The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has introduced the Digital Crop Survey (DCS) System, which aims to gather real-time crop-sown details directly from the field through a mobile interface. This innovative system ensures precise, up-to-date information on crop areas for every agricultural plot, which will be crucial for accurate production estimations.
As part of this initiative, the Agri Stack has been developed in line with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and other IT laws of India. Agri Stack is designed to ensure complete privacy and security of farmers’ data, as highlighted by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ramnath Thakur, in an official statement. The system ensures that farmers’ data is collected only with their consent, giving farmers full control over how their data is shared, which is limited to authorized entities for specific purposes.
The data privacy features of Agri Stack are reinforced by its federal structure, allowing states to maintain control over the entire dataset. Additionally, the Government of India ensures robust cybersecurity measures by adhering to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). Farmers’ information is encrypted and shared only with designated systems using secure APIs and token-based authentication. Regular security audits and risk assessments are conducted to ensure data safety.
To ensure digital inclusion, particularly for farmers without access to mobile phones, support is provided through existing frameworks such as Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Krishi Sakhis, and Common Service Centres (CSCs). States are also organizing camps to ensure no farmer is left out of the benefits of Agri Stack. The government is extending administrative and technical support to states for the smooth implementation of this mission.
The State Farmer Registry, under the Digital Agriculture Mission, covers all landholders, including women farmers. It also provides an option for states to on-board tenant and lessee farmers into the Farmers Registry, based on the state’s policy, ensuring inclusivity in the system.
