Agritech and e-technology can transform smallholder agriculture in India. Discuss the role of AgriStack, drones and digital platforms, and the risks of digital exclusion.
Subtopic: Agriculture · Technology
How to structure your answer
Introduction: Digital Agriculture Mission 2024 has an outlay of ₹2,817 crore; AgriStack builds a federated farmer ID linked to land records and Krishi Decision Support System.
Body: 1) Stack components — Farmer Registry, Geo-referenced village maps, Crop Sown Registry. 2) Use cases — PM-KISAN targeting, KCC, PMFBY claim settlement, advisories via Kisan Sarathi. 3) Exclusion risks — tenancy invisibility, female cultivators, internet access in tribal blocks.
Way forward: Anchor AgriStack to DPDP Act 2023 consent norms; co-design with Krishi Vigyan Kendras; subsidise Kisan Drone use under SMAM.
Written within the word limit
135 words · target 150 words · 9 min
Introduction: The Digital Agriculture Mission (₹2,817 crore, Cabinet September 2024) targets onboarding 11 crore farmers onto AgriStack by 2026-27, integrating Farmer Registry, Crop-Sown Registry and Geo-Referenced Village Maps.
Body: AgriStack delivers DBT for PM-KISAN (₹3.7 lakh crore disbursed since 2019), credit scoring for KCC, and PMFBY claim settlement. Namo Drone Didi (1,094 SHGs trained, March 2026) and Kisan Drones under SMAM enable 30% pesticide saving and yield gains (ICAR field trials 2024). Digital platforms — e-NAM, ONDC's agri-vertical, Kisan Suvidha — democratise market access. Yet digital divide persists: only 35% rural women own smartphones (NFHS-5), and Andhra Pradesh's Rythu Bharosa data-leak (2023) and Telangana's land-record breaches expose privacy risks. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 lacks sector-specific safeguards for farm data.
Way forward: The Department of Agriculture should notify a Farm Data Trust under DPDP Act Section 11 by 2027, and converge AgriStack with PMFBY and PM-KISAN with farmer-consent dashboards.
What an examiner expects to see
- Digital Agriculture Mission outlay ₹2,817 crore (2024)
- AgriStack — Agri Stack, AgriDSS, Soil Profile Map
- Kisan Drones — SMAM subsidy up to 100% for SC/ST/women
- ICAR-IASRI Krishi Decision Support System
- Bhashini for multilingual advisories
- PMFBY satellite-based yield estimation
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- AgriStack pilots in UP, MP, Gujarat
- Kisan Sarathi platform IIT Kanpur
- Operation Greens for TOP crops
- FPOs under 10,000 FPO scheme