Digital Agriculture in India Trends and Forecast
The future of the digital agriculture market in India looks promising with opportunities in the advisory service, precision agriculture & farm management, quality management & traceability, digital procurement, agri e-commerce, and financial service markets. The global digital agriculture market is expected to reach an estimated $37.8 billion by 2031 with a CAGR of 10.8% from 2025 to 2031. The digital agriculture market in India is also forecasted to witness strong growth over the forecast period. The major drivers for this market are the increasing awareness of digital agriculture and helping to increase adoption is a strategic government policy, advances in technology, minimising waste and efficient use of resources, and the reducing wastage and efficient use of resources.
• Lucintel forecasts that, within the operation category, monitoring & scouting is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period due to farmers and other stakeholders can remotely record any disruption in farm work through scouting and monitoring.
• Within the service category, advisory services are expected to witness the highest growth due to most tasks are handled by service providers, who also advise farmers on how to increase output.
Emerging Trends in the Digital Agriculture Market in India
India’s digital agriculture market is rapidly evolving as the government and private sector collaborate to modernize the country’s vast and diverse farming landscape. With nearly half the population dependent on agriculture, digital solutions are being developed to improve productivity, reduce risk, and support income stability. Increasing smartphone penetration, rural connectivity, and AI-based platforms are enabling data-driven decisions for smallholder farmers. These advancements are addressing challenges like climate unpredictability, input inefficiencies, and market access, while also opening doors for startups and agritech innovation across states and crop systems.
• AI-Powered Crop Advisory Platforms: India is experiencing a surge in AI-driven advisory services providing farmers with crop-specific guidance based on weather, soil health, and satellite imagery. Platforms like DeHaat and BharatAgri deliver personalized recommendations for fertilizer application, irrigation timing, and pest control. This trend empowers smallholders with actionable insights, minimizing crop losses and improving yield quality. As regional language integration improves usability, these platforms are becoming essential decision-making tools in digitally underserved areas.
• Blockchain for Agri-Supply Chain Transparency: The use of blockchain in Indian agriculture is emerging as a powerful tool to enhance traceability from farm to market. It ensures quality verification, prevents adulteration, and simplifies certification processes. Agritech firms are piloting blockchain for spice, dairy, and horticulture exports. The transparent nature of blockchain increases trust among buyers and opens global markets for farmers. This trend supports premium pricing, reduces post-harvest losses, and improves compliance with export regulations.
• Digital FPO (Farmer Producer Organization) Enablement: India is digitalizing FPOs through mobile platforms and cloud software that support procurement, logistics, and accounting. This trend helps smallholder collectives manage operations efficiently, access bulk inputs, and negotiate better market prices. Government-backed eNAM and private B2B tools are driving this transformation. Digital FPOs are bridging the gap between rural producers and institutional buyers, improving income reliability and promoting inclusive participation in the agricultural economy.
• Agri-Fintech Integration for Credit and Insurance Access: Agri-fintech startups are leveraging AI and mobile tech to offer loans and crop insurance based on real-time farm data. This trend reduces dependence on informal lenders and improves financial inclusion. Platforms assess risk using satellite data, IoT devices, and historical yield records, making underwriting faster and more accurate. With banks partnering with agri-fintech firms, smallholders are gaining access to affordable financial products tailored to seasonal and regional needs.
• Climate-Smart Precision Tools: India’s climate challenges are driving adoption of precision tools like weather-linked irrigation systems, GIS mapping, and remote sensing for risk mitigation. These tools enable farmers to adapt planting schedules, manage inputs efficiently, and protect crops from extreme weather. Regional agri-research centers and startups are developing location-specific precision solutions, especially for drought- and flood-prone areas. This trend helps build climate resilience while optimizing resource use in vulnerable farming zones.
Emerging trends in India’s digital agriculture market are empowering smallholder farmers with tech-driven solutions that improve decision-making, market access, and financial resilience. From AI-based advisories to climate-smart tools and blockchain systems, these innovations are transforming agriculture into a more connected, inclusive, and sustainable sector. As infrastructure and literacy gaps continue to close, India is set to lead in scalable digital agriculture models.
Recent Developments in the Digital Agriculture Market in India
India’s digital agriculture landscape is gaining momentum through policy innovation, public-private partnerships, and targeted startup investments. Recent developments emphasize real-time data usage, inclusive farmer engagement, and platform convergence. The government’s push toward doubling farmers’ income and digital inclusion is driving adoption across key regions. New initiatives are expanding access to agri-advisory, e-commerce, and automation tools, enhancing productivity, reducing inefficiencies, and supporting a resilient farming ecosystem.
• Launch of the Unified AgriStack Platform: The Indian government has initiated the AgriStack project to digitally integrate land records, weather data, and farmer profiles. This centralized system supports customized services such as credit scoring, crop insurance, and subsidies. The project’s rollout improves access to government schemes and personalized recommendations, reducing bureaucratic delays and enhancing service delivery for millions of farmers across India’s states.
• Krishi Mangal Accelerator Program: A recent collaboration between Cisco and the Nasscom Foundation, Krishi Mangal supports agri-tech startups with funding, mentorship, and digital infrastructure. The program focuses on scaling innovations in irrigation, market linkages, and soil diagnostics. By accelerating impactful solutions, it bridges the gap between rural needs and urban tech capabilities, fostering sustainable and scalable agribusiness models.
• eNAM Integration with Mobile-Based Trading Tools: India’s national agricultural market (eNAM) has expanded with mobile apps that enable real-time trading, price discovery, and payment processing. Farmers now participate in digital auctions and access distant markets from their phones. This development improves price transparency, shortens supply chains, and reduces the role of intermediaries, boosting farmer earnings and product traceability.
• Drone Certification for Crop Monitoring: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently approved guidelines for agri-drone usage, enabling large-scale spraying, crop mapping, and monitoring. Startups and FPOs are now integrating drone services into precision farming. The development enhances yield predictability and input efficiency while generating employment for drone operators and agri-tech service providers across rural regions.
• Digital Literacy Campaigns through Krishi Vigyan Kendras: ICAR’s Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) have launched digital literacy initiatives to train farmers in using agri-apps, soil testing tools, and online marketplaces. These programs increase farmer engagement with modern technologies and support faster adoption of digital practices. Targeting remote and tribal districts, this development ensures inclusive digital penetration across India‘s varied agricultural zones.
Recent developments in India’s digital agriculture market highlight the country’s strong institutional push toward data-driven, inclusive farming practices. Government platforms, startup accelerators, and training programs are converging to empower farmers with digital tools and real-time insights. These actions are paving the way for a scalable, sustainable agricultural transformation rooted in innovation and rural empowerment.
Strategic Growth Opportunities for Digital Agriculture Market in India
India is embracing digital agriculture to address productivity constraints, water scarcity, and supply chain inefficiencies. Through mobile platforms, sensors, and analytics, Indian farmers are transforming traditional methods across diverse crop zones. Government schemes and rising smartphone penetration support the rapid adoption of solutions for input guidance, crop monitoring, and market access. As pressure mounts to increase yields and sustainability, the digital agriculture sector offers high-impact applications. These innovations are unlocking opportunities that cater to India’s vast smallholder base and diverse agroecological needs.
• Mobile-Based Advisory and Crop Management Platforms: Mobile advisory services deliver real-time guidance on crop health, pest control, and weather, accessible even in remote villages. They use SMS and voice alerts in regional languages to address low literacy. With 5G and smartphone adoption, these platforms can support micro-level recommendations, reduce input costs, and improve yield quality. Their data-driven nature allows predictive alerts for disease or nutrient deficiencies. Partnerships with local agri-extension services and NGOs are increasing their reach across smallholder communities, making them foundational in India’s digital farming ecosystem.
• Smart Irrigation and Water Management Systems: Smart irrigation solutions combine soil moisture sensors, weather APIs, and automated valves to optimize water use in water-stressed regions. For smallholder farmers, low-cost, solar-powered kits help reduce water, energy, and labor costs. By delivering real-time guidance and automated control, these systems improve yield and resilience. Initiatives under PM-KUSUM and state subsidies further support adoption. Vendors offering pay-per-use models and offline data capabilities achieve better penetration. This segment addresses India’s urgent need for sustainable water use in agriculture.
• Digital Marketplaces and E-NAM Integration: Online platforms linking farmers to buyers, agri-inputs, and advisory services reduce intermediaries and increase transparency. Integration with the national e-marketplace (e-NAM) increases price discovery and access. Farmers can sell produce directly to mandis, aggregators, or processors, improving revenue and reducing wastage. These platforms also offer logistics coordination, quality grading, and financial services. Collaboration with farmer-producer organizations and supply chains is scaling adoption, creating transparent and farmer-centric value chains that support rural livelihoods.
• Livestock and Poultry Health Monitoring Tools: Wearable sensor tags and mobile diagnostic tools help monitor health, feed intake, and growth in livestock and poultry operations. These solutions reduce disease risk, optimize nutrition, and improve breeding outcomes. In India’s vast dairy sector—characterized largely by small farms—the reduction in mortality and improved productivity directly boosts incomes. Integration with veterinary networks and microfinance schemes accelerates adoption. These tools support the modernization of rural livestock keeping and strengthen rural resilience and food security.
• Precision Agronomy with Drone Imagery and IoT: Drones and field sensors enable mapping pest or nutrient stress on field plots for large and small farms. Affordable drone services and IoT nodes connected via LoRaWAN provide canopy and soil data, enabling targeted spray, fertilization, and crop scouting. These methods balance input use and environmental impact. Drone-as-a-service models address cost barriers. Vendors offering bundled packages including drone flights, analysis, and prescription delivery are gaining traction among progressive farmers, especially in horticulture clusters.
India’s digital agriculture market is advancing through mobile advisory, smart irrigation, marketplace linkage, livestock monitoring, and precision agronomy. These solutions are enhancing income, sustainability, and farm resilience while reducing costs and waste. As platforms scale among smallholders and integration grows with government programs, they are transforming Indian agriculture toward modern, efficient, and data-driven systems.
Digital Agriculture Market in India Driver and Challenges
India’s digital agriculture sector is propelled by the need for sustainable productivity, economic inclusion, and climate adaptation. Technological advances in mobile connectivity, satellite systems, and cloud computing support relevant solutions for farmers. However, infrastructure limitations, fragmented landholdings, and varying digital literacy create implementation barriers. Government schemes, startup growth, and private–public partnerships help bridge gaps. Grasping the interplay between drivers and constraints is vital to scaling impact across India’s diverse agricultural landscapes and ensuring equitable adoption.
The factors responsible for driving the digital agriculture market in India include:
• Government Schemes and Agri-Tech Initiatives: Programs like Digital Agriculture Mission and e-NAM encourage the adoption of digital tools across farming communities. Subsidies for sensors, data services, and certified platforms reduce cost barriers. Extension services are being reshaped with digital overlays, improving scalability. Collaborations with tech startups enhance relevance and user uptake. This policy environment signals official endorsement and drives embedded digitization in agri-sector reforms.
• Rapid Mobile and Internet Penetration: Smartphone outreach in rural India is expanding rapidly, aided by affordable data plans. Farmers can now access advisory, markets, and weather data on handheld devices. This connectivity empowers remote extension, peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, and easier platform adoption. It lowers delivery costs for providers and enhances uptake in underserved regions.
• Need for Increased Productivity and Climate Resilience: Yield stagnation, water stress, and extreme weather events are driving farmers to adopt precision farming and resource-efficient tools. Digital platforms help in soil health management, pest control, and weather risk mitigation. Technologies enabling adaptive irrigation and forecasting directly support crop and livelihood resilience in climate-exposed regions.
• Expanding Agri-Tech Startup Ecosystem: Growing startup hubs in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune are producing tools for farm-level problem-solving. Investors and accelerators fuel innovation in IoT, drones, and blockchain for agri-use cases. Providers are localizing solutions for regional crops and cooperatives. This ecosystem supports fast experimentation and deployment across Indian agri-domains.
• Demand for Traceability and Export Compliance: Global buyers require assurance of food safety, origin, and pesticide usage. Digital traceability platforms and certification tools offer compliance support. This enhances export revenue potential and farm-level brand linkage. Farmers and aggregators are adopting trace systems to gain premium access in international markets.
Challenges in the digital agriculture market in India are:
• Low Digital Literacy Among Farmers: Many smallholders lack familiarity with apps, data interpretation, or digital workflows. This hampers sustained use and trust in technology. Vendors must build training modules, user-friendly UI, and local language support. Field-level facilitators and demonstration projects are key to inclusion and credibility.
• Fragmented Landholding and Farm Sizes: Small and marginal holdings below two hectares are common, making standardized solutions inefficient. Providers need to customize offerings in scale and affordability. Aggregation via cooperatives or franchise models can support service penetration. Flexibility is critical for reaching diverse adoption segments.
• Infrastructure Gaps in Rural Areas: Unreliable electricity, limited network coverage, and sparse repair hubs hinder deployment of IoT tools and drones. Solar-backed solutions, offline capabilities, and local repair networks are essential. Strategic partnerships can help build rural service ecosystems and support continuity.
India’s digital agriculture market benefits from supportive policy, connectivity, startup vigor, and export demand. However, success depends on overcoming literacy, fragmentation, and infrastructure hurdles. Inclusive technology design, field support, and affordability are key to unlocking scale. With strategic action, digital tools can drive sustainable productivity and inclusive growth across India’s agricultural landscape.
List of Digital Agriculture Market in India Companies
Companies in the market compete on the basis of product quality offered. Major players in this market focus on expanding their manufacturing facilities, R&D investments, infrastructural development, and leverage integration opportunities across the value chain. Through these strategies, digital agriculture companies cater to increasing demand, ensure competitive effectiveness, develop innovative products & technologies, reduce production costs, and expand their customer base. Some of the digital agriculture companies profiled in this report include:
• Company 1
• Company 2
• Company 3
• Company 4
• Company 5
• Company 6
• Company 7
• Company 8
• Company 9
• Company 10
Digital Agriculture Market in India by Segment
The study includes a forecast for the digital agriculture market in India by type, operation, offering, and technology.
Digital Agriculture Market in India by Type [Analysis by Value from 2019 to 2031]:
• Hardware
• Software
• Service
Digital Agriculture Market in India by Operation [Analysis by Value from 2019 to 2031]:
• Farming & Feeding
• Monitoring & Scouting
• Marketing & Demand Generation
Digital Agriculture Market in India by Offering [Analysis by Value from 2019 to 2031]:
• Advisory Services
• Precision Agriculture & Farm Management
• Quality Management & Traceability
• Digital Procurement
• Agri E-commerce
• Financial Services
Digital Agriculture Market in India by Technology [Analysis by Value from 2019 to 2031]:
• Peripheral Technologies
• Core Technologies
Features of the Digital Agriculture Market in India
Market Size Estimates: Digital agriculture in India market size estimation in terms of value ($B).
Trend and Forecast Analysis: Market trends and forecasts by various segments.
Segmentation Analysis: Digital agriculture in India market size by type, operation, offering, and technology in terms of value ($B).
Growth Opportunities: Analysis of growth opportunities in different type, operation, offering, and technology for the digital agriculture in India.
Strategic Analysis: This includes M&A, new product development, and competitive landscape of the digital agriculture in India.
Analysis of competitive intensity of the industry based on Porter’s Five Forces model.
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FAQ
Q1. What are the major drivers influencing the growth of the digital agriculture market in India?
Answer: The major drivers for this market are the increasing awareness of digital agriculture and helping to increase adoption is a strategic government policy, advances in technology, minimising waste and efficient use of resources, and the reducing wastage and efficient use of resources.
Q2. What are the major segments for digital agriculture market in India?
Answer: The future of the digital agriculture market in India looks promising with opportunities in the advisory service, precision agriculture & farm management, quality management & traceability, digital procurement, agri e-commerce, and financial service markets.
Q3. Which digital agriculture market segment in India will be the largest in future?
Answer: Lucintel forecasts that, with in the operation category, monitoring & scouting is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period due to farmers and other stakeholders can remotely record any disruption in farm work through scouting and monitoring.
Q4. Do we receive customization in this report?
Answer: Yes, Lucintel provides 10% customization without any additional cost.
This report answers following 10 key questions:
Q.1. What are some of the most promising, high-growth opportunities for the digital agriculture market in India by type (hardware, software, and service), operation (farming & feeding, monitoring & scouting, and marketing & demand generation), offering (advisory services, precision agriculture & farm management, quality management & traceability, digital procurement, agri e-commerce, and financial services), and technology (peripheral technologies and core technologies)?
Q.2. Which segments will grow at a faster pace and why?
Q.3. What are the key factors affecting market dynamics? What are the key challenges and business risks in this market?
Q.4. What are the business risks and competitive threats in this market?
Q.5. What are the emerging trends in this market and the reasons behind them?
Q.6. What are some of the changing demands of customers in the market?
Q.7. What are the new developments in the market? Which companies are leading these developments?
Q.8. Who are the major players in this market? What strategic initiatives are key players pursuing for business growth?
Q.9. What are some of the competing products in this market and how big of a threat do they pose for loss of market share by material or product substitution?
Q.10. What M&A activity has occurred in the last 5 years and what has its impact been on the industry?
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