Parliament Question: New Farming Techniques and Digital Services

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1834 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 10TH FEBRAURY, 2026 NEW FARMING TECHNIQUES AND DIGITAL SERVICES 1834. SHRI E T MOHAMMED BASHEER: Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण मं(cid:361)ी be pleased to state: (a) the manner in which the Government promoting new farming techniques and digital services to enhance farmer income and climate resilience; (b) the details of the initiatives which are being introduced to support precision farming, climate-smart agriculture and sustainable cropping practices; and (c) the way by which the digital infrastructure such as farm advisory apps, data platforms and remote-sensing tools being expanded to benefit farmers in remote and underserved regions? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण रा(cid:475) मं(cid:361)ी (SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR) (a) to (c): The government has taken various initiatives to promote farming techniques and digital services to enhance farmer income and climate resilience, such as: I. Several schemes have been initiated under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), to promote sustainable agriculture practices. Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) scheme increases water use efficiency at the farm level through micro irrigation technologies i.e. drip and sprinkler irrigation. Rainfed Area Development focuses on Integrated Farming System for enhancing productivity and minimizing risks associated with climatic variability. The Soil Health & Fertility scheme promotes integrated nutrient management through judicious use of chemical fertilizers. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, Agroforestry & National Bamboo Mission also promotes climate resilience in agriculture. Further, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, along with weather index-based Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme provide a comprehensive insurance cover against crop failure by providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of unforeseen natural calamities. II. Sub Mission on Agricultural Mecharization (SMAM) is being implemented w.e.f 2014-15 through States/UTS Govemments including Tamil Nadu State. SMAM is now being implemented under the umbrella of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). The scheme aims at 'reaching the unreached' by bringing to the small and marginal farmers in the core, including women farmers and giving the benefits of farm mecharization, by promoting 'Custom Hiring Centers', creating hubs for hi-tech & high value farm equipments, distribution of various agricultural equipments, creating awareness among stakeholders through demonstration and capacity building activities. Under this scheme, during the period from 2014- 15 to 2025-26 (as on date), the central funds amounting to Rs. 9404.47 Crores have been released to various States, and 2161202 number of machines have been distributed on subsidy to individual farmers, 27554 CHCs, 646Hi-tech Hubs & 25608 FMBs have been established. With these interventions, the farm power availability for various farm operations has increased from 1 .73 kwlha it 2013- 14 to 2.49 kWha in 2018-19.III. The Prime Minister Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (DDKY),announced in Union Budget 2025-26,has been formally launched on 11th October, 2025 to cover 100 districts. The Scheme aims to enhance agricultural productivity, increase adoption of crop diversification and sustainable agricultural practices, augment post-harvest storage at the panchayat and block levels, improve irrigation facilities and facilitate availability of long-term and short-term credit. The Scheme is being implemented in 100 DDKY districts through convergence of 36 existing schemes across 11 Departments, other State schemes and local partnerships with the private sector. IV. Further, the Government has taken various initiatives to develop the digital infrastructure in the country for the benefit of farmers, such as: (i) Under the Digital Agriculture Mission, the government envisages the creation of a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Agriculture, such as AgriStack, Krishi Decision Support System, a Comprehensive Soil Fertility & Profile Map and other IT initiatives undertaken by the Central Government/State Government to enable a robust digital agriculture ecosystem in the country. This, in turn, would drive innovative farmer-centric digital solutions and make them reliable. Crop-related information is available to all farmers on time. The AgriStack DPI consists of three foundational registries or databases associated with the agriculture sector, i.e., Geo-Reference Village Maps, Crop Sown Registry, and the Farmers Registry, all created and maintained by the State Governments/ Union Territories. It establishes a single source of truth for farmer identity, land, and their crops. Farmer ID enables seamless integration of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM Kisan), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY), Minimum Support Price (MSP) based procurement, access to credit delivery, input distribution, and disaster relief. As of 04.02.2026, more than 8.48 Crore Farmer IDs have been generated across the country. Digital Crop Survey has enabled plot-level visibility of crops and better estimation of sowing patterns across seasons, which in turn supports evidence-based planning for procurement, input supply and logistics. (ii) Krishi Decision Support System is a geo-spatial platform that integrates satellite imagery, weather, soil, and crop data using Geographic Information System (GIS) to support agricultural planning and decision-making. This acts as an analytical platform (web-portal) for developing targeted advisories on crop, weather and soil. (iii) Kisan e-Mitra is a voice-based Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot developed to assist farmers with responses to their queries on the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. This solution supports 11 regional languages and is evolving to assist with other government programs. At present, it handles over 8,000 farmer queries on an average daily and so far, more than 95 lakh queries have been answered. (iv) National Pest Surveillance System: The National Pest Surveillance System, for tackling the loss of produce due to climate change, utilizes AI and Machine Learning to detect pest infestation in crop issues, enabling timely intervention for healthier crops. This tool, currently used by over 10,000 extension workers, allows farmers to capture images of pests to help them mitigate pest attacks and reduce crop losses. At present, it supports 65 crops and over 400 pests. (v) Seed Authenticity Traceability & Holistic Inventory (SATHI): It provides a digital platform that streamlines the holistic management of seed production, quality certification, distribution, and traceability pan-India. This endeavor establishes a National Seed Grid (NSG), integrating all seed stakeholders within a unified national digital platform. ******