AHMEDABAD: Gujarat is stepping up its digital agriculture drive, with the Farmer Registry emerging as a key pillar of the state’s technology-led farming ecosystem.
More than 63.35 lakh farmers have already been registered, bringing farmer identity and land records onto an integrated digital platform. The initiative is being implemented as part of the Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM) of the Government of India, while Gujarat is expanding the digital infrastructure required to make agricultural services more accessible, transparent and efficient.
According to Dr Jayanti S. Ravi, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue Department, the registry links a farmer’s Aadhaar-based identity with verified land records and enables eligible farmers to receive a Unique Farmer ID.
“With more than 63.35 lakh farmers already registered in Gujarat, the state is continuing the process of registration and integration of farmers’ land records into the digital system. The system links a farmer’s Aadhaar-based identity with land records, enabling eligible farmers to receive a Unique Farmer ID and facilitating easier, faster and more transparent access to a range of government agricultural schemes and services,” Dr Ravi said.
She added that the initiative goes beyond simple registration, as it is intended to change how farmers access government schemes and agricultural services.
From Multiple Documents to One Digital Identity
For farmers, the major shift is from repeatedly submitting personal, land and eligibility documents to using a common digital identity across services.
Agriculture Minister Jitubhai Vaghani said the Farmer Registry is designed to reduce duplication while creating a trusted digital profile containing a farmer’s verified identity and land details.
“For decades, accessing different government schemes has often involved repeated submission and verification of personal, land and eligibility-related information. The Farmer Registry is designed to reduce this duplication by creating a common digital identity that can be used across agricultural schemes and services,” Vaghani said.
Once registration and verification are completed, the farmer’s identity and land records are digitally integrated. As a result, beneficiary identification and verification get streamlined, while the scope for duplication can be reduced.
How Farmers Get a Farmer ID
The registration process has been designed to be accessible through mobile phones as well as government-supported service centres.
First, the farmer undergoes Aadhaar authentication, following which the farmer and land details are verified.
Once the information is approved, a Unique Farmer ID is generated by linking the farmer’s identity with verified land records. Farmers can subsequently view their registered details and linked land records online.
If a survey number is missed during registration, it can later be added through the Update Farmer Request (UFR) facility.
One ID, Multiple Agricultural Services
The registry is expected to support beneficiary identification and verification across a range of agricultural programmes. These include PM-KISAN, government procurement under the Price Support Scheme/Minimum Support Price system, Kisan Credit Card and agricultural credit, along with various subsidy and assistance programmes.
At the same time, the digital identity can support agricultural inputs and other technology-enabled services, potentially reducing the need for farmers to establish the same credentials repeatedly.
Digital Agriculture Beyond Schemes
As Gujarat expands its digital agriculture infrastructure, the Farmer ID could potentially be integrated with Digital Crop Survey, seeds and fertiliser systems, procurement platforms and credit services.
Furthermore, linking farmer, land and crop information could enable more targeted government assistance based on factors such as landholding, eligibility and crop profile.
The same digital infrastructure could eventually support personalised agricultural advisories, AI-enabled services and farm-level decision-support systems, allowing information and recommendations to be tailored to individual farmers and their crops.
From Scheme-Centric to Farmer-Centric Agriculture
The emerging digital architecture marks a potential shift from a scheme-centric system to a farmer-centric ecosystem. Instead of treating every government programme as a separate interaction, a verified Farmer ID could increasingly serve as a common gateway connecting farmers with schemes, land records, credit, procurement, inputs and advisory services.
For Gujarat’s large farming community, the immediate objective is clear
Verify the farmer, authenticate the land and simplify access to eligible services. But the long-term objective is broader: a connected digital agriculture system in which farmer, land and crop information can work together to improve the delivery of agricultural services.
With more than 63.35 lakh farmers registered, the Farmer Registry is therefore becoming a significant component of Gujarat’s ongoing transition toward technology-enabled, integrated and digitally accessible agriculture.
