Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi said that the government will soon start enrolling farmers nationwide to give them a distinctive ID similar to Aadhaar, which is part of a major drive to digitise the agriculture sector. 

Chaturvedi said that the registration requirements would be revealed shortly, with the first week of October marking the start of implementation.

The secretary said, “Our target is to register five crore farmers by March next year,” keeping in mind that the project is a component of the government’s newly approved Rs 2,817-crore Digital Agriculture Mission by the Cabinet.

According to him, 19 states have already joined the project after it was initially implemented as a trial in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

An “Aadhaar-like unique ID” will be given to each enrolled farmer as soon as the farmers’ registration is established.

According to Chaturvedi, farmers will find it easier to access a range of agricultural programs, such as the Kisan Credit Card program and the Minimum Support Price (MSP), with the use of a unique ID.

The government will use the data to design policies and provide targeted extension services.

Chaturvedi said, “Presently, farmers have to go through verification every time they apply for any agri schemes. It not only involves cost but some face harassment. To address this issue, we are going to create a farmers’ registry.”

The secretary claimed that the present government data lacks information specific to individual farmers and is restricted to farm land parcels and crop characteristics provided by states. The new registry is intended to fill this gap.

Chaturvedi asked forward-thinking scientists, entrepreneurs, and farmers to encourage participation and spread the word about the farmers’ registration process. Camps will be erected across the country for the registration campaign.

According to the source, the government is also developing a number of other technological initiatives, such as an AI-based chatbox system called Kisan, to enhance services and assistance for farmers.

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