The Uttar Pradesh government has made the Kisan Pehchan Patra (Farmer ID) mandatory for availing benefits under agriculture and allied department schemes, as well as for procurement of crops at the minimum support price (MSP), in a push to streamline beneficiary identification and plug leakages.
In an order issued by chief secretary SP Goyal on Friday, the state government said all departments implementing farmer-centric schemes will progressively link benefits to the Farmer ID system being developed under the centre’s Agristack initiative.
The government said around 75% of the targeted farmers in the state have already been issued Farmer IDs, while work is underway on priority to cover the remaining eligible cultivators.
“Of the 2.88 crore farmers in the state, 2.33 crore have been issued IDs so far. We have launched a statewide campaign from April 6 to issue IDs to the remaining farmers,” Pankaj Tripathi, director (agriculture), said.
The UP Farmer Registry, also known as UPFR Agristack, is a digital database created by the state government to cover all farmers. It is akin to an Aadhaar system for farmers and their agricultural activities. Under this initiative, every farmer is assigned a 10-digit unique Farmer ID, which serves as a digital identity for accessing government schemes, subsidies and agricultural services.
As per the order, future instalments under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi will be released only to those farmers whose Farmer IDs have been generated. The state has also decided to adopt the same identification norm for its own agriculture and allied schemes, including those run by departments such as horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries, cooperation and cane development.
In the first phase, the agriculture department will make the Farmer ID mandatory for beneficiary-oriented schemes involving the distribution of fertiliser, seeds, pesticides and other farm inputs. Selection of beneficiaries under these schemes will also be based on the Farmer ID database.
The order further states that procurement of wheat, paddy, pulses, mustard and other notified crops at MSP will be allowed only after mandatory verification of Farmer IDs at purchase centres.
From May 2026, subsidised fertiliser distribution through PACS societies and private dealers will also be linked to Farmer ID and farmer registry records. For this, the state’s Integrated Fertiliser Management System (IFMS) portal will be integrated with the Agristack platform.
The agriculture department has been directed to modify its beneficiary selection portals by May 1, 2026, while all allied departments have been asked to complete integration and ensure compliance by May 31, 2026.
The move is aimed at creating a unified digital farmer database and ensuring targeted delivery of subsidies and welfare benefits, while also tightening verification in crop procurement and farm input distribution.
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