India‘s ambitious push to build a nationwide digital backbone for agriculture has reached a significant milestone, with over seven crore unique Farmer IDs generated under the Digital Agriculture Mission. The initiative, approved in September 2024 with an outlay of ₹2,817 crore (including ₹1,940 crore from the Centre) aims to modernise the farm sector by creating a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that integrates verified data on farmers, land and crops for targeted service delivery.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ramnath Thakur said the mission is anchored by the Agri Stack along with the Krishi Decision Support System and a nationwide Soil Fertility and Profile Map. These tools, developed in coordination with state governments, are intended to enable farmer-centric solutions, streamline access to credit and insurance and improve the delivery of welfare schemes.
The Agri Stack consists of three core registries: Geo-Referenced Village Maps, a Crop Sown Registry and a Farmers Registry, all maintained at the state and union territory level. As of 4 August 2025, the Farmers Registry has issued 7,04,49,809 unique Farmer IDs.
Data collection efforts are also expanding rapidly. A Digital Crop Survey during the Rabi 2024-25 season covered more than 23.5 crore agricultural plots across 492 districts, providing granular information on sowing patterns and land use. Officials say this information is helping states design precise interventions and open new opportunities for farmers to participate in the digital economy, such as trusted online marketplaces for inputs and produce.
From the upcoming Kharif 2025 season, Farmer IDs will be used for enrolment under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and the Restructured Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The IDs are also being linked to the issuance of Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) enabling farmers to access formal credit more easily.
Currently, Thakur said, the data collected under the mission is shared only with government agencies and used exclusively for the implementation of welfare schemes.
The Digital Agriculture Mission has been pitched as a potential game-changer for Indian farming, much like Aadhaar‘s impact on identity verification. By integrating verified records into an open, interoperable platform, policymakers hope to improve efficiency in subsidy delivery, enhance credit access and strengthen crop insurance coverage.
The project goal over the next three years is to enrol 11 crore farmers: 6 crore in FY 2024–25, 3 crore in FY 2025–26 and 2 crore in FY 2026–27.
