The Government of India has approved the Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM) in September 2024, marking a major step towards building a modern, data-driven, and farmer-centric agricultural ecosystem. The Mission focuses on creating a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture—comprising AgriStack, Krishi Decision Support System (KDSS), and Soil Fertility & Profile Maps—to empower farmers with timely, reliable, and innovative digital solutions.

At the core of AgriStack lie three foundational registries maintained by States and Union Territories: Geo-Referenced Village Maps, Crop Sown Registry and Farmers Registry.

The Farmers Registry provides vital data on demographics, landholdings, and crops, enabling digital authentication for availing benefits such as credit, insurance, and procurement. It also facilitates online purchase and sale of inputs and produce in a secure and transparent manner. The Digital Crop Survey (DCS) further strengthens this ecosystem by providing real-time, plot-level crop data.

The Krishi-DSS integrates geospatial and non-geospatial datasets—including satellite imagery, weather, soil, groundwater, and scheme data—to deliver crop maps, soil maps, automated yield models, and drought/flood monitoring systems. This ensures evidence-based policy-making and encourages innovative agritech solutions.

In addition, the Soil and Land Use Survey of India (SLUSI) has initiated a nationwide Soil Resource Mapping project at the village level (1:10,000 scale), using high-resolution satellite and ground data to standardize soil maps. This will guide rational land-use planning, crop diversification, and sustainable farming practices.

Parallelly, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare continues to implement the flagship Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme since 2015–16. Focused on enhancing water-use efficiency through micro-irrigation (drip and sprinkler systems), PDMC ensures water saving, reduced fertilizer usage, lower input costs, and increased farmer incomes.

Under PDMC, the Government provides financial assistance of 55per cent for small and marginal farmers and 45per cent for other farmers, with several States offering additional top-up subsidies. The subsidy covers micro-irrigation installation up to 5 hectares per beneficiary.

Highlighting the initiative, Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ramnath Thakur, informed the Lok Sabha that the Digital Agriculture Mission will serve as a game-changer, enabling farmers to access digital services, boost productivity, and contribute to building a sustainable and resilient agricultural future for India.