Statistical Insight on DIC IIDS in India from 2018 to 2024

The total number of registered farmers in Digital India Corporation’s (DIC) Interactive Information Dissemination System (IIDS) grew from 77,150 farmers in 2018-19 to 18,132,389 farmers in 2023-24. This represents a staggering growth of over 235 times in just six years. The most significant jump occurred between 2020-21 and 2021-22, where registrations increased by nearly ten-fold from 220,848 to 2,051,420. This rapid adoption suggests a growing awareness and acceptance of digital agricultural services among Indian farmers. The number of text SMS sent via IIDS also reported a dramatic increase, rising from 14,507,440 in 2018-19 to 494,420,691 in 2023-24, a growth of about 34 times. This substantial increase in text messages sent indicates a growing reliance on mobile technology to disseminate crucial agricultural information to farmers. The system appears to be leveraging the widespread availability of mobile phones in rural India to reach farmers effectively.

Voice SMS via IIDS increased at a more moderate pace compared to text SMS. The total number of voice SMS sent by IIDS grew from 3,137,506 in 2018-19 to 9,793,429 in 2023-24, an increase of about 3 times. This slower growth rate might suggest that text-based communication is preferred, possibly due to its lower cost or ease of delivery. However, voice SMS still plays a significant role, potentially catering to farmers who prefer audio information or those with limited literacy. The number of advisories solved by IIDS has also shown steady growth, increasing from 43,600 in 2018-19 to 144,083 in 2023-24, a growth of about 3.3 times. This increase suggests that the system is not only disseminating information but also actively engaging with farmers to address their specific queries and concerns.  Despite significant growth in solved advisories by IIDS, it failed to keep pace with the growth in registrations, which indicate a need for scaling up the advisory services to match the rapid increase in user base.

The exponential growth in farmer registrations indicates a swift adoption of digital services in the agricultural sector. The much higher growth rate of text SMS compared to voice SMS suggests a preference for text-based information delivery. The steady growth in advisories solved shows that farmers are actively using the system to seek specific guidance. Compared to registrations, the lower growth rate of advisories, might indicate challenges in scaling personalized services to match user growth. Given India’s large agricultural population, there may still be significant potential for further expansion of the service. In conclusion, the DIC IIDS appears to be playing an increasingly important role in disseminating agricultural information and providing advisory services to Indian farmers. The rapid growth across all metrics suggests a successful adoption of digital technologies in agriculture. However, the system may need to focus on scaling its personalized advisory services to keep pace with the growing user base. This data underscores the potential of digital platforms in transforming agricultural extension services and supporting farmers with timely, relevant information.