AgriStack could transform farming, but execution will decide its fate

AgriStack, pitched as the "next UPI", could transform farm subsidies, tenant inclusion and soil health - but only if farmer, land and crop data are accurate and trusted

Speaking at Business Standard Manthan this week, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman evocatively referred to AgriStack, a digital public-infrastructure network being developed for the farm sector, as the “next UPI”. The reference is to the Unified Payments Interface, which has undoubtedly revolutionised retail payment in India and is gradually expanding overseas. But UPI is relatively simple in concept: It links a user’s bank accounts to a digital payment infrastructure and can be accessed via commercial apps such as GPay or PhonePe. AgriStack, however, is a far more ambitious and complex venture that will test the administrative and information-technology capabilities of the Centre and states. 

The remit is to create digital IDs for 110 million farmers and build comprehensive three foundational databases linking farmer registries, land records, and crop data. The intention is unexceptionable: To enable farmers to access benefits and services with minimum paperwork or physical visits to service providers. The project, which the Centre approved in September 2024, has allocated financial support to states to create their farmer registries. Most states and Union Territories have signed on. So far, 86.2 million farmer IDs have been created. The Centre aims to complete this exercise by March 2027. Making AgriStack effective, therefore, demands granular data collection. Though digital mapping of agricultural land using drone technology has progressed apace in parts of the country, establishing land ownership has been a tougher proposition. 

This is principally because approximately 20 per cent of India’s farm households are tenants, leasing land for cultivation, with owners located in big cities or even overseas. In some states, the proportion of tenant farmers is as high as 36 per cent. Yet if farmer registries and land records are accurately captured, AgriStack could be a game changer, especially for landless tenants, who account for about a third of tenant farmers and tend to be among the most vulnerable with small holdings and limited agency. Most have little access to institutional credit or government-support schemes such as crop insurance or the signature PM KISAN direct-benefit transfer programme, which transfers ₹6,000 per year as minimum income support. The data also shows that 60 per cent of fertiliser usage is by those who do not have land in their own name. 

In fact, it is in fertiliser usage that AgriStack has the potential to deliver major benefits, both in terms of controlling the burgeoning subsidy — which is budgeted at over ₹1.7 trillion in the coming financial year — and restoring soil health. In Haryana, for example, an experiment connecting land, fertiliser usage, and crops grown using AgriStack resulted in major savings. The biggest cutback occurred in urea, which is so heavily subsidised that its chronic overuse has resulted in an imbalance in fertiliser usage. Over the years, this excessive application of urea (N) over phosphatic (P) and potassium (K) fertilisers, typically known as the NPK imbalance, has been a key cause of soil degradation and falling agricultural productivity. AgriStack, therefore, could drive significant policy shifts in the delivery of fertiliser subsidies directly to farmers rather than to manufacturers. Direct transfers could also introduce a degree of transparency in usage, leading to a more accurate recalibration of the subsidy. Experts argue that this could help save about ₹30,000 -40,000 crore. But much will depend on the accuracy and efficiency of the data-collection mechanism.