Lok Sabha Question No. 5102 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-24
Subject: Promotion of Future-ready Farming Technologies
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Vijayakumar Alias Vijay Vasanth

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5102

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 24 TH  MARCH, 2026

## PROMOTION OF FUTURE-READY FARMING TECHNOLOGIES

5102. SHRI VIJAYKUMAR ALIAS VIJAY VASANTH:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has prepared a comprehensive roadmap to promote futureready farming technologies in view of climate change and rising food grain demand, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether district-level crop planning is being aligned with projected population growth and  food  security  requirements,  if  so,  the  details  of  the  framework  and  implementation mechanism thereof;
- (c) whether  any  training  programmes  are  being  conducted  to  educate  farmers  on climate-resilient agriculture, precision farming and water-efficient cultivation practices, if so, the details of the coverage and beneficiaries thereof;
- (d) whether  digital  advisory  platforms  and  artificial  intelligence-based  tools  are  being deployed to assist farmers in crop selection, pest management and yield optimization, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether  promotion  of  drought-resistant  and  high-yield  seed  varieties  has  been intensified to address environmental variability and if so, region-wise adoption data thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण राÏय मंğी (SHRI  RAMNATH THAKUR)

- ( a) to (e): The Government, through Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), is implementing a project-National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA), which studies  the  impact  of  climate  change  on  agriculture  to  promote  future-ready  farming technologies  and  rising  food  grain  demand.  Under  the  project,  risk  and  vulnerability assessment of agriculture to climate change has been carried out at district-level for 651 predominantly  agricultural  districts  as  per  Intergovernmental  Panel  on  Climate  Change (IPCC) protocols. 310 districts were identified as vulnerable out of which 109 districts have been categorized as 'very high' and 201 districts as 'highly' vulnerable. District Agriculture Contingency  Plans  (DACPs) for  these  651  districts  have  also  been  prepared  to  address

weather  aberrations  and  recommending  location  specific  climate  resilient  crops  and varieties and management practices for use by the State Departments of Agriculture. Under NICRA, for enhancing the resilience and adaptive capacity of farmers to climate variability, location-specific  climate  resilient  technologies  have  been  demonstrated  through  Krishi Vigyan  Kendras  (KVKs)  in  448  model  Climate  Resilient  Villages.  These  are  spread  over 151  climatically  vulnerable  districts.  Capacity  building  for  establishing  village  level  seed banks  and  community  nurseries  is  undertaken  under  NICRA.  Drought  and  flood  tolerant climate-resilient  varieties  of  rice,  wheat,  soybean,  mustard  etc,  were  demonstrated  in several  NICRA  villages.    Besides,  training  programmes  are  conducted  under  Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) on various issues of agricultural practices. ICAR has released 2900 varieties during last 10 years (2014-2024) of which 2661 varieties are tolerant to one or more biotic and/or abiotic stresses. Under NICRA, technical  assistance for  small  and  marginal  farmers  is  extended  to additional vulnerable districts beyond the 151 currently covered districts for climate-resilient practices. Village level institutions through farmers' participatory approach, such as Village Climate  Risk  Management  Committees,  seed  and  fodder  banks  have  been  established Further, Indian Council of Agricultural Research has established 731 KVKs to promote new technologies in agriculture and  allied sectors,  including  climate-resilient  agriculture. KVKs organize  training  programmes  for  farmers,  under  which  18.56  lakh  farmers  have  been trained. Government has been leveraging Artificial Intelligence (Al) and lot-enabled systems to  enhance  crop  productivity,  sustainability,  and  farmer  livelihoods.  The  'Kisan  e-Mitra' Voice-based Al chatbot, supporting 11 regional languages, assists farmers with queries on PM-KISAN  and  other  programmes,  handling  over  20,000  queries  daily  and  having responded to more than 95 lakh queries to date. Further, the Ministry  of Agriculture  and Farmers Welfare has launched Bharat VISTAAR, an AI-powered multilingual digital platform that  provides  farmers  with  real-time  advisory,  access  to  government  schemes,  market rates,  and  weather  updates  through  a  single  interface.  It  currently  supports  Hindi  and English, with plans to expand to 11 languages, and features a 24×7 AI assistant, 'Bharati,' offering immediate support via phone. The National Pest Surveillance System uses Al and Machine Learning to detect pest infestations early, helping farmers reduce climate-induced crop losses; the system is currently used by over 10,000 extension workers and supports 61 crops and more than 400 pests. Al-based analytics using field photographs and satellite imagery  are  also  being  deployed  for  crop-weather  matching  and  monitoring  of  sowing patterns. Further, ICAR has launched an ICT-based platform, 'KISAN SARATHI', to provide digital  advisories  to  farmers  on  crop  selection,  pest  management,  and  yield  optimization, with more than 2.75 crore farmers from over 3.43 lakh villages registered on the platform. Promotion of drought-resistant and high-yield seed varieties has been intensified to address environmental variability.

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