‘Agri Stack’ Initiative – A Significant Step for Agricultural Development

The ‘Agri Stack’ initiative aims to accelerate digital services in the agricultural sector, ensuring swift service delivery to farmers using a unique ID system. Farmers who own agricultural land will be assigned a ‘Farmer ID,’ enabling them to access agricultural services, facilities, and government scheme benefits in a transparent manner. To facilitate this, a digital platform called ‘Agri Stack’ has been developed. Registration is available at all Maha E-Seva Kendras, and the initiative is being prioritized by the administration to ensure the creation of Farmer IDs at the village level. Farmers may have several questions about this project, and here we will explore it in detail.

India is an agrarian country where the economy heavily relies on agriculture. The holistic development of the national economy is closely tied to the progress of the agricultural sector. In Maharashtra, about 55% of the population is engaged in agriculture. Both the central and state governments implement numerous important schemes to support agricultural development. The efficient implementation of these schemes, optimal utilization of available resources, and direct benefit transfer to eligible farmers can significantly boost agricultural progress. According to the guidelines issued by the central government for the Agri Stack initiative, this digital foundation is designed to leverage data and digital services to deliver various government scheme benefits swiftly and effectively to eligible farmers. The primary goal of the Agri Stack project is to establish comprehensive digital infrastructure for agriculture, enabling data-driven decision-making, timely service delivery to farmers, and enhanced efficiency of agricultural operations. This initiative will also simplify planning and execution of farmer-centric policies and programs.

To ensure seamless service delivery under various government schemes, farmers’ identities will be verified using the Aadhaar system. Additionally, the Revenue Department has completed the digitization of land records and village maps, ensuring immediate access to updated information. Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre has also georeferenced agricultural lands in the state, making digitized land-related data instantly available.

As a result, Maharashtra now possesses the fundamental data required to compile an Aadhaar-linked farmer registry (Farmer Registry), a seasonal crop information repository (Crop Sown Registry), and a georeferenced land parcel database. The pilot project for the Agri Stack initiative was implemented in Beed district during 2023-24, where farmers’ Aadhaar-linked data repositories were created. Encouraged by the positive and far-reaching outcomes of this pilot, the Maharashtra government has decided to implement the Agri Stack initiative across the state in a phased manner.

Objectives of the Agri Stack Initiative

The primary objective of Agri Stack is to establish and continuously update Aadhaar-linked farmer and land records, seasonal crop data, and georeferenced agricultural land information. Additionally, the initiative aims to:

• Provide farmers with easy, transparent, and timely access to benefits under various central and state government schemes.
• Facilitate access to affordable credit, high-quality agricultural inputs, market linkages, and expert guidance.
• Enhance farmers’ access to markets with better information and ease of trade.
• Develop a transparent and simplified system for farmer identity verification to expedite the delivery of benefits.
• Streamline coordination between agriculture and allied departments for effective implementation of various schemes.
• Promote innovations in agricultural products and services through high-quality data and Agri-Tech solutions.

Benefits of the Agri Stack Initiative

• Easier Access to Government Schemes: Farmers will find it easier to qualify for subsidies under the PM-Kisan scheme and other government initiatives.
• Financial Assistance: The initiative will help farmers secure loans for crops through Kisan Credit Cards, the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund, and other financial programs.
• Crop Insurance and Disaster Relief: The system will simplify the process of assessing damages and compensating farmers under crop insurance and disaster management schemes.
• Streamlined Procurement: Farmers can register online for Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement programs.
• Improved Agricultural Services: The initiative will make it easier for financial institutions, input suppliers, and other service providers to offer agriculture-related assistance.
• Elimination of Repetitive Verification: Since farmers’ details will be digitized, repeated verification for different schemes will no longer be necessary.
• Timely Expert Advice: Farmers will receive agricultural advisories and have better outreach opportunities with various institutions for innovative programs.

To ensure the effective implementation of the Agri Stack initiative in Maharashtra, the state government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of India on July 11, 2023.

— Sachin Adsul, District Information Officer, Kolhapur