Digital technologies are increasingly being presented as having a transformatory potential for the agricultural sector in India, which can efficiently address complex issues pertaining to agricultural productivity, farm profitability, transparency, and environmental sustainability. The optimism around these technologies is often shared by the Government and various other actors such as multilateral agencies, industry bodies, public research institutions, and private companies. 

In this context, an ongoing project at the Foundation, supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RLS),  explores the evolving ecosystem of digital agriculture in India, focusing on the technologies, stakeholders, and policies shaping its development. The study integrates a review of literature and policies with a fieldwork component.

Currently, the project team is engaged in reviewing literature and mapping the policy landscape related to digital agriculture in India. Based on this review, a State will be selected for conducting fieldwork. The objective is to examine how policies promoting digital technologies are being framed, and how technologies are being developed and deployed by various actors such as government agencies, public research institutions, private companies, and startups. The fieldwork will also include in-depth qualitative interviews to understand how different groups of farmers, extension workers, and local officials engage with these technologies. Based on these analyses, the project team intends to assess how these policies and technologies address the persistent concerns of equity, accessibility, and affordability in Indian agriculture.

As part of the project, the FAS team carried out a field visit to Hyderabad, Telangana, in August 2025, to study the evolving ecosystem of digital technologies in agriculture. The first phase of the visit focused on the supply side of digital agriculture, with the objective of mapping innovations, projects, and the roles of different stakeholders in this ecosystem. Know more about the field visit here.

As part of the project, the FAS team carried out a field visit to Nalgonda district in Telangana in September 2025, to study the application of digital technologies in agriculture. The field work had a specific focus on agricultural drones, digital extension services, and the development of digital public infrastructure. Know more about the field visit here.