New arrangements for digital ID and satellite mapping for farmers implemented

The Government of India is utilising digital technology to bring revolutionary changes to the agriculture sector, including facilities such as digital identity for farmers and satellite mapping for land records. Today, a special session on the theme 'Digital Farming: India Will Lead the Way' was held at the 'Kisan Tak Bharat Agriculture Conference 2026' organised by India Today Group at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. In this session, experts stated that in agriculture, not just ploughs, tractors, and weather, but digital technology will also bring a major change in the lives of farmers, as reported today.

At this conference, former Union Agriculture Secretary Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi, Madhya Pradesh Government Agriculture Secretary Nishant Varvade, RSMI CropLytics co-founder and CEO Roli Jindal, and agriculture influencer Pargat Singh presented their views. Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi informed that the Central Government's 'Digital Agriculture Mission' is a scheme to bring major changes to the agriculture sector. Under this mission, 'AgriStack' is being prepared, which is based on three main systems: Farm Registry, Kisan ID, and Digital Crop Survey.

Under the Farm Registry, every farm in the country is being given a unique identity, i.e., 'Farm ID'. This ID can also be called the Aadhaar number of the farm. Along with this ID, the geographical position of the farm, i.e., its Latitude-Longitude, is also recorded. This will make it very easy to know where the farm is located and what its area is.

The second important arrangement is the Kisan ID. Under this system, every farmer is being given a unique 11-digit ID. In the backend of this ID, details such as the farmer's Aadhaar number, mobile number, land records, and their share in the farm will be linked. Dr. Chaturvedi explained that often multiple family members have names on the same piece of land and each person's share is different, making it difficult to find out how much land a particular farmer actually possesses. This information will become clear with the Digital Kisan ID. Farmers will be able to see their own information themselves, and relevant departments or institutions can use it with their consent.

The third arrangement is the Digital Crop Survey. In this process, crop information is recorded through a mobile app by visiting the farm. The surveyor will take photos of the farm and provide details of which crop has been sown there. Additionally, crops can also be identified with the help of satellites. This method will reduce the possibility of recording incorrect information in the crop survey. According to Dr. Chaturvedi, approximately 11 crore Kisan IDs have been created in the country so far and digital crop surveys of about 30 crore plots are being conducted. Geo-referencing of about 80 per cent of the country's plots has also been completed.

The main objective of this digital technology is to deliver the benefits of government schemes to the actual farmers, prevent errors in crop surveys, and provide timely and appropriate advice to farmers. Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Secretary Nishant Varvade stated that the Digital Agriculture Mission has been implemented as a campaign in his state. He informed that out of the approximately 11 crore Kisan IDs created in the country, about 1.13 crore Kisan IDs belong to Madhya Pradesh. Varvade also claimed that the work of Kisan ID and geo-referencing has been 100 per cent completed in Madhya Pradesh.

These digital arrangements will bring transparency to agriculture and farmers will have accurate information about their land and crops available through digital means, which is likely to bring a new revolution in the business of farming.

Various digital initiatives have been undertaken by the Government of India to encourage the use of technology in the agriculture sector, with the aim of making agriculture more efficient and transparent.