Smart technologies allow soil condition to be determined from a small sample of earth

During the 'Bharat Agriculture Conference 2026' organized by India Today Group, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari shared his experience related to agriculture. He emphasized that farming is not just a tradition but an activity closely linked to science and new technologies. Tiwari urged farmers to pay attention not only to good harvests but also to soil health.

He expressed concern over the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and called on farmers to use fewer fertilizers and regularly check the condition of their fields. Manoj Tiwari mentioned that his family has always been involved in agriculture, and he himself is a farmer. He shared that he personally sows seeds, operates tractors, and repairs field boundaries.

Despite living in Delhi, he feels a deep attachment to his village and its soil. He noted that the tradition of farming is still maintained at his home, and his 94-year-old mother continues to manage these affairs. The family also keeps cows and buffaloes.

Manoj Tiwari pointed out that agricultural methods are rapidly transforming, and farmers are increasingly integrating new scientific approaches into traditional farming. Drones are now used for spraying fertilizers and other substances. Furthermore, options such as aquaculture are opening up new income sources for farmers, and agricultural produce from villages is being exported abroad.

He strongly requested farmers to refrain from the excessive application of chemical fertilizers. Tiwari compared this to taking care of one's own health, stressing that monitoring the state of the land is equally important. Farmers must understand exactly which nutrient and in what quantity their soil requires.

Highlighting the importance of organic fertilizers, he stated that animal manure is extremely beneficial for fields. He mentioned that many people pour it down drains, whereas it can be used to improve soil fertility. He added that his mother always advised using manure in the fields.

He also mentioned the initiative to promote cereal grains, or Shrianna. Tiwari noted that people have begun to realize the importance of these grains; products previously considered ordinary food now hold a special place in restaurant menus.

Manoj Tiwari reported that the views of rural youth are changing. Previously, relatives expected them to find jobs, but now his nephews are asking for help in purchasing tractors instead of looking for work to improve farming practices. He cited the cultivation of bamboo as an example, noting that bamboo was previously classified as a tree but is now included in the category of agriculture, creating new opportunities for farmers.

Agriculture in India is moving away from relying solely on plows, tractors, and weather conditions; digital technologies are beginning to fundamentally change the lives of farmers. Information regarding how much land a farmer owns, what crops they are growing, and the damage sustained by a crop on a specific field is now being collected using digital methods. This can facilitate more effective distribution of government programs, prevent errors during crop surveys, and enable timely consultation for farmers.

Experts presented exactly how digital technologies are transforming agricultural practices at the session 'Digital Farming: India Shows the Way,' organized by India Today Group at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. The discussion included Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi, former Central Secretary for Agriculture, Nishant Varwade, Agricultural Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh government, Roli Jindal, co-founder and CEO of RSMI CropLitics, and agrarian influencer Paragat Singh.

Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi noted that the National Mission for Digital Agriculture is a step that will lead to significant changes in the agricultural sector. Under this mission, AgriStack is being developed, which includes three key systems: Farm Registry, Farmer ID, and Digital Crop Survey.

The Farm Registry system assigns a unique identifier to every field in the country, which can be considered a field number based on Aadhaar. Along with this identifier, the geographical location of the field—its latitude and longitude—is registered. This simplifies the determination of the field's location and the calculation of its area.

In the Farmer ID system, each farmer is issued a unique 11-digit identifier. Its database stores information such as the farmer's Aadhaar number, mobile phone number, land records, and the farmer's share in the field. According to Dr. Chaturvedi, since multiple family members often have rights to the same land with different shares, it is difficult to determine how much land actually belongs to each farmer. The digital farmer ID will make this information transparent, allowing farmers to view their own data independently, and relevant departments to use it only with the farmer's consent.

The third component is the Digital Crop Survey. Within this system, crop information is entered via a mobile application after visiting the field. The surveyor photographs the field and indicates which crop is planted there. Furthermore, satellite imagery can be used to identify crops, which reduces the likelihood of false data entry during crop assessment. Dr. Chaturvedi reported that approximately 110 million farmer IDs have been created so far, and the digital crop survey is being conducted for about 300 million parcels. Geo-tagging of about 80 percent of the parcels has also been completed.

Madhya Pradesh Agricultural Secretary Nishant Varwade stated that the digital agriculture mission has been implemented in the state in the form of a campaign. Out of approximately 110 million farmer IDs created across the country, about 11.3 million belong to Madhya Pradesh. He stated that work on farmer IDs and geo-tagging in the state is 100% complete. He clarified that this work was not limited only to the Department of Agriculture but also involved the Revenue Department and other agencies. As part of this campaign, the digitization of land records (Khasra-Khatauni), as well as pending cases related to land re-registration and division, were also included in the process.

According to Varwade, through AgriStack, benefits, including fertilizers and subsidies, are provided in Madhya Pradesh. Work is also underway to integrate data on dams and canals belonging to the irrigation department using digital mapping. This system can help reduce disputes that arise when several brothers or family members farm on the same land, concerning the receipt of fertilizer subsidies, sale of crops at the Minimum Support Price (MSP), or compensation for crop damage.

Roli Jindal, CEO of RSMI CropLitics, emphasized that using digital technologies in agriculture offers three main advantages: speed of information retrieval, the ability to monitor large areas simultaneously, and increased data accuracy. She explained that thanks to satellite data and machine learning, it is now possible not only to determine which crop is planted in a field but also to understand the overall condition of that crop. For example, during wheat cultivation in Uttar Pradesh, the increase in temperature at the end of March and early April affects the grain formation process.

However, this impact is not uniform across all fields. The company has developed models that allow satellite data to determine exactly which fields have been affected by disruptions in the wheat grain formation process. Roli Jindal added that improving these models requires data from different states, districts, and various crops. The more diverse and extensive the data the machine studies, the higher its capacity for recognition and prediction will be.