With the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government taking charge in West Bengal, the state is expected to shortly join the Centre’s Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM) in a major push towards technology-driven farm reforms, said two government officials close to the development.
"Discussions are underway between the West Bengal government and the Union agriculture ministry to integrate farmers into the AgriStack platform, with an agreement to be inked shortly on the same," said one of the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
DAM aims to create digital identities for farmers, improve crop monitoring, streamline subsidy delivery and enhance access to insurance and credit facilities. West Bengal is the only state yet to join the mission.
The move is expected to benefit millions of farmers in the state through better data-driven policymaking and targeted welfare schemes.
Mint's emailed queries to the Union agriculture ministry and West Bengal’s department of agriculture remained unanswered.
Digital public infrastructure
West Bengal, which produces a surplus of rice, vegetables and potatoes, and also grows pulses, oilseeds, and maize, had around 7.2 million farmers and a net sown area of 5.5 million hectares, according to the 2015-16 agriculture census.
Mint reported on 8 May that the Centre had started a comprehensive review of centrally sponsored and central sector schemes in the state following the BJP’s decisive victory, directing all line ministries to identify schemes that had stalled, were under-implemented, or remained non-operational under the previous regime.
"West Bengal, where small and marginal farmers account for a major share of cultivators, is likely to benefit from targeted delivery of central government schemes through digital platforms. This can improve productivity and reduce input costs,” said Prashant Chauhan, head of the department of social work and development studies at Amity University (Noida).
“Since agriculture is a state subject, signing up for DAM is voluntary. Hopefully, we will sign the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the West Bengal government soon,” said the second of the two persons cited above.
Launched in September 2024 with a budget of ₹2,817 crore, DAM aims to create digital public infrastructure for Indian agriculture, including AgriStack, the Krishi Decision Support System, a comprehensive soil fertility and profile map, and other technological initiatives.
AgriStack comprises three registries—farmer registry, georeferenced village map registry, and crop sown registry—and helps answer three key questions: who the farmer is, where the land is, and what crop is grown on it. Assigning each farmer a unique digital ID can also help accurately track subsidies, credit, insurance and procurement services.
The Krishi Decision Support System integrates remote-sensing data on crops, soil, weather, and water resources into a comprehensive geospatial system. It has 16 modules, and farmers can use it to access detailed soil data, including soil type, pH, and health metrics to help choose the right crops and adopt water-conservation measures.
The goal of the initiative is to help policymakers to easily spot trends in this sensitive sector of the economy, make timely policy interventions, and prevent the misuse of subsidies. It aims to unite India’s diverse agricultural ecosystem by fostering collaboration among states and key stakeholders through a standardized, protocol-driven framework for exchanging data.
As of 4 February 2026, more than 84.8 million farmer IDs had been generated nationwide. The farm sector accounts for 16% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs close to half of the population.