Centre likely to use digital farmer IDs to rationalise urea sales

Move could be another attempt to rein in burgeoning fertiliser subsidy

With distribution of unique farmer identity documents (IDs) touching a critical mass, the government is working on a plan to integrate the sale of urea through the Agri Stack platform in a phased manner. 

Sources said the move, which is still being contemplated as a pilot, could be another attempt to rationalise the burgeoning fertiliser subsidy that has threatened to cross ₹1.91 trillion in 2025-26 (FY26) as against the Budget Estimate of ₹1.68 trillion. 

The overshooting of Budget Estimates is mainly due to record urea consumption in FY26, which has already touched 31.15 million tonnes (mt) between April and December 2025, almost 4 per cent more than the corresponding period of 2024. 

Officials said the Union agriculture ministry, during a meeting with state government representatives last month, floated the idea of integrating the sale of urea with Agri Stack in a phased manner, beginning with pilot projects in select districts. 

Agri Stack is the digital foundation being set up by the government to make it easier to bring various stakeholders together to improve agriculture in India, and enable better outcomes and results for the farmers by using data and digital services. 

In the first phase, pilots will be conducted in seven districts where a relatively high number of farmer IDs have already been generated. During this phase, the farmer ID will be used to ensure that fertilisers are sold only to the landowner, the cultivator, or a person authorised by them. 

Officials said the first phase of the pilot will also include an advisory mechanism for farmers who purchase fertilisers in quantities higher than the recommended dose, aimed at discouraging excessive use without immediately restricting sales. 

In the second phase, sources said, the ministry plans to expand the integration of urea sales through Agri Stack to other states.

This phase could also introduce a limit on fertiliser sales based on Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-recommended dosages, taking into account factors such as the crops sown, landholding size, and irrigation availability. 

According to official data, till December 4, 2025, around 7.67 crore farmer IDs or digital identity of farmers have been generated in the country. These IDs capture their demographic profile, landholding, and cropping patterns under the Digital Agriculture Mission. 

The Mission envisages the creation of a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Agriculture, such as Agri Stack, Krishi Decision Support System (KDSS), and a comprehensive Soil Fertility and Profile Map to enable a robust digital agriculture ecosystem in the country. 

In total, the target is to cover 11 crore farmers by FY27 while in FY26, around 9 million farmer IDs will be generated. 

In September 2024, the Centre had provided ₹2,817 crore for the Digital Mission. Meanwhile, sources said officials of the agriculture ministry told state governments during the meeting that states should aim to saturate coverage of farmer IDs and complete geo-referencing of agricultural land to strengthen the foundational databases under Agri Stack. 

The ministry said all districts should conduct digital crop surveys by 2026 kharif season, and emphasised the need for dynamic updating of the Farmer Registry whenever there is a change in land ownership or Records of Rights, to ensure data remains current and accurate. 

Officials also asked states to establish a dedicated Agri Stack commissionerate or directorate, supported by a project management unit (PMU), to ensure long-term sustainability and effective implementation of the digital agriculture framework.

The ministry told state government officials that Agri Stack should be integrated across all sectors, schemes and services, including direct benefit transfers (DBTs), agricultural inputs, credit, insurance, storage and procurement, to enable seamless service delivery.

 

Chief secretaries of state governments were urged to take the lead in driving convergence across departments and ensuring full adoption of smart, data-driven agriculture initiatives in their respective states.