The Centre’s renewed push for digital agriculture is expected to accelerate farmer registration, crop data capture and technology‑based delivery of farm services, even as Telangana leads in the digital farm space. The Union department of agriculture’s annual report for 2025‑26 states that the Digital Agriculture Mission has generated over eight crore farmer IDs, expanded digital crop surveys and enabled online claim settlement under crop insurance.

In Telangana, the digital shift is visible through the Digital Crop Survey, Agri Data Exchange and earlier AI‑based agriculture initiatives. Officials have been speeding up crop surveys across villages to build a reliable database of cultivated land, aimed at improving subsidy targeting, insurance settlement and scheme delivery. 

The Centre’s digital framework complements Telangana’s agri‑tech direction, where the state has experimented with AI, IoT, blockchain and smart irrigation tools. Telangana has been described as a prototype state for agri‑digital innovation, with projects covering crop monitoring, irrigation management, nutrient management and produce grading.

Agriculture scientist and policy expert Dr A. Suresh Reddy said the Centre’s initiative could help states like Telangana bridge the gap between farm data and farm support. “If farmer IDs, crop surveys and insurance systems are fully integrated, duplication can be reduced, transparency improved and benefits delivered faster to small and marginal farmers,” he said. 

Dr Reddy added that Telangana’s challenge lies in ensuring last‑mile accuracy, particularly in land records, tenant farming and season‑wise crop verification. “The real test is not just collecting digital data but keeping it updated, interoperable and trusted by farmers,” he said. 

The report also noted that digital systems such as DigiClaim and YES‑Tech have enabled large‑scale online settlement of crop insurance claims nationwide. For Telangana, where farming is increasingly linked to digital monitoring and automated advisories, the new Central push is expected to further strengthen governance, planning and compensation delivery.

 

Source - https://www.deccanchronicle.com