Kisan Sarathi: 7 Essential Facts Before You Trust the Advice

Kisan Sarathi is the government’s agro-advisory platform that connects farmers with scientists at Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) for crop, livestock, weather, mandi price and scheme information, by call, app, web, WhatsApp or Common Service Centre. As of 25 June 2026 it had 2.95 crore registered farmers, according to the Press Information Bureau (PIB) factsheet.

If your KVK has asked you to register, you may wonder what you get in return. This guide covers who runs the platform, how to register, what the official numbers show and where it falls short.

What Is Kisan Sarathi?

The platform launched in July 2021. The PIB calls it India’s largest integrated digital agro-advisory platform. Krishi Jagran reported the launch on 16 July 2021, ICAR’s 93rd foundation day.

It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI) and the Digital India Corporation implement it.

Underneath sits the Interactive Information Dissemination System (IIDS), a two-way channel for voice calls, video calls, text, images and video. Your query reaches a central server, gets routed to the relevant expert, and is stored. The next expert can see what you asked before. The PIB calls this the Know Your Farmer approach.

In plain words, think of it as your local KVK’s help desk, with a notebook that remembers your earlier questions.

Why This Platform Matters for Small Farmers

Extension officers are thin on the ground. A study in the Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences cites an extension provider-to-farm holding ratio of 1:1162 against a recommended 1:750. It also cites a 2005 NSSO report saying nearly 60% of farmers lacked access to modern agricultural information.

That survey is old, so treat it as background, not today’s figure.

The platform tries to close that gap with push messages, calls and queries that reach many farmers at once. Whether it works well is what the rest of this guide tests.

7 Essential Facts About Kisan Sarathi

1. Two ministries are behind it. The PIB describes it as a joint effort of MeitY and the agriculture ministry, implemented by IASRI and the Digital India Corporation.

2. It covers 37 states and UTs. As of 25 June 2026, services ran across 768 districts and 6.63 lakh villages.

3. 2.95 crore farmers are registered. Of them, 56.16 lakh are women, which is about 19%.

4. Nearly all registered at a KVK. The PIB says 2.89 crore farmers registered by visiting their nearest KVK.

5. It plugs into five national services. These are Kisan Call Centre, Common Service Centres, India Meteorological Department, MyScheme and BHASHINI.

6. It lists 610 schemes. As of 25 June 2026, 102 of them are central government schemes.

7. Live expert talk runs in 13 languages. The PIB lists live interaction with domain experts in 13 regional languages.

How Kisan Sarathi Works

Who Answers Your Question

Your query goes to a KVK expert. The PIB says the app connects farmers with 730+ KVKs, 100+ ICAR institutes and 65+ agricultural universities. The network includes 4,767 ICAR scientists.

Advisories cover major cereals, pulses, oilseeds, horticulture, plantation and fodder crops, plus livestock, poultry and fisheries. So far 21,900 advisories have been released for 351 commodities in 34 states and UTs.

What It Connects

The platform pulls weather from the India Meteorological Department and scheme information from MyScheme. BHASHINI supports language access, and Kisan Call Centres and Common Service Centres act as entry points.

Farmers can also see mandi prices, district-wise market rates and trends for selected crops. They can check the status of schemes such as PM-KISAN.

What Changed in Kisan Sarathi 2.0

An ICAR workshop in Kanpur on 24 March 2026 described the upgrade. Farmers who are not registered can now contact KVKs and Kisan Call Centres. A farmers’ call mobile application was introduced, along with a three-tier calling system and an event management system.

A hands-on training at KVK Nadia showed the app handling registration, query submission, tracking and retrieval of expert advisories. It was developed by IASRI and piloted through ICAR-ATARI Kolkata.

An ICAR session in Guwahati on 24 April 2026 covered integration with Bharat Vistaar, chatbots and AI-based advisory. We found no public detail on how that works. Our guide to Bharat VISTAAR and helpline 155261 covers the other platform.

Key Numbers at a Glance

Where Kisan Sarathi Farmers Actually Register

The PIB gives a channel-wise count. We added the share column by dividing each number by the sum of all five channels, about 2.95 crore.

Read this before you download anything. The platform grew through KVK visits, not through the app. The app and web portal together account for under 0.1% of registrations.

That does not make the app useless, and the 2.0 upgrade is new. But today your KVK is the real front door.

One more ratio. The PIB reports 19.21 lakh queries against 2.95 crore registered farmers, roughly one query for every 15 registrations. Many farmers may only receive messages and never ask anything, so this is not proof of weak service. It does show that registration and use are different things, and the PIB does not publish unique farmers who asked a question.

What the Uttar Pradesh Study Found About Kisan Sarathi

The best evidence we found is a peer-reviewed study in the Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (May 2026, DOI 10.56093/ijas.v96i5.173527).

Researchers surveyed 300 farmers in Agra, Mathura and Amroha during 2024-25. Half were registered users and half were not. They compared a 17-item rabi crop knowledge test before and after the advisories.

After the advisories, users scored about 4.36 points above non-users on the study’s scale, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). The test covered topics such as mustard sowing time, aphid control in mustard, phosphorus dose for wheat, stored wheat pests and the purpose of a soil health card.

Now the limits, which the authors themselves state:

• The study measures knowledge, not yield or income. Knowing a dose is not the same as applying it.
• It covers selected districts of Uttar Pradesh, so the authors urge caution about other regions.
• Only one pre-intervention measurement existed, so the parallel-trends assumption could not be tested.
• The authors are ICAR scientists, and some work in the institute network that runs the platform. An independent replication would carry more weight.

The authors also warn that information arriving from many sources confuses farmers. They call for content management that links creators, approvers and KVK staff who localise each advisory.

If you grow wheat or mustard this season, our guides to mustard farming and the names of rabi crops and MSP give the crop-side detail. Use the platform to check local timing against your KVK.

How to Register for Kisan Sarathi Step by Step

1. Start at your KVK. This is how 2.89 crore farmers registered. Carry your mobile phone, since advisories reach you there. The PIB publishes no document list, so ask the KVK what it needs.
2. Or call the Kisan Call Centre. mKisan lists the toll-free number 1800-180-1551, where an agent records your details. We could not confirm that this creates the same record as the app, so ask the agent.
3. Or visit a Common Service Centre. The PIB lists CSCs as a channel, and 39,193 farmers joined this way.
4. If you want the app, search the Play Store for the Kisan Sarathi Farmer App. The listing names MeitY and ICAR as the joint initiative, implemented by the Digital India Corporation and IASRI. Check the publisher before installing.
5. Tell them your crops and livestock. The PIB says advisories are personalised to your farm and farmer profile, so a blank profile gives generic advice.
6. Test with a question you can verify, such as the sowing window for your crop in your block. Compare the reply with your KVK’s own advice.
7. Write down the date, question and answer. You will need it if the advice costs you money.
8. Never share an OTP with anyone who calls claiming to be from the platform.

We found no published registration fee. The official portal is the place to confirm.

Kisan Sarathi vs Bharat VISTAAR

Both aim at the same farmer, so people mix them up. They are separate platforms with different advice sources.

The Bharat VISTAAR column comes from our earlier guide, so check it for updates. Our reading: use Kisan Sarathi when you want a KVK scientist on a crop problem and a record of the reply, and use the helpline for quick price or scheme checks. That is our judgement, not an official recommendation.

What the Platform Can and Cannot Do Today

It can:

• Send your question to a KVK expert and let you track the reply.
• Push location-specific advisories to your phone.
• Show mandi prices, market rates and scheme status.
• Offer training sessions and video consultations.

It cannot yet, as far as we found:

• Diagnose a disease from a field visit. For photo-based tools, read our guide to AI crop disease detection.
• Prove an effect on your yield or income. No public study measures that.
• Guarantee a reply time. We found no published response-time data.
• Release advisories everywhere it operates. Services run in 37 states and UTs, while advisories cover 34.

Sample Questions to Ask Your KVK Expert

Good questions name the crop, the stage and your block. A vague question gets a vague reply. Based on the topics in the Uttar Pradesh study, try these:

• What is the right sowing time for mustard in my block?
• How should I control aphids in my mustard crop?
• Which nutrient deficiency causes yellowing of lower wheat leaves?
• What is the recommended phosphorus dose for wheat on my soil?
• What feeding schedule suits my milch animals this winter? Our dairy farming guide covers the basics.

Real Risks and Gaps

• Thin evidence. One study, one state, 300 farmers, knowledge only.
• Weak digital uptake. Fewer than 24,000 farmers registered through the app or web.
• Unclear service levels. No published response times or resolution rates.
• Content overload. The study authors flag confusing information from many sources.
• Privacy details. We found no privacy statement in the sources we read.

None of this makes the platform a waste of your time. It makes it a tool to test before you act on it.

What to Watch Next

First, watch the Kisan Sarathi app numbers. The baseline is 21,517 app registrations as of June 2026.

Second, watch for an independent evaluation outside Uttar Pradesh that measures yield or cost, not only knowledge.

Third, watch for detail on the Bharat Vistaar link. Our guide on decision-grade intelligence in agriculture explains why advice must end in a decision.

Common Mistakes Farmers Make

1. Treating a push message as a prescription. Confirm chemical products and doses with the KVK.
2. Assuming the app is the main route. Most registrations happen at a KVK.
3. Registering and never asking. An unused registration gives you generic messages.
4. Mixing up mKisan, Bharat VISTAAR and Kisan Sarathi. They are different services.

How We Researched This Guide

We read the PIB factsheet and PDF of 29 June 2026, the IANS report on it, ICAR workshop notes from Kanpur and Guwahati, the KVK Nadia training note, the May 2026 Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences paper, the mKisan registration page, the Play Store listing and Krishi Jagran’s launch report. The percentage shares are our arithmetic on PIB numbers.

We did not test the app or helpline, and we did not verify the portal’s content, registration documents, fees or privacy policy. For more guides, browse our Agritech category and read our editorial policy. The IANS report repeats the same PIB figures.

FAQs About Kisan Sarathi

1. What is Kisan Sarathi?

It is a government agro-advisory platform that connects farmers with KVK scientists and ICAR institutions for crop, livestock, weather, market and scheme information.

2. Who launched Kisan Sarathi?

It launched in July 2021 on ICAR’s 93rd foundation day. The PIB describes it as a joint initiative of MeitY and the agriculture ministry.

3. How do I register on Kisan Sarathi?

Visit your KVK, call the Kisan Call Centre, visit a Common Service Centre, or use the app or web portal. Most farmers registered at a KVK.

4. Is Kisan Sarathi free?

We found no published registration fee. The Kisan Call Centre number 1800-180-1551 is toll-free. Confirm any charge with your KVK.

5. Is there a Kisan Sarathi helpline number?

We found no dedicated number. The PIB lists Kisan Call Centres as a channel, and mKisan gives 1800-180-1551 for that service.

6. Which languages does Kisan Sarathi support?

The PIB lists live interaction with experts in 13 regional languages, and BHASHINI supports language access.

7. Do I need a smartphone to use it?

The PIB lists call centres and Common Service Centres as channels, so a basic phone or a CSC visit can work. Confirm with your KVK.

8. What is Kisan Sarathi 2.0?

It is the upgrade described by ICAR in 2026. It adds contact for unregistered farmers, a farmers’ call app, a three-tier calling system and an event management system.

9. Does Kisan Sarathi improve farmer knowledge?

A study of 300 Uttar Pradesh farmers found a significant knowledge gain among users. It did not measure yield or income.

10. How is Kisan Sarathi different from Bharat VISTAAR?

Kisan Sarathi routes questions to KVK scientists. Bharat VISTAAR is an AI voice assistant with helpline 155261. They are separate platforms.

Final Thought

Kisan Sarathi solves a real problem: too few extension officers for too many farms. The numbers show a platform built through KVKs, with 2.95 crore registrations and a study that points to better knowledge.

But registrations are not results. Yield evidence is missing, the app is barely used, and response times are unpublished.

So register at your KVK, ask one question you can verify, and keep the reply on record. If the advice holds up on your field, use it again. If not, tell your KVK.

Related reading on this site: our Bharat VISTAAR helpline guide, our digital crop survey and Farmer ID guide and AI in Agriculture 2026.