GUWAHATI: Assam is rolling out 'Farmer IDs' to the State’s small tea growers to ensure that they get government benefits.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the inclusion of tea and plantation class land holdings in the farmers’ registry portal would be a game-changer.
A farmers’ registry portal is a centralised digital database. Under this system, a unique Farmer ID is created for each farmer, linking their personal details to streamline access to agricultural schemes, subsidies and crop insurance.
According to Sarma, the move will enable small tea growers to have a Farmer ID, ensure timely and requirement-based availability of fertilisers, scheme benefits in a single platform, allow credit with better terms for the small tea growers and eliminate middlemen from exploiting the tea growers.
“It is a major leap for the tea community, who can now enjoy all government benefits from a single platform,” the CM further stated.
Agriculture Minister Pijush Hazarika said for generations, Assam’s small tea growers had strengthened the identity of Assam Tea through their hard work and dedication, contributing to nearly half of the state’s tea production today.
He further stated that the government’s focus now would be to ensure that every eligible small tea grower is seamlessly integrated into the digital ecosystem and receives the support they rightfully deserve.
“This is an excellent initiative by the Assam government. There are officially 1,33,626 small tea growers in the state, but the actual number is estimated to be over 1.5 lakh. Assuming an average household size of four, this initiative will directly benefit more than six lakh people,” Bidyananda Barkakoty, adviser to the North Eastern Tea Association, said.
He thanked the CM for the 'visionary step', exuding confidence that the move would strengthen and empower the small tea grower community.