Farmer ID registration moving at snail’s pace

Only 71.38% farmers registered despite Farmer ID being vital for PM-Kisan and fertiliser access

Officials attribute the slow progress to several technical and documentation-related issues. Mismatches between Aadhaar details and Pattadar Passbook records, including differences in surnames and addresses

Metro India News | Hyderabad

Telangana's Farmer ID registration drive, underway for the past one-and-a-half years, is progressing slower than expected, with a significant number of farmers yet to complete the process despite repeated awareness campaigns and multiple registration options. Agriculture officials have cautioned that the Farmer ID will become essential for accessing key government schemes, purchasing fertilisers and selling agricultural produce, urging farmers to complete the registration without delay.

According to the Agriculture Department, the state has 77.56 lakh Pattadar Passbooks, but only 55.36 lakh farmers have registered for a Farmer ID so far, taking the overall coverage to just 71.38%. Of these, 42.26 lakh registrations were completed through Agriculture Extension Officers (AEOs), while 13.10 lakh were done through MeeSeva centres. Even after authorising MeeSeva centres to handle registrations, many farmers have not come forward, forcing AEOs to visit villages and register farmers at their doorsteps.

Registration remains comparatively low in Narayanpet (68%), Medak (65%), Nalgonda (65.49%), Vikarabad (60.41%), Medchal-Malkajgiri (54.41%) and Rangareddy (54.04%).

Officials say several farmers approach the Agriculture Department after failing to receive benefits under Central schemes such as PM-Kisan, questioning why the assistance has not reached them. However, many of them had not completed their Farmer ID registration. While some farmers are registering after realising that the ID is mandatory for receiving scheme benefits, the overall response continues to remain below expectations. Although the registration drive gathered momentum for nearly three months during last year's Kharif season, progress has slowed considerably since then.

The Farmer ID is mandatory for availing several Central government schemes, including PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, Soil Health Cards and the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. Farmers must complete the registration to receive the annual PM-Kisan financial assistance of Rs. 6,000.

The Agriculture Department has also introduced the Urea App and plans to implement it across Telangana from next year. There is growing speculation that only farmers possessing a valid Farmer ID may be allowed to purchase fertilisers once the system is fully rolled out. Officials attribute the slow progress to several technical and documentation-related issues.

Mismatches between Aadhaar details and Pattadar Passbook records, including differences in surnames and addresses, have emerged as one of the biggest hurdles. Registrations are also delayed due to pending updates of inherited land records, multiple family members sharing a single land account, Aadhaar cards not linked to mobile numbers, lack of mobile phones among some farmers, OTP authentication failures, server-related issues and outdated biometric information in Aadhaar.

Another concern is that several farmers who applied last year are yet to receive their Farmer ID cards, leading to dissatisfaction. Since there has been no immediate impact on farmers who have not registered, many are yet to understand the importance of completing the process. MeeSeva operators are also reportedly showing limited interest in the service due to low earnings, while OTP failures, server problems and the absence of the Farmer Registration option in some login portals have further slowed registrations.

Farmer organisations have urged the Agriculture Department to intensify awareness campaigns across the state so that more farmers understand the importance of obtaining a Farmer ID before it becomes mandatory for accessing schemes, fertiliser purchases and agricultural marketing.