Context
The Indian government has recently approved a significant investment of ₹2,817 crore for the Digital Agriculture Mission. This initiative aims to modernize the agricultural sector by leveraging advanced digital technologies and creating a comprehensive digital infrastructure. The mission is part of a broader strategy to enhance agricultural productivity, improve farmers’ livelihoods, and ensure food security in the country.
Overview of the Digital Agriculture Mission
The Digital Agriculture Mission appears to be the coordinated efforts by the Indian government at creating a strong digital foundation that will re-shape agriculture in the country. The mission serves to connect farmers across one central platform, coordinate the existing various agricultural data systems and to offer necessary services for the decision making processes. This effort is supposed to increase the overall efficiency of farming practices all across the country.
Key Objectives
- Creation of AgriStack: The mission will build AgriStack digital infrastructure through which the farmers will be provided with farmer digital identities. Some of the data that will be captured under this system will include; details of the terrain, crop details, and ownership of livestock that will assist in effective planning.
- Implementation of the Krishi Decision Support System: It seeks to equip farmers with a perfect geospatial reference map that combines crop information, soil type information, weather information and water information. These pieces of information will be useful to farmers in that they will aid in the decision making process of farmers as to how to effectively manage the crops as well as the resources that are available.
- Soil Profile Mapping: The initiative will also aim at developing more elaborate , digital, soil maps of the approximately 142 million ha of agricultural land. This mapping shall help in recognizing status of soil health and fertility so as to advance agricultural practices on the farm.
Financial Allocation
Out of the total expenditure ₹ 2817 crore, expenditure for the different parts of the Digital Agriculture Mission will be incurred. The state’s share will be approximately ₹ 1, 940 crore, other investments from the state and other sources are expected to be ₹ 3,560 crore. These are a clear indication of this financial support to the agricultural sector to transform through the power of digital solutions as orchestrated by the government.
Components of the Mission
There are a couple of major projects under the Digital Agriculture Mission, which in partnership will be able to facilitate the implementation of set goals and objectives. These projects include:
- AgriStack: Digital Agriculture Mission is an extraordinary initiative of the government in which AgriStack is considered the most significant link to developing the farmer database. This initiative will involve:
- Farmer IDs: Like Aadhaar which involves unique identification number for the people and linking that id number with the residents data, AgriStack will involve assigning farmers with identification numbers for their agricultural data.
- Crop Registry: Farmers’ crop data base – this is a database that will be used in monitoring various crops that have been sown in an attempt to monitor crop production trends.
- Geo-referenced Village Maps: These maps shall give more geographical details thus aiding in the proper planning and use of available resources.
- Krishi Decision Support System: The Krishi Decision Support System will be utilised as an important input by the farmers and will offer them the following:
- Geospatial Data: Application of soil, weather data and water resources data to enable farmers to make proper decisions.
- Drought and Flood Monitoring: Technology to monitor on-line possible natural disasters that might have an impact on farming, so that farmers can act in anticipation.
- Crop Yield Modeling: Sophisticated modelling approaches to the prediction of crop yields and helping in crop planning and an optimisation of resources and investments.
- Soil Profile Mapping: The initiative will therefore aim at providing high density soil profile maps that will help in understanding:
- Soil Health: Knowledge of soil fertility and nutrient in order to help the farmers decide on the frequency of fertilizing the soil and the type of crops that can be cultivated.
- Land Management: Improving on the management of soil in the farming secto r by promoting better management systems due to differentiated soil types and production gains.
Conclusion
The execution of the new ₹2,817 crore Digital Agriculture Mission is in agreement for enhancing the digital transformation of Indian agriculture. It is also posited that socio-economic returns are projected to improve through the uptake of the technologies in enhancing productivity, supporting farmers, besides creating structures within which agriculture related data will form an integral part of the overall nation’s agriculture related information system. During the course of the mission, it is believed that it will fulfill a vital role in the modernisation of the agricultural sector through the use of data. The use of these technologies in the field has the potential to revolutionize agriculture management in the future pointing to a better future for farmers and the agricultural sector.
Source: PIB