India to Link Fertilizer Sales to AgriStack Database to Curb Misuse

The government is set to link fertiliser sales with the national AgriStack database. This digital initiative aims to prevent the misuse of subsidised nutrients and monitor farm-level usage. Authorities will match fertiliser purchases with farmer IDs and land details. This will help identify excessive buying and estimate nutrient needs.

New Delhi: The Centre is planning to integrate fertiliser sales with the national AgriStack database in a digital push to curb diversion of subsidised nutrients, track farm-wise consumption and tighten subsidy targeting, said officials.

As per the proposed plan, fertiliser purchases will be matched with a farmer's ID and landholding, crop sown and acreage, enabling authorities to flag excess buying and estimate nutrient requirement at the farm level. Digital crop surveys, artificial intelligence (AI)-based analytics and satellite imagery will be used to create farm-level fertiliser consumption profiles.

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"The idea is to create an authenticated digital trail from land parcel to fertiliser purchase," said a senior government official, who did not wish to be identified.

The move comes amid persistent concerns over diversion of subsidised fertilisers, black marketing and excessive urea usage. A pilot is currently running in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, and the government is looking to roll it out across India from the next financial year, according to officials.

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"If fertiliser offtake is disproportionate to acreage or crop requirement, the system will throw up alerts," the official said.

Purchases to be matched with farmers’ ID and landholding, crop sown and acreage

The government is positioning AgriStack as the backbone for future delivery of farm subsidies, crop insurance, agricultural credit and advisory services through authenticated farmer IDs, which could eventually help forecast fertiliser demand, curb diversion and reduce panic buying, said a second official.

Digitisation of land records

The government has earmarked ₹13,000 crore in this fiscal year for states to create digital agriculture architecture under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment scheme.

The scheme incentivises states to digitise land records, build verified farmer registries and integrate agricultural databases with AgriStack.

The government has a database of farmers under the PM Kisan scheme, but it is not linked with land records. It is now planning to link farmers' databases with agricultural land records by the end of this year. A mechanism is being worked out to include tenant farmers and sharecroppers within the framework, the second official said.