Context:

Recently, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) has asked the states to ensure a faster generation of Kisan Pehchaan Patras. 

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Farmer ID is an Aadhaar-linked unique digital identity that is linked dynamically to the state’s land records.

• Aadhaar is a 12-digit individual identification number that serves as proof of identity and proof of address for residents of India.

MoA&FW has advised the states to adopt a camp-mode approach for faster farmer registration.

The Farmer ID will form the core of the ‘Farmers’ Registry’, one of the three registries under the ‘Agri Stack’ initiative, part of the Central Government’s Digital Agriculture Mission.

• The Digital Agriculture Mission is designed as an umbrella scheme to support various digital agriculture initiatives.

• AgriStack is a farmer-centric Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that will enable efficient, easier, faster services and scheme delivery to farmers.
• The Union Cabinet Committee has approved the Digital Agriculture Mission with an outlay of Rs. 2817 Crore, including the central share of Rs. 1940 Crore.

The government has set an ambitious target to generate digital identities for 11 crore farmers till the Financial Year 2026-27  

The Centre will provide up to Rs 15,000 per camp organised at the field level with an additional Rs 10 per Farmer ID generated through the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme.

The digital ID will provide the government with various types of information about them, such as:

• The amount of land owned by the farmer  
• The number of livestock they own  
• The type of crops they have cultivated  

The Finance Ministry had allocated Rs 5,000 crore as an incentive for states to create Farmers’ Registry under the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2024-25. 

Key Benefits of the Farmers ID

• It will help farmers to access various agricultural schemes, like the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Kisan Credit Card programme etc.
• It will create a hassle-free, time-saving and cost-effective service system for the farmer.