India’s agriculture sector is at a turning point. Nationwide implementation of the Digital Agriculture Mission remains a priority as data, digital public infrastructure and institutional capacity come together to transform the way countries support their farmers. At the center of this transformation is AgriStack, a national digital public infrastructure built to deliver accuracy, scale and inclusivity across the agricultural value chain.
What is Agristack and why does it matter
AgriStack answers a simple but profound question: How can every farmer – regardless of land size, location or documentation – access rights and services without barriers? The platform does this by creating three standardized, state-specific federal registries that together create a verifiable view of the farmer, land, and crop.
· Farmer Registry – A single authenticated identity for each farmer.
· Geo-referenced Village Map Registry – Digitized, verified maps of each agricultural parcel, geo-referenced to historical revenue maps.
· Registry of crops sown – seasonal, field-level records of what has been sown and where.
It is much more than administrative digitization. By replacing fragmented manual processes with real-time, rules-based validation, AgriStack makes governance transparent, efficient, and auditable.
How AgriStack is enabling high-impact change
AgriStack is already powering some of India’s highest volume schemes and delivering measurable results. It is enabling real-time verification of farmers, land and crops and ensuring that direct benefit transfers reach the right recipients. It has also ensured that insurance claims are more accurate, MSP procurement is limited only to genuine farmers on their land, fertilizer subsidies reach only eligible farmers, and disaster relief is extended proactively and promptly to affected farmers.
Maharashtra Flood Relief, 2025
During the 2025 Maharashtra floods, Agristack enabled the state to verify claims and distribute relief at unprecedented speed. Within 48 hours of receiving farmers’ claims, the state transferred relief to 61.58 lakh farmers and distributed ₹5,946 crore – a process that previously took months and reached very few beneficiaries. It demonstrates how DPI-led governance can deliver speed, scale and accuracy when it matters most.
MSP purchase-Chhattisgarh
In Chhattisgarh, integrating farmer identification and land verification into the procurement workflow has marked attempts by non-resident farmers to exploit price differentials. This intelligence safeguards state resources, ensures that MSP benefits reach genuine farmers and minimizes distortions in regional markets.
fertilizer subsidy reforms
Fertilizer distribution has long been leakage-prone. Pilots in Madhya Pradesh used identification, land ownership and crop verification to create an accountable pipeline from manufacturer to farmer, covering 1.17 lakh farmers, 490 retailers and more than 38,000 tonnes of fertilizer. Aadhaar-based traceability and eligibility calculations reduced deviations and improved transparency.
PM-Kisan integration
PM-KISAN, one of the world’s largest farmer benefit programs, is now closely integrated with Agristack. Almost half of the beneficiaries have been verified and many states now require Farmer ID for new registrations. It solves long-standing problems for farmers without mutation or inheritance records and enables active enrollment of eligible farmers.
way forward
AgriStack’s ambition extends to improving individual plans. The goal is a cohesive, federated and intelligence-enabled agriculture ecosystem that supports every farmer at every stage of their journey.
Major changes underway include:
1. Inclusion of non-land owner farmers – Integrating tenants, sharecroppers, joint holders and FRA lease holders to ensure that no farmer is left out.
2. Federated farmer-centric data exchange – A secure, consensus-based layer for authenticated data sharing that eliminates duplication and reduces friction.
3. Predictive and climate-responsive intelligence – integrated datasets that power yield forecasts, climate-adaptive advisories, and early-warning systems for pests, drought, and floods.
4. Personalized plot-specific advisory services – Hyperlocal, data-driven agronomy that helps farmers optimize inputs and reduce risks.
5. Seamless digital experience – A single, consistent digital identity that enables access to subsidies, advice, insurance and purchasing.
Structural reforms to agricultural administration
AgriStack is not just a technology stack; It is a structural reform to agricultural administration. By incorporating identity, land and crop data into verified, auditable registries, India is building an ecosystem that moves from reactive support to proactive, personalized service. The result is a system that can deliver benefits faster, reduce leakages, protect state resources and most importantly, include everyone who depends on agriculture for their livelihood.
The author is a Government and Public Sector Partner at EY India
Published on January 25, 2026
