Why in the News?

In a push to the rural and agriculture sector under Modi 3.0, the Centre is set to announce big projects as part of its first 100-day agenda, which include a Rs 2,800 crore Digital Agriculture Mission.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About Digital Agriculture Mission (Need, Objective, Components, Implementation, etc.)
• About National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (Objective, Features, etc.)

Need for Digitization of Agriculture in India:

• According to the NITI Aayog research on artificial intelligence, agriculture must expand at a rate of 4 per cent or higher right now to maintain an annual growth rate of 8–10 per cent.
• Digitization is crucial for achieving this level of success.
• The NITI Aayog predicted in a report that by 2025, AI in agriculture would be worth $ 2.6 Bn and rise at a pace of 22.5 per cent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR).
• AI currently helps farmers increase yield by assisting them in choosing better crops, hybrid seeds, and resource-efficient farming techniques.
• It is also utilised to improve farming productivity and accuracy to assist farmers in creating seasonal forecasting models

About Digital Agriculture Mission:

• The Digital Agriculture Mission 2021–2025 aims to encourage and speed up projects based on cutting-edge technologies, including AI, blockchain, remote sensing, robots, and drones.
• A comprehensive ICT strategy has, therefore, been developed to reach out to farmers in an easy and better way.
• The strategy also aims for planning and monitoring of schemes so that policy decisions can be taken at a faster pace and farmers can be benefited quickly.
• To empower different sections of rural areas, different ICT strategies have been devised:
  • Those who have access to digital infrastructure can get the information through websites/web portals.
  • Those who have smart phones can access the same information through mobile apps.
  • Those who have basic phones, can get this information through SMS advisories sent by experts.
  • To get the personalized information; farmers can call at the toll-free number of Kisan Call Centre.

Implementation & Budget of the Mission:

• Implementation:
  • The launch of the mission was initially planned in 2021-22 but due to Covid-19 outbreak, it could not be rolled out nationally.
  • Meanwhile, the Agriculture ministry started various pilot projects and activities across several states, which are part of the mission.
  • A pilot project has been undertaken across 6 districts — Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, Beed in Maharashtra, Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, and Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu.
  • In Farrukhabad, the UP government has already generated unique IDs for over 1.5 lakh farmers.
• Budgetary Allocation:
  • A budgetary allocation of Rs 2,800 crore has been made for the mission and it will be rolled out over the next two years (till 2025-26).

About National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGPA):

• The National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture (NeGPA) was initially launched in seven states in 2010-11 and later expanded to cover all states and two union territories by 2014-15.
• Objective: To use Information & Communication Technology (ICT) to provide timely agriculture-related information to farmers.
• Implementation in different phases
  • In Phase I, hardware was centrally procured and distributed to pilot states.
  • In Phase II, funds were allocated to states for various activities, including site preparation, training, hardware procurement, and data digitization.
• Funding
  • The funding pattern varies, with North Eastern and Himalayan states receiving 90:10 funding, other states 60:40, and UTs 100:0.
  • The Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income recognized the transformational potential of digital technology in agriculture, highlighting components like Remote Sensing, GIS, Data Analytics, AI & ML, and IoT.
  • NeGPA guidelines were revised in June 2020 to incorporate these technologies, with funds from 2021-22 earmarked for projects involving modern information technologies.
• Features of NeGPA:
  • Under NeGPA, the Department developed the Farmers Portal to provide information on seeds, storage, pests, diseases, best practices, and market details.
  • The Portal sends crop-related advisories to over 5 crore registered farmers via SMS.
  • Additionally, mobile applications like Kisan Suvidha, launched in 2016 and downloaded by over 13 lakh users, provide information on weather, market prices, plant protection, advisories, input dealers, soil health, cold storage, and more, enhancing the accessibility of critical agricultural information.