Transforming Agriculture through Digital Technologies

Abstract

India is a place of paradoxes when it comes to agriculture. The nation is home to the most malnourished people in the world while yet producing 11% of the world’s agricultural output. The majority of smallholder farmers in India, who make up nearly half of the population, rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, although medium and large-scale farmers consume the majority of the government’s agricultural subsidies. In contrast to India’s outstanding achievements in modernising its agricultural sector, smallholder farmers have been sidelined. Over 300,000 Indian farmers have committed suicide since 1995, and the average debt of a farming household has increased fivefold in ten years while agricultural revenue growth has lagged.