmers' Registry: Issuance of ‘Farmer IDs’, created and maintained by the State Governments/ Union Territories, which will act as a trusted digital identity for farmers, similar to Aadhaar.  
    • Geo-referenced village maps: Linking of the Farmer IDs to farmer-related data. E.g. Land records, demographic and family details etc.
    • Crop Sown Registry: Maintaining a record of crops sown in each season by farmers through mobile-based ground survey, that is, Digital Crop Survey.
  • Krishi Decision Support System (DSS): To integrate remote sensing data on crops, soil, weather, and water resources into a comprehensive geospatial system.
• Soil Profile Mapping: Detailed soil profile maps on a 1:10,000 scale for approximately 142 million hectares of agricultural land.
  • Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES) will provide yield estimates based on scientifically designed crop-cutting experiments.
• Key Targets:
  • Create digital identities for 11 crore farmers over three years (6 crores in FY 2024-25, 3 crores in FY 2025-26, and 2 crores in FY 2026-27). 
  • Digital Crop Survey to be launched nationwide in 2 years, covering 400 districts in FY 2024-25 and all districts in FY 2025-26. 

About Digital Agriculture

• It can be defined as the use of modern technology by farmers to improve farm activity management by making it scientific and data-driven.
• It is the consistent application of methods of ‘Precision agriculture’ and ‘Smart farming’, internal and external networking of the farm and use of web-based data platforms together with Big Data analyses.
• Examples of digital technologies for Agriculture Sector
  • Use of drones to fight locusts in India (2019): Used for anti-locust spraying to reduce crop losses.
  • Grain Bank Model of ‘Ergos’: Providing doorstep access to end-to-end post-harvest supply chain solutions to small and marginal farmers.
  • Yuktix GreenSense: An off-grid remote monitoring and analytics solution for effective tool for monitoring and DPI (Disease, pest, and irrigation) management.

Significance of Digital Agriculture Mission

• Aid farmers to take informed decisions.
  • E.g. DGCES-based data will help crop diversification and evaluation of irrigation needs which will aid in making agriculture sustainable.
• Accurate data on crop area and yield will enhance efficiency and transparency in agri-production, and implementation of government schemes like crop insurance, loan disbursement etc.
• Preventing and mitigating losses and increase in farmers’ incomes. 
  • E.g. Crop map generation and monitoring for better disaster response and insurance claims.
• Mission is expected to create direct and indirect employment in agriculture, by providing opportunities to about 2.5 lakh trained local youth and Krishi Sakhis.
• Improved service delivery for farmers, including –
  • Access to government schemes, crop loans, and real-time advisories with the use of modern technology like data analytics, AI, and remote sensing. 
  • Digital authentication for accessing services and benefits, reducing paperwork and the need for physical visits.
• Optimized value chains and tailored advisory services for crop planning, health, pest management, and irrigation.

Challenges for effective implementation

• Fragmentation of agricultural land: The average landholding in India is only 1.08 ha, making application of present technology difficult as it is conducive for large farms.
• High initial costs: Digital agriculture requires significant computing, storage and processing power which makes it less scalable due to high costs.
• Lack of sufficient research: The impact technology can have on Indian farming and clarity on profitability is lacking.
• Inadequate infrastructure: Digital infrastructure development is lower in rural areas which can be a hindrance to digitization of agriculture. E.g. lower internet penetration
• Lack of digital literacy: It hinders adoption of digital technologies as farmers have lower trust in newer systems. It also hinders effective maintenance and grievance redressal related to modern equipment.
• Language barriers: Unavailability of varied local languages for technology interface creates barriers in access.

Conclusion

To reap the benefits of digital agriculture, focus on factors like affordability, ease of access and operations, easy maintenance of systems, timely grievance redressal, robust R&D and appropriate policy support is paramount. The Digital Agriculture Mission is a step in the right direction to achieve this goal and improve farmers’ lives.