India’s digital agriculture network is expanding through Kisan Sarathi, a platform that allows farmers to connect with agricultural experts, receive weather-based advice and access information on markets and government schemes.
As of June 25, 2026, the platform had 2.95 crore registered farmers across 36 States and Union Territories. It was available in 768 districts and 6.63 lakh villages, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Farmers can ask experts about their crops
Kisan Sarathi was launched in 2021 to connect farmers with agricultural scientists and extension experts.
The platform uses a two-way communication system. Farmers can raise questions and receive advice based on their location, crop and farming needs. The system can handle voice calls, video calls, text, images and other forms of communication.
The platform connects farmers with more than 730 Krishi Vigyan Kendras, over 100 ICAR institutes and more than 65 agricultural universities.
This gives farmers access to scientific advice without requiring them to travel to a research institute or agricultural university.
Farm decisions often depend on factors beyond crop cultivation. Farmers need to know when rainfall is expected, whether a disease is spreading and what prices crops are receiving in nearby markets.
Kisan Sarathi provides weather updates, market prices and district-level mandi information. Farmers can also receive location-specific alerts and advisories.
The platform covers cereals, pulses, oilseeds, horticultural crops, plantation crops and fodder. It also provides information for livestock, poultry, fisheries and other allied activities.
This makes the platform broader than a simple crop advisory service.
A vegetable farmer, for example, may use it for weather information and crop advice, while a dairy farmer can seek information related to livestock management.
Farmers can access government schemes
Kisan Sarathi also brings government scheme information onto the same platform.
As of June 25, 2026, the portal listed 610 schemes. These included 102 central government schemes, along with schemes run by states and Union Territories.
This can help farmers who may not know which government programme applies to their farm.
The platform can also provide information about the status of schemes such as PM-KISAN.
For farmers, bringing these services together can reduce the need to search through several websites or visit different offices for basic information.
India’s farmers use many languages, and access to digital services can be difficult when information is available only in English or Hindi.
Kisan Sarathi provides live interaction with experts in 13 regional languages. Farmers can also use call centres, Common Service Centres, the web portal, WhatsApp and the mobile application to access the service.
This multi-channel approach is important because not every farmer has a smartphone, reliable internet connection or the same level of digital literacy.
Farmers can also access the service through Kisan Call Centres and Common Service Centres rather than relying only on the mobile application.
More than 19 lakh farmer queries handled
The platform has already handled 19.21 lakh farmer queries and issued 21,900 advisories, covering 351 commodities across 34 States and Union Territories, according to government data.
The system stores previous interactions so experts can access a farmer’s history when responding to later questions.
This can make advice more specific than a general message sent to every farmer in a district.
The platform follows a “Know Your Farmer” approach, which uses farmer information to tailor advisories to individual needs.
The challenge is reaching farmers who remain offline
The size of the platform does not mean every farmer has equal access to digital agricultural advice.
Farmers in areas with weak connectivity may still depend on physical extension services. Some may also need help using digital platforms for the first time.
ICAR has been conducting Kisan Sarathi 2.0 workshops across different regions to train scientists and extension workers. A February workshop in Jammu, for example, focused on improving the delivery of location-specific digital advisories to farmers.
The platform’s impact will depend on how useful and timely the advice is, not only on the number of registered users.
For farmers, the main benefit is direct access to agricultural experts without having to rely only on local information.
If the system continues to expand while keeping advice local, timely and easy to access, digital extension could become a larger part of how Indian farmers make everyday decisions about crops, livestock, weather and markets.
Also Read: Punarnava Jal – The world’s first organic fertilizer! Know how it is beneficial for farmers?
Contact us – If farmers want to share any valuable information or experiences related to farming, they can connect with us via phone or whatsapp at 9599273766 or you can write to us at “kisanofindia.mail@gmail.com”. Through Kisan of India, we will convey your message to the people, because we believe that if the farmers are advanced then the country is happy.
You can connect with Kisan of India on Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp and Subscribe to our YouTube channel.