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By the end of FY27, overall 110 million farmers would have IDs across the country.
State-wise rollout of farmer IDs
Currently 14 states including Uttar Pradesh (14 million), Maharashtra (11 million), Madhya Pradesh (8.7 million), Rajasthan (7.8 million) Gujarat (5.6 million), Andhra Pradesh (4.5 million), Tamil Nadu (3.1 million) and Telangana (3.1 million) have provided such IDs.
Karnataka (4.5 million), Chhattisgarh (2.5 million), Kerala (2.3 million), Odisha (0.9 million), Assam (0.7 million) and Bihar (0.5 million), have made progress in providing IDs.
“Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab may soon join the initiative to provide digital IDs to farmers,” an official told FE.
These IDs, according to officials, capture farmer demographic profiles, landholdings, and cropping patterns, enabling states to design targeted schemes.
AgriStack, crop surveys and digital benefits
Providing digital IDs is part of a Rs 2,817 crore mission launched in September, 2024, which aimed at creating a robust digital agriculture ecosystem – AgriStack, Krishi decision support system, and a comprehensive soil fertility and profile mapping.
Under AgriStack – databases of Geo-referenced village maps, crop sown registry and the farmers registry IDs are being created while 30 states have agreed to create these digital tools.
With progress in farmers digital identity IDs generation and digital crop survey (DCS), the government has started using these data for providing a hosts of services – direct cash transfer under PM Kisan, digital agricultural credit, benefits under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and issuance of soil health cards.
“We have also started using the crop sown data under DCS to verify whether the farmer has grown the same crop as claimed while taking loans under the Kisan Credit Cards and while applying for the crop insurance,” an official said.
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While stating that the ownership of the data is with the respective states, the farmers registry application has the provision to onboard the tenant and lessee farmers. “The respective states and UTs can decide to include such farmers in the farmers’ registry as per the state policy,” according to a note submitted by the agriculture ministry in parliament.
According to estimates, there are 140 million farmers in the country and around 30-40% of the gross cropped area is cultivated by farmers who do not hold the land.
Devesh Chaturvedi, secretary, department of agriculture and farmers welfare has urged states to dynamically linked farmers registries with updated records of rights for their agricultural lands for providing personalised agricultural services.