Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM)
Source: Mint
Summary
- With a new government taking charge in West Bengal, the state is expected to soon join the Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM) — the Centre’s flagship initiative for technology-driven farm reforms.
- Bengal is currently the only state in India yet to join the mission, making its imminent integration a milestone for the AgriStack platform.
- The AgriStack is a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture that creates digital identities for farmers, enables crop monitoring, streamlines subsidy delivery, and enhances access to credit and insurance.
- The Centre is also undertaking a comprehensive review of centrally sponsored and central sector schemes in West Bengal following the change of government.
Background & Concept
What is the Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM)?
The Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM) is the Centre’s flagship initiative for technology-driven farm reforms in India. It was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2024 under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, with a total outlay of ₹2,817 crore — including a central share of ₹1,940 crore.
The mission aims to build a comprehensive digital ecosystem for Indian agriculture, modelled on the success of Aadhaar, UPI, and CoWIN as Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs).
What is AgriStack?
The AgriStack is the core digital public infrastructure for agriculture under the DAM. It is a farmer-centric platform that creates a single, verified digital identity for every farmer — called a Farmer ID — linked to their landholdings, crops, transactions, and entitlements.
The AgriStack rests on three foundational registries:
Farmers’ Registry — a database of all farmers with their Farmer ID.
Geo-referenced Village Maps Registry — digital land records mapped to GIS coordinates.
Crop Sown Registry — real-time data on crops sown in each farm plot, captured through Digital Crop Surveys (DCS).
Why West Bengal’s Inclusion Matters:
Until now, West Bengal had remained outside the DAM/AgriStack ecosystem, due to Centre–state political differences over the terms of data sharing, scheme design, and rollout responsibilities. With a new government taking charge in the state, Bengal is expected to finally join the mission, completing the nationwide rollout of AgriStack.
This is significant because Bengal is a major agricultural state — among the largest producers of rice, jute, potato, and vegetables, and home to lakhs of small and marginal farmers who would benefit from digital identity-led services.
Objectives of the Digital Agriculture Mission:
The DAM aims to create digital identities for farmers through the Farmer ID system, enabling streamlined access to government schemes. It seeks to improve crop monitoring by using satellite imagery, drones, and AI tools to track acreage, growth, and yield. The mission also streamlines subsidy delivery through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) linked to verified Farmer IDs and enhances access to credit and insurance by providing lenders and insurers with reliable farmer and crop data.
It also aims to support evidence-based policymaking through real-time agricultural data.
Parallel Centre–State Developments:
Following the change of government in West Bengal, the Centre is undertaking a comprehensive review of centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) and central sector schemes (CS) in the state. This is expected to realign Bengal’s participation in flagship initiatives like PM-KISAN, PMFBY, eNAM, and others, alongside its DAM integration.
Components of the Digital Agriculture Mission:
The DAM rests on three major pillars:
AgriStack — the foundational DPI for farmers, land, and crops.
Krishi Decision Support System (DSS) — a geospatial intelligence platform combining satellite data, soil data, weather, water resources, and crop data for smart decision-making.
Soil Profile Mapping — preparing detailed soil maps at the 1:10,000 scale for scientific land use planning.
Significance:
DAM is a transformative leap for Indian agriculture, equivalent to what Aadhaar did for identity or UPI did for payments. It aligns with India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) leadership, supports Doubling Farmers’ Income, and contributes to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — especially SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, Infrastructure).
Challenges:
The mission must overcome issues of digital literacy among farmers, data privacy concerns, state-level participation hurdles, fragmented land records, and interoperability with existing state agriculture databases. Bengal’s inclusion will be a test case for federal cooperation in digital agriculture.
Keywords & Definitions
- ▸ Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM): The Centre’s flagship initiative for technology-driven farm reforms in India, approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2024 with an outlay of ₹2,817 crore.
- ▸ AgriStack: A Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture that creates a single, verified digital identity (Farmer ID) for every farmer, linked to land, crops, and entitlements.
- ▸ Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): Foundational digital systems that enable public and private services at scale — examples include Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, CoWIN, and AgriStack.
- ▸ Farmer ID: A unique digital identifier for every farmer under AgriStack, similar to Aadhaar, linking the farmer to land, crops, and government services.
- ▸ Farmers’ Registry: A comprehensive database of all farmers in India, central to the AgriStack ecosystem.
- ▸ Geo-referenced Village Maps Registry: A digital mapping system that links land records to GIS coordinates, ensuring accurate spatial data for every farm plot.
- ▸ Crop Sown Registry: A real-time digital registry of crops grown in each farm plot, populated through Digital Crop Surveys (DCS).
- ▸ Digital Crop Survey (DCS): A field-level digital exercise to record crops grown on each plot using mobile apps and geo-tagging.
- ▸ Krishi Decision Support System (Krishi DSS): A geospatial platform combining satellite, soil, weather, water, and crop data to support scientific and data-driven agricultural decisions.
- ▸ Soil Profile Mapping: A scheme to prepare detailed digital soil maps at the 1:10,000 scale for scientific land use planning and crop suitability assessments.
- ▸ Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare: The nodal ministry of the Government of India for agriculture, allied sectors, and farmer welfare.
- ▸ Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS): Schemes jointly funded by the Centre and States but implemented by State governments — examples include PMFBY, PMAY, MGNREGS.
- ▸ Central Sector Schemes (CS): Schemes fully funded and implemented by the Central Government — examples include PM-KISAN, MISS (Modified Interest Subvention Scheme).
- ▸ PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi): A central sector scheme launched in 2019 that provides ₹6,000 per year to eligible landholding farmer families in three equal instalments.
- ▸ PMFBY (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana): The flagship crop insurance scheme launched in 2016, providing financial protection to farmers against crop loss due to natural calamities, pests, and diseases.
- ▸ eNAM (electronic National Agriculture Market): An online trading portal for agricultural commodities launched in 2016, designed to create a unified national market for farm produce.
- ▸ Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): A reform initiative that transfers government benefits and subsidies directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts, reducing leakages and intermediaries.
- ▸ GIS (Geographic Information System): A technology that captures, analyses, and displays spatial data, used for mapping land, crops, and resources.
- ▸ Doubling Farmers’ Income (DFI): A policy goal announced by the Government of India in 2016 aimed at doubling the real income of farmers by 2022 (and continuing as a long-term policy direction beyond).
- ▸ Cooperative Federalism: A principle where the Centre and States work together as partners in policymaking and implementation — central to DAM’s success, especially with state buy-in for AgriStack.
- ▸ West Bengal: A major agricultural state of India, known for being the largest producer of rice, jute, and potato and a leading producer of vegetables and fish.
Question Section (MCQs)
Q1. Consider the following statements about the Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM):
- It is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
- It was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2024 with an outlay of ₹2,817 crore.
- It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Q2. The AgriStack, the core of the Digital Agriculture Mission, is best described as a:
- (a) Crop insurance platform
- (b) Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture
- (c) Subsidy-disbursement portal for state governments
- (d) Mobile application for buying farm inputs
Q3. Which of the following are the three foundational registries of the AgriStack?
- Farmers’ Registry
- Geo-referenced Village Maps Registry
- Crop Sown Registry
- Livestock Owners’ Registry
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1, 2 and 3 only
- (b) 1, 2 and 4 only
- (c) 2, 3 and 4 only
- (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q4. Which Indian state is currently the only state yet to join the Digital Agriculture Mission?
- (a) Kerala
- (b) Tamil Nadu
- (c) West Bengal
- (d) Punjab
Q5. Consider the following statements regarding the Krishi Decision Support System (Krishi DSS):
- It is a geospatial platform combining satellite, soil, weather, water, and crop data.
- It is meant to support data-driven agricultural decisions.
- It is part of the Digital Agriculture Mission.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Q6. PM-KISAN, frequently mentioned in agricultural policy, is best classified as:
- (a) A Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS)
- (b) A Central Sector Scheme (CS)
- (c) A State Scheme
- (d) A Sub-Mission of the Krishi Vikas Yojana
Q7. Which of the following are objectives of the Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM)?
- Create digital identities for farmers
- Improve crop monitoring
- Streamline subsidy delivery
- Enhance access to credit and insurance
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 1, 2 and 3 only
- (c) 2, 3 and 4 only
- (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q8. Soil Profile Mapping, a component of the Digital Agriculture Mission, prepares detailed digital soil maps at which scale?
- (a) 1:1,000
- (b) 1:5,000
- (c) 1:10,000
- (d) 1:50,000
Q9. West Bengal, the focus state in the news, is the largest producer of which of the following crops in India?
- Rice
- Jute
- Potato
- Sugarcane
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 1, 2 and 3 only
- (c) 2, 3 and 4 only
- (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q10. Examples of Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs) in India include:
- Aadhaar
- UPI
- AgriStack
- DigiLocker
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 1, 2 and 3 only
- (c) 2, 3 and 4 only
- (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer Key with Explanations
▸ Q1 → (a) 1 and 2 only
- Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is wrong — DAM is a Central Sector Scheme (CS), fully funded and implemented by the Centre, not a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
▸ Q2 → (b) Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture
- The AgriStack is a farmer-centric Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that creates digital identities for farmers and supports crop monitoring, subsidy delivery, and credit access.
▸ Q3 → (a) 1, 2 and 3 only
- The three foundational registries of AgriStack are the Farmers’ Registry, Geo-referenced Village Maps Registry, and the Crop Sown Registry. A Livestock Owners’ Registry is not part of AgriStack — it falls under a separate animal husbandry digitalisation effort.
▸ Q4 → (c) West Bengal
- West Bengal is currently the only state in India yet to join the Digital Agriculture Mission, although it is expected to do so following the change of government.
▸ Q5 → (d) 1, 2 and 3
- All three statements are correct — the Krishi DSS is a geospatial platform integrating multiple data layers, supports data-driven decisions, and is part of the Digital Agriculture Mission.
▸ Q6 → (b) Central Sector Scheme (CS)
- PM-KISAN is a Central Sector Scheme, fully funded by the Government of India, providing ₹6,000 per year to eligible landholding farmer families in three equal instalments.
▸ Q7 → (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
- All four are core objectives of the Digital Agriculture Mission — digital identity, crop monitoring, subsidy delivery, and credit/insurance access.
▸ Q8 → (c) 1:10,000
- Under the DAM, Soil Profile Mapping is undertaken at the 1:10,000 scale, providing detailed digital soil maps essential for scientific land use planning and crop suitability assessments.
▸ Q9 → (b) 1, 2 and 3 only
- West Bengal is the largest producer of rice, jute, and potato in India. Sugarcane is largely produced in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
▸ Q10 → (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
- All four are examples of Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs) in India — Aadhaar (identity), UPI (payments), AgriStack (agriculture), and DigiLocker (document storage and authentication).
