States can choose to include tenant farmers in farmer registry: MoS

State governments can decide on whether to include tenant and lessee farmers in their farmer registry, Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur said in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The State Farmer Registry under the Digital Agriculture Mission enables farmers to receive a unique farmer ID to access government benefits.

In his written reply to the Lower House, Thakur said the State Farmer Registry covers all the landholder farmers, including women farmers.

"Farmers Registry application also has the provision to onboard the tenant and lessee farmers. A state can decide to include such farmers in the Farmers Registry as per the state's policy," it said.

The minister said although internet penetration has increased in rural areas, additional steps have been taken to ensure digital inclusion of farmers who do not have mobile phones, they can use existing support structures like Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Krishi Sakhis, and Common Service Centres (CSCs), to get them registered on Agristack and access services and benefits.

Further, states are organising camps so that no farmer is left out of getting the benefits under the Mission, he said.

The government has approved the Digital Agriculture Mission with an outlay of Rs 2,817 crore.