Parliament Question: Implementation of Digital Agriculture Mission in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2643 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 04th AUGUST, 2026 IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL AGRICULTURE MISSION IN TAMIL NADU 2643. SHRI MANI A: SHRI NAVASKANI K: Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE (कृ(cid:874)ष एव ं(cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण मं(cid:287)ी) be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has reviewed the implementation of the Digital Agriculture Mission in Tamil Nadu, and progress made in generation of Farmer IDs, digitisation of agricultural records and delivery of farmer-centric digital services across the State; (b) the initiatives undertaken to integrate Farmer IDs with digital land records, crop information, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), crop insurance, credit, soil health and other agricultural support services in Tamil Nadu; (c) the measures taken to promote awareness, digital literacy and enrolment of farmers under the Digital Agriculture Mission through Common Service Centres, Farmer Producer Organisations & agricultural extension machinery in Tamil Nadu; (d) the number of Farmer IDs generated in Dharmapuri district and the initiatives taken to facilitate registration of eligible farmers; and (e) whether Government proposes to further strengthen digital agriculture services in Dharmapuri district through technology-enabled advisory services, precision farming, digital crop monitoring and improved access to agricultural schemes and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ(cid:874)ष एवं (cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण रा(cid:207)य मं(cid:287)ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR) (a) The Government closely monitors the implementation of AgriStack, the Farmers’ Registry, and the Crop Sowing Registry under the Digital Agriculture Mission in the States and Union Territories, including Tamil Nadu. Periodic review meetings with the States and Union Territories are being conducted to review and monitor the Mission's implementation, assess progress, address emerging challenges, and ensure timely generation of Farmer IDs, digitisation of agricultural records and delivery of farmer-centric digital services across the State including the State of Tamil Nadu. Further, to ensure effective and uniform implementation, National and Zonal Conferences are regularly organized to share best practices, address implementation issues, and provide strategic guidance to States/UTs.Further, Capacity-building and training programmes are being conducted regularly for State Government officials and field functionaries, with continuous technical assistance for onboarding the farmers on AgriStack, IT system integration, and the operationalisation of the digital platforms for AgriStack-enabled services to farmers. As of 30th July, 2026, in Tamil Nadu, more than 36.51 lakh farmers have been issued a Unique Farmer ID. (b) : As reported by Tamil Nadu, the Farmer Registry is being integrated with Digital land records to create a reliable digital database, which enables transparent and efficient delivery of government schemes and services to eligible farmers. This data is being utilized for the selection of beneficiaries of various schemes and services such as crop information, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), crop insurance, credit, soil health and other agricultural support services, since 2025-26. An exclusive portal "Tamil Man Valam" is developed for viewing soil fertility status and get crop with suitability/recommendations options. (c) & (d): A total number of 1,63,368 Farmer ID's have been generated in Dharmapuri district. Further, 1.31 crore land parcels have been integrated with farmer ID, including 4.95 lakh land parcels in Dharmapuri Districts in Tamil Nadu. State Government has taken several measures to promote awareness, digital literacy and enrolment of farmers under the Digital Agriculture Mission in Tamil Nadu. Common Service Centre is one of the enrolment centres for Farmer Registry. Awareness campaigns are being conducted by the Department of Agriculture using the Agriculture Extension Centres (AEC) at the block level. Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Common Resource Persons (CRPs) and other field functionaries have been actively engaged to facilitate farmer enrolment. Special enrolment camps are being organised in villages to assist farmers in Aadhaar authentication, generation of Farmer IDs and updating of land records. 379 Social Media group has been formed in Tamil Nadu to disseminate technology information to farmers and farmer groups. (e) The State Government proposes to further strengthen digital agriculture services in Dharmapuri district as part of the implementation of the Digital State-wide Agriculture Mission. The initiatives include expansion of the Farmer Registry by generating Unique Farmer IDs for all eligible farmers through the Farmer Sahayak and Farmer Registry TN applications. Efforts are also focused on strengthening the Digital Crop Survey using geo-tagged field data and AI-based validation for real-time crop monitoring. Farmers are provided with technology- enabled advisories through the Uzhavar App on crop management, weather, disease control, and nutrient management. Authenticated digital records and Aadhaar-enabled service delivery are improving farmers' access to Government schemes and services. So far, 20.32 lakh farmers have downloaded the Uzhavar App, which offers 24 digital services through a single platform. In addition, capacity-building and awareness programmes are beingconducted through the agricultural extension machinery to enhance farmers' adoption of digital agriculture services. Further, the Government of India has initiated several digital agriculture services using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for technology-based advisories, such as BharatVistaar, National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS), and KISAN SARATHI for farmers across the country, including Tamil Nadu. Some of the key AI initiatives are as follows: I. BharatVistaar: A multilingual AI-powered Digital Public Infrastructure for agriculture has been developed that provides farmers with real-time, location- specific advisories, government scheme information, weather forecasts, mandi prices, pest detection, and grievance support through a web portal, mobile app, and telephone. It has served over 5.9 lakh farmers and handled 93 lakh+ queries across the country. II. National Pest Surveillance System (NPSS): An AI and Machine Learning-based system has been developed to help farmers detect pest infestations by analyzing pest images, enabling timely action to reduce crop losses. It currently covers 73 crops and 436 pests across the country. III. KISAN SARATHI: An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platform has been developed by ICAR and is used by Krishi Vigyan Kendras to provide crop-specific advisories to farmers. It has 2.97 crore+ registered farmers across the country. ******