Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Nov 5: In a significant move towards bringing transparency and digital accountability to the agricultural sector, the Centre’s AgriStack initiative has made provision for tenant farmers and sharecroppers to be included in the Farmer Registry, potentially enabling those who cultivate land owned by others to access government schemes and benefits.
Across rural India, many small farmers and landless agricultural workers cultivate farmland belonging to others under tenancy, lease or sharecropping arrangements. Despite being directly involved in agricultural activities, they often remain excluded from government assistance because they do not own the land or have their names recorded in the land ownership documents.
Under the Digital Agriculture Mission, the Farmer Registry provides farmers with a unique digital identity known as a Farmer ID. The registry is designed to maintain information relating to farmers, land records and agricultural activities, helping streamline the delivery of government services and benefits.
Importantly, the Centre has clarified that the AgriStack Farmers Registry has provisions to include tenant and lessee farmers. However, individual state governments can decide whether to onboard these cultivators based on their respective policies. The inclusion of tenant farmers and sharecroppers is therefore not an automatic nationwide entitlement.
The move is expected to help governments identify those actually cultivating agricultural land and develop a more accurate database of tenant farmers. It could also improve the delivery of assistance during natural calamities such as droughts and excessive rainfall, subject to the eligibility rules of individual schemes.
Farmer IDs are also intended to help prevent fraudulent registrations and ensure that agricultural benefits reach eligible beneficiaries. The digital profile can link information relating to a farmer, landholdings and crops grown, supporting the integration of various agricultural schemes and services.
Farmers can register through the AgriStack or the respective state Farmers Registry portal. The registration process generally involves creating a user account, submitting the required details and completing Aadhaar-linked mobile OTP verification. The exact procedure may vary from state to state.
Tenant farmers and sharecroppers may be required to submit valid lease documents or an agreement with the landowner as proof of cultivation, depending on the state's registration guidelines. Such documentation can help establish who is actually cultivating the land and facilitate their inclusion in the registry.
The initiative is expected to strengthen the digital identification of cultivators who have traditionally remained outside formal agricultural databases. However, their access to crop insurance, loans, subsidies and disaster relief will depend on state-level implementation and the eligibility conditions of the respective schemes.