Centre criticises states for slow rollout of digital agriculture initiative

The Centre has directed states to accelerate efforts in rolling out the Digital Agriculture Mission, citing the gap between current progress and targeted coverage. The government's data shows that while 61 per cent of the nation's sown area has been mapped to individual Farmer IDs, the pace of implementation remains inconsistent across different states.

The Digital Agriculture Mission forms a key component of the government's broader digitalization strategy for the farm sector, aimed at improving the delivery of agricultural services and enabling data-driven policy interventions. The Farmer ID system serves as the foundation for this initiative, allowing the government to create comprehensive records of agricultural holdings and link farmers to various government schemes and services.

State governments have been flagged for delays in completing farmer registration drives and integrating their agricultural databases with the national portal. Officials have stressed the importance of achieving higher coverage to realize the mission's objectives, which include better resource management, targeted subsidy distribution, and improved access to credit facilities for farmers.

The government is now pushing states to submit revised timelines and action plans to bridge the implementation gap. Officials indicated that enhanced coordination between state agriculture departments and central agencies would be necessary to expedite the process and ensure that the mission reaches its full potential across agricultural regions.