NITI Aayog Roadmap for Agriculture Pushes Digital Agriculture 2.0 to Lift Smallholder Incomes and Cut Post-Harvest Losses
SDG 2: Zero Hunger | SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Institutions: NITI Aayog | Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare
The NITI Aayog report, Reimagining Agriculture: A Roadmap for Frontier Technology Led Transformation, presents a strategic blueprint for a Digital Agriculture Mission 2.0 to transform the sector into an engine of prosperity and resilience, vital for the Viksit Bharat vision. The imperative for this systemic shift is highlighted by severe structural challenges: over 86% of Indian farmers are smallholders and the largest group (the ‘Aspiring’ archetype, 70-80%) earns a net agricultural income of only ₹17,000 to ₹60,000 per year.
These vulnerable incomes are further constrained by low productivity and systemic waste. India’s wheat yields stand at 3.52 T/Ha, significantly lagging behind global leaders like China 5.8 T/Ha and Egypt 7 T/Ha. Furthermore, high post-harvest losses, estimated between 15-20% of total produce, translate to an annual loss of approximately ₹1.5 Trillion (or USD 18 billion). The current system also leaves farmers capturing only 30-40% of the final end consumer price.
The roadmap addresses these issues through three core pillars: Enhance, Reimagine, and Converge. These pillars aim to embed technology (AI, Drones, Biotech) across the entire value chain, targeting specific gains by 2047, including reducing post-harvest losses to <5% and boosting farm-level mechanization to >75%. The initial success of AI-enabled advisory pilots, showing a 21% yield increase and 9% reduction in input use, demonstrates the transformative potential of this strategy.
What is Digital Agriculture Mission 2.0 Roadmap?→ The Digital Agriculture Mission 2.0 roadmap is NITI Aayog’s comprehensive strategy to transform India’s farming sector by tackling structural challenges like low income and climate risk. The plan is built on three pillars:
1. Enhance, which means creating a 360-degree data ecosystem and digitally enabling the last mile to bridge the “phygital divide,” ensuring technology reaches even the smallest farmers;
2. Reimagine, which shifts research and talent systems toward mission-oriented, translational R&D and cultivates an industry-aligned talent pipeline to drive innovation; and
3. Converge, which aims to institutionalize public and private collaboration by establishing Frontier Technology Centres of Excellence and regulatory foresight units, ensuring policy keeps pace with innovation and helps achieve critical targets like <5% Post-Harvest Loss and >75% Mechanization by 2047.
Follow the full report here: NITI Aayog Roadmap for Agriculture