SYLLABUS

GS-3: e-technology in the aid of farmers.

Context: Recently, NITI Aayog’s Frontier Tech Hub unveiled a major roadmap titled “Reimagining Agriculture: A Roadmap for Frontier Technology Led Transformation”. 

Key Highlights of the Roadmap

• The roadmap, developed in collaboration with partners like BCG, Google, and CII, aims to enhance agricultural resilience, inclusive rural prosperity, and India’s global competitiveness in agri-tech innovation.

• Use of Frontier Technologies: It outlines a strategic vision to harness frontier technologies, including climate-resilient seeds, digital twins, precision agriculture, agentic AI, and advanced mechanisation to enhance productivity, sustainability, and incomes across India’s diverse agricultural landscape. 

• Custom Solutions: It categorizes farmers into three groups – Aspiring, Transitioning, and Advanced, with each group receiving tailored, actionable solutions to address their unique needs.

• Roadblocks: It identifies major systemic roadblocks to scaling frontier tech in agriculture: data fragmentation, phygital (physical + digital) divide, trust deficit, talent gaps, capital and ecosystem fragmentation.  

Challenges in Indian Agriculture

• Fragmented Landholdings: Small and fragmented land parcels, averaging about 1.08 hectares, limit scalability and reduce the feasibility of mechanization.

• Low Digital Literacy: Limited digital skills and socio-economic constraints restrict farmers' ability to access and use advanced technologies.

• Infrastructure Deficiencies: Poor internet connectivity and unreliable rural electricity impede the adoption of digital and precision tools.

• High Financial Barriers: High upfront costs and limited access to affordable credit prevent smallholder farmers from investing in modern technologies.

• Regulatory and Policy Bottlenecks: Complex regulations and slow policy processes delay innovation and hamper effective public–private collaboration.

Key Recommendations 

• Three Pillar Framework: The roadmap recommends an actionable three-pillar framework for a Digital Agriculture Mission 2.0 to address prevailing barriers and advance agricultural transformation. 

• Enhance foundational systems (data, last-mile digital enablement), 
• Reimagine innovation and talent ecosystems, and 
• Converge public-private efforts and policy frameworks. 

• Integrated Technology Platforms: Develop end-to-end farm management systems that integrate AI, IoT, precision tools, and climate-resilient technologies.

• Financial Support for Farmers: Expand subsidized financing, credit access, and low-interest loans to help small farmers adopt new technologies.

• Collaborative Innovation Ecosystem: Promote collaboration among government agencies, agritech startups, academic institutions, and farmer groups for scaling solutions.

• Promote shared-access models (e.g., equipment-on-demand, AgriTech Commons) to overcome small-holder constraints of scale and capital. 

About NITI Frontier Tech Hub

• The NITI Frontier Tech Hub is an action tank for Viksit Bharat. It collaborates with over 100 experts across government, industry, and academia.

• It is developing 10-year thematic roadmaps spanning 20+ sectors to harness frontier technologies for transformative, inclusive growth. 

• The Hub drives coordinated action today to build a prosperous, resilient, and technologically advanced India by 2047.

Sources:
News On Air
PIB