ICAR-NePPA: Precision Agriculture Network, Domains and Technologies
Why in the news
In August 2026 ICAR told Parliament about this national-importance programme and the tools it has produced.
Key facts
- Programme: ICAR-NePPA, 16 ICAR institutes.
- Technology base: sensors, remote sensing, AI and ICT.
- Principle: right quantity, right place, right time for water, nutrients and pesticides.
- Reason: weak input-use efficiency and labour shortages that favour automation.
Five domains
| Domain | Focus |
|---|---|
| Crop and soil | Monitoring and managing health over space and time |
| Post-harvest | Sensor-based quality checks for mango, banana, pulses and rice |
| Vertical farming | IoT-based farming of high-value vegetables in controlled settings |
| Aquaculture | Sensor-based watch on the aquatic environment |
| Livestock | IoT-enabled animal health tracking |
Technologies developed
- Water and nutrients: sensor-guided irrigation scheduling, drip fertigation, precision subsurface drip, poly-mulching, raised-bed methods.
- Machines: drone spraying, AI precision planters, a variable-rate fertiliser applicator.
- Protected farming: hydroponics, aeroponics, agrivoltaics (solar panels over crops), agro-aqua land configuration.
- Instruments: SPAD meter 2.0 for leaf chlorophyll, rapid aflatoxin-B1 test in maize, AI grain analyser, blockchain traceability for bananas.
- Training and tools: Dweep Microclimate Monitor; Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO) at Dehradun for drone pilots.
- Shrimp: tank-based super-intensive system giving 120-150 tonnes per hectare a year across three cycles.
Significance
- Cuts fertiliser subsidy burden, groundwater depletion and nitrate pollution while lifting farm income.
- Shares goals with the Soil Health Card scheme and PM-PRANAM.
- Drone and AI tools create rural services (Namo Drone Didi scheme) and openings for agri-tech start-ups.
Exam angle
- ICAR was set up in 1929 and is an autonomous body under DARE, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
- Count to recall: 16 institutes, five domains.
- Drone-pilot training centre: RPTO, Dehradun.
- Shrimp output: 120-150 t/ha per year.