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Social-Ecological Transformation | 

Digital Agriculture and Agrarian Relations in India

Snapshot from the field. Credit: FAS

Foundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS), in collaboration with RLS South Asia, is conducting research on the diffusion of agricultural drone technology in India and its implications for rural livelihoods, alongside a symposium and a workshop for young scholars on the agrarian question in India.

Indian agriculture faces intersecting pressures — stagnant crop yields, declining farm profitability, changing land use and the growing impact of climate change. Digital technologies, and drones in particular, have emerged as a significant area of policy attention and market activity. Building on a 2025 study on digital agriculture in India, which traced the evolution of policy and examined drone adoption in Nalgonda district, Telangana, FAS will in 2026 map the full supply chain of agricultural drones — from importers and manufacturers to district-level sellers, service providers and repair networks.

The research will examine the drivers and constraints of drone adoption and its differentiated economic implications for different segments of the farming population, with particular attention to women and rural youth engaged in this emerging ecosystem as service providers, technicians and sellers. The study will use a mixed-methods approach combining stakeholder mapping, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions across multiple nodes of the supply chain.

Findings will be published as a peer-reviewed research article and a policy brief, and disseminated at academic conferences and policy forums. FAS will also hold a one-day symposium in Bengaluru on the agrarian question in India and a two to three day workshop for young scholars of rural India.

About The Foundation for Agrarian Studies

The Foundation for Agrarian Studies is an independent research organization based in Bangalore committed to facilitating multi-disciplinary theoretical and empirical enquiry in the field of agrarian studies in India and other less-developed countries. Since 2005, a major activity of FAS has been an India-wide programme of village studies, titled the Project on Agrarian Relations in India. The project involves description and analysis, and the creation of a detailed database on village India in diverse agro-ecological and socio-economic regions of the country.

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