India’s agricultural economy is often described as data-rich and reform-heavy.
While India has invested in agricultural support systems over several decades through expanded irrigation networks, price support mechanisms and periodic risk-mitigation measures, the impact was often uneven and episodic. However, over the past decade or so, the policy approach has shifted decisively towards building system-wide resilience. An emphasis on digital advisory platforms has improved the accessibility and timeliness of farm-level information, while continued investment in irrigation and broader crop insurance coverage has strengthened farmers’ ability to manage climate and market shocks.
Access to finance has also deepened. Institutional agricultural credit has almost tripled to ₹25.48 lakh crore, with 70 per cent of farming households now dependent on formal sources such as banks and cooperative societies. Crop insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has reached 56.8 crore farmer applications in eight years, with enrollment growing by 27 per cent in FY24 and coverage expanding to more than 50 crops.
Yet the success of agriculture in India cannot be measured by programs alone. It ultimately depends on how effectively quality information reaches farmers at the right time, in the right language and in a form capable of taking immediate decisions.
Despite continued investment, agricultural productivity and income remain unstable, especially for smallholder farmers and women farmers. About 86 percent of Indian farmers operate small and marginal landholdings of less than 2 hectares, a structure that limits economies of scale and reduces the ability to absorb weather, pests, and price shocks. Evidence from other contexts shows that well-designed digital advisory services can reduce the likelihood of severe crop losses by 24-26 percent by providing local, timely and action-oriented guidance during periods of stress.
However, reach alone does not guarantee impact. Barriers such as low literacy, unequal smartphone ownership, poor connectivity and limited digital confidence continue to hinder many farmers’ ability to convert information into action. These barriers are particularly visible among women farmers, who have a greater stake in everyday farming decisions but are left out of traditional advisory systems.
From information to decision
Indian agriculture now needs decision-ready advice. Farmers often need guidance when making choices – whether it is sowing, irrigation, pest control or harvesting and the formats they rely on. Evidence supports this change. A study by iSAT (ICT-linked advisory platform) in Karnataka found that farmers valued timeliness and relevance of messages most, with adoption rates increasing rapidly when advice was delivered in local languages and tailored to real-time farming conditions rather than general recommendations. This change will define the next phase of agricultural transformation.
Technology alone rarely changes agricultural practice. For smallholders facing climate and market uncertainty, decisions depend on trust, local relevance and trusted intermediaries. Recognizing this, many states are reorganizing agricultural extension systems to blend digital advisory tools with physical outreach. In one such case, an extensive network of local extension centers is being integrated with e-governance and AI-enabled platforms. Its objective is to deliver timely advice on crops, irrigation, pest management and markets directly to farmers’ mobile phones. This hybrid model reflects a broader policy shift towards strengthening last mile delivery by combining technology with institutional trust.
Such digital-plus-human systems mark a decisive shift in scale. Trained frontline workers translate satellite, soil and weather data into localized actions that farmers are willing to trust and adopt.
AI-enabled tools are powering this change. AI-powered applications, platforms like FarmerChat act as virtual agronomists by providing crop and context-specific guidance directly to farmers. The platform enables hyperlocal, timely and actionable advice, tailored to individual situations and delivered in multiple local languages and formats, including voice and text – making it accessible even to users with low literacy.
As a digitally delivered, AI-powered system, it is highly cost-effective, significantly reducing the per farmer cost of extension compared to the traditional model. This makes the approach more responsive and inclusive, as well as easier and quicker to scale across geographies.
putting women at the center
Women farmers must be placed at the center of any discussion on advisory reform. According to the Periodic Labor Force Survey 2024, [2] 76.9 percent rural women are engaged in agriculture. When rural and urban participation are combined, the share of women in India’s agricultural workforce is about 64.4 percent. Yet gaps in access remain. Women are 14 percent less likely than men to own a mobile phone and are significantly less likely to use mobile internet in rural areas, limiting their exposure to digital advice. Evidence from gender-responsive ICT programs in eastern India shows that when women farmers are directly engaged with digital extension, adoption of improved practices increases three to four times compared to reliance on traditional extension alone. These benefits are linked to reduced post-harvest losses and more frequent use of sustainable practices.
Women further strengthen the facilitator effect. As community agents, they build trust quickly. Digital adoption drives improvement. The benefits extend beyond individual farms to household nutrition, income and broader rural resilience.
Advice as economic infrastructure
Overall, the hybrid (human+digital) advisory system closely aligns with India’s Digital Agriculture Mission. An integrated national framework linking interoperable advisory platforms, open datasets and results-linked incentives can ensure that insights flow seamlessly from research and policy to farmers’ fields.
The prospects for agriculture in the country will be shaped by how effectively knowledge reaches the people who grow their food. Timely, accurate and context-specific advice has moved from being a support service to becoming a core economic infrastructure. When information flows reliably from research to the field, it strengthens productivity, builds resilience against risk and lays the foundation for a more competitive, sustainable and prosperous agricultural economy in the decades to come.
(The author is CEO of Digital Green India)
Published on January 24, 2026
