A few months ago, I met an old farmer Bal Krishan, in a village near Akhnoor. He had harvested a bumper paddy crop, yet his face was clouded with worry. “If I don’t sell my produce immediately, how will I repay my debts?” he asked, fearing the moneylender’s wrath. He had two choices—sell it immediately at a distressingly low price or take a loan against it and wait for better market rates. With no easy access to credit, he sighed and handed over his crop to a local trader, earning barely enough to repay last season’s debts.

This is the harsh reality for millions of Indian farmers. Nearly 67 million metric tons of food grains go to waste annually due to poor storage and financial constraints. The irony is heartbreaking. The hands that feed the nation often struggle to feed themselves. Over 10,000 farmer suicides occur annually, many due to debt burdens and exploitation by local moneylenders.

To break this vicious cycle, the Government of India has launched the e-Kisan Upaj Nidhi (e-KUN) under the Digital India Mission—a revolutionary initiative that enables farmers to access low-interest loans against........

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