11 Crore Farmer IDs Created Under Digital Agriculture Mission

The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare has completed 11 crore Farmer IDs, the unique digital identity issued to a cultivator, finishing the count five months before the date fixed for it. Union Agriculture, Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the figure and called it a step towards the goal of a developed India with prosperous farmers. The identity is issued under the Digital Agriculture Mission run by the ministry.

Target met five months early

The count was closed by the night of 23 October, the minister said. The deadline set for the registry was 31 March 2027, and work by the ministry, the state governments and field-level staff brought it in well before that day. Mr Chouhan called the result an example of cooperative federalism and thanked Union and state officials, Union Territory administrations, district teams and the staff working village by village.

What the digital identity changes for a farmer

A farmer holding the identity does not have to submit the same papers again for every scheme, nor make repeated trips to a bank or a government office. Four services are named where the difference shows:

Six crore farmers already served

The Digital Agriculture Mission began after the Union Cabinet cleared it on 2 September 2024. The Digital Public Infrastructure, or DPI, being built under the mission is already visible on the ground: over 6 crore farmers have drawn direct benefits of one scheme or another through the identity-based delivery system. Tying a verified farmer database to farm services removes duplicate verification and fraud, improves coordination between departments and makes it easier to track how a scheme is actually being delivered.

Tenant farmers and the road ahead

States and Union Territories are taking steps, within the applicable rules, to bring tenant farmers and actual cultivators onto the digital platform so that no eligible farmer is left out. The ministry says it will keep strengthening the Farmer Registry on the principle of Minimum Government, Maximum Governance, and treats the identity less as a document than as the base of a farmer-centred administration.