A new chapter in the history of Indian Agriculture unfolded today with the successful launch of India’s first Agricultural Data Exchange (ADeX) in Hyderabad. Developed as a digital public infrastructure (DPI) for the agriculture sector, ADeX is a collaboration between the Government of Telangana, World Economic Forum, and the Indian Institute of Science.

Hon’ble Minister for IT, Industries, and MA&UD, Shri. K. T. Rama Rao said during the occasion “Both ADeX and ADMF provide the right platform to ensure fair and efficient usage of agricultural data by the industry and startups and provide a big boost to the data economy specifically in the argi-sector. These initiatives help Telangana lead the country from the front in using innovation and technology to drive food systems transformation and improve the livelihoods of farmers.”

It is an open source, open standard and interoperable public good, democratizing access to data and enabling public and private sector to build applications and deliver services to benefit society. Purushottam Kaushik, Head, Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution India, World Economic Forum states, “Data and digital ecosystems are critical for responsible innovation in the agriculture sector. The agriculture data exchange and the agriculture data management framework highlight the power of multi-
stakeholder communities and collective action in addressing complex challenges in the agriculture sector.”

The software platform facilitates the secure, standards-based exchange of data between agricultural data users (e.g. agri application developers) and agricultural data providers (e.g. Government Agencies, Private Companies, NGO’s, Universities, etc). Commenting on the launch, Prof G. Rangarajan, Director, IISc, said, “ADeX will prove to be a game changer in the Agriculture ecosystem providing impetus to research and innovation in the sector and creating value by mobilising data for
healthy, sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices.

In Phase-I of the project, the ADeX Platform is currently deployed in the district of Khammam and over a period, will be expanded to the entire State. At the launch, several Agtechs demonstrated their digital solutions using data accessed through ADeX, such as:
– Market Advisory: Utilising daily Telangana agriculture market prices, farmers will have access to market prices of all commodities across different markets in the state daily. With increased transparency, it will enable farmers to take informed decisions regarding crop selection, timing of harvest, and choosing markets that offer better prices, ultimately maximizing their profitability.
– Pest Prediction Advisory: Leverages pest data across 33 districts in Telangana, dynamic weather, and prevailing pest conditions to provide targeted pest alerts to the farmers, allowing them to timely action, reducing crop losses and costs. It also supports sustainable farming by promoting pest management strategies.
– Ease of Access to Credit: Enables faster disbursement of credit or other financial support to farmers by supporting banks and financial institutions to harness data-driven insights to create a farmer credit assessment report, With the growth in ecosystem and education and awareness efforts, more and more agtechs are invited from both public and private sector to utilize the
platform to build, innovate and deploy solutions for betterment of the farmers.

Agriculture Data Management Framework

11 August 2023 also marks the release of the Agriculture Data Management Framework (ADMF) by the Government of Telangana. The framework has been developed after extensive public and industry consultations on the crucial aspects of data protection, management, and innovation. Informed by domestic laws and regulations and converging global best practices, ADMF is an agile, forward-looking framework, with the objective of facilitating consent-based responsible data sharing.

ADMF is applicable to all government departments dealing with agricultural activities as well as all agriculture information users and providers. Guided by best practices and well-established principles of notice, consent-based collection and processing of data and purpose-based limitation in utilizing the data, the framework provides for robust grievance redressal mechanism.

Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture, Shri Singireddy Niranjan Reddy expressed during the event “ADMF and ADeX are set to drive agricultural progress by facilitating the digitization of agriculture-related data while upholding farmers’ data privacy. This will help Government and private sector to provide better solutions to farmers ultimately increasing agricultural productivity in Telangana.”

The framework envisages an Inter Departmental Committee, which will issue standard operating procedures and guidance on key aspects such as access controls, data quality, data service providers etc.

The core principles of ADMF are built into the ADeX platform which ensures safety and protection for personal data collection and use. These twin initiatives will create a comprehensive data economy for the future of agriculture and will enable large scale innovation that will drive impact to the farmer community.