“Reimagining Agriculture” Report

NITI Aayog’s roadmap aims to use frontier technologies to boost farm productivity, sustainability, and inclusive growth by 2047.

NITI Aayog Unveils “Reimagining Agriculture” Report

Syllabus: Agriculture (UPSC GS III)
Source: PIB

Context:

NITI Aayog’s Frontier Tech Hub released the roadmap “Reimagining Agriculture: A Roadmap for Frontier Technology Led Transformation” in Gandhinagar. It presents a long-term vision for building a tech-driven, productive, inclusive, and climate-resilient agricultural sector by 2047.

Key Highlights of the Report

1. Vision and Approach

The roadmap provides a strategy to integrate emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, drones, digital twins, agentic AI, and bio-innovation into Indian agriculture.
The goal is to boost productivity, sustainability, and farmer incomes.

2. Three-Pillar Framework (Digital Agriculture Mission 2.0)

Strengthening foundational systems: Building strong data ecosystems and ensuring last-mile delivery of digital services.
Boosting innovation and talent: Improving R&D, skill development, and agri-tech capacity.
Industry–policy convergence: Aligning government, academia, and private-sector innovation for scalable transformation.

3. Farmer Categories

Aspiring farmers: 70–80%
Transitioning farmers: 15–20%
Advanced farmers: 1–2%
This classification helps design targeted interventions.

Current State of Indian Agriculture

Agriculture supports 45.8% of India’s workforce and produces nearly 1 billion tonnes of food every year.
Key challenges:
- Small landholdings: 86% are small and marginal farmers.
- Low mechanisation, high input costs, and low efficiency.
- Post-harvest losses exceed USD 18 billion annually.
- Limited access to credit, insurance, and digital tools.
- Climate risks: Erratic rainfall, soil degradation, and declining groundwater.

Opportunities: Role of Frontier Technologies

AI and Predictive Analytics: Provide real-time weather, pest, and crop advisories (Telangana pilot: 21% yield rise, 9% input reduction).
Climate-resilient seeds: Gene-editing tools like CRISPR improve tolerance to heat, drought, and pests.
Smart mechanisation: Drones, IoT sensors, and digital twins help with precise sowing, irrigation, and fertilisation.
Blockchain: Enhances transparency and ensures farmer data rights.
AgriTech start-ups: Over 1,000 start-ups are building AI, robotics, and fintech-based solutions.

Government Initiatives

Digital Agriculture Mission (2021–25): Unified digital platform for farmer data.
National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture: Promotes climate-smart practices.
Kisan Drone Scheme: Drone use for spraying and mapping.
PM-Kisan and eNAM: Improve financial access and market integration.
AgriStack & Agri Accelerator Fund: Support digital infrastructure and innovation-led start-ups.

Challenges

Data silos and lack of interoperability.
Low digital literacy causing trust deficit.
Poor rural connectivity, slowing adoption.
Skill gaps in AI–agriculture integration.
Limited patient capital for deep-tech start-ups.

Key Recommendations by NITI Aayog

1. Strengthen Digital Agriculture Mission 2.0

Build a 360° digital ecosystem with AI advisories, digital twins, and innovation accelerators.

2. Improve Access to Quality Data

Standardise region-specific datasets (weather, crop, market).
Use these datasets to train AI models, localise solutions, and help start-ups identify market opportunities.

3. Regulatory Support for AgriTech Start-ups

Build capacities to help start-ups navigate regulatory compliances and licences.
Reduce delays in approvals and ensure smooth compliance with state-specific rules.

4. Strengthen R&D Access for AgriTech

Facilitate partnerships with universities, Centres of Excellence, innovation hubs, and sandboxes.
Provide access to labs, testbeds, demo farms, and expert networks to support field-level testing and product refinement.

5. Improve Access to Distribution Channels

Build partnerships with agribusinesses, state governments, NGOs, SHGs, FPOs, and tech operators for last-mile outreach.
Support discovery of logistics and distribution networks to help AgriTechs scale.

6. Develop Agri-Talent Ecosystem

Train farmers, youth, and entrepreneurs in digital tools, AI literacy, and smart farming.

7. Strengthen Institutional Convergence

Set up Centres of Excellence and foresight units to align research, policy, and industry inputs.

8. Expand Inclusive Financing

Use AI-based credit and insurance models to improve risk assessment and financial inclusion.

Conclusion

NITI Aayog’s roadmap marks the beginning of an Intelligent Agricultural Revolution where technology becomes central to farming. With better data, stronger innovation systems, supportive regulation, and inclusive digital access, India can shift from subsistence farming to a resilient and high-income agricultural system by Viksit Bharat 2047.