Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, and Rural Development, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a virtual meeting today with the agriculture ministers of the states to review the progress of farmer ID, fertiliser availability, and various agricultural schemes.

During the meeting, the Union Minister stated that farmer ID is an important medium to connect farmers with their land, crops, livestock, and fisheries. So far, a total of 9.25 crore farmer IDs have been created across 19 states. He directed that the agriculture and revenue departments of state governments should jointly launch a campaign so as to try and achieve a 100 per cent target within the next six months. At the same time, a wide‑scale public awareness campaign should be conducted to ensure that farmer registration is not limited only to PM‑Kisan beneficiaries, but all eligible farmers are included.

While discussing fertiliser availability, the Union Minister said that no shortage of fertilisers should be allowed for farmers. He issued directions to the states to strictly check hoarding and black‑marketing of fertilisers. He said that a technology‑based equitable distribution system should be ensured so that fertilisers are available to farmers as per their requirements, and at the same time awareness should be increased to prevent imbalanced use and to promote organic and natural farming.

Giving directions to maintain special vigilance in border areas, he said that illegal movement of fertilisers must be checked. While appreciating Haryana’s ‘Meri Fasal, Mera Byora’ initiative, Shri Chouhan described it as a model that can be emulated by other states.
A review was also held on the procurement of pulses and oilseeds at Minimum Support Price (MSP) under the PM‑AASHA scheme. Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan explained that the government undertakes procurement of pulses and oilseeds at MSP under this scheme and the states participate as per the scheme guidelines.
Recently, approvals have been granted to the following states for procurement of the listed crops:
Andhra Pradesh (chana, moong, urad, arhar, groundnut); Assam (rapeseed/mustard); Bihar (masur); Chhattisgarh (chana, masur, rapeseed/mustard); Gujarat (chana, rapeseed/mustard); Haryana (chana, rapeseed/mustard); Karnataka (chana, kusum); Maharashtra (chana); Madhya Pradesh (chana); Rajasthan (chana, rapeseed/mustard); Telangana (chana, urad, groundnut, sunflower); Uttar Pradesh (chana, masur, rapeseed/mustard).

The Union Minister directed that procurement should be limited strictly to FAQ (Fair Average Quality) produce. Farmers’ registration should be done on Aadhaar‑linked portals and biometric or face authentication should be made mandatory at procurement centres. Payment should be made directly into farmers’ bank accounts through Aadhaar‑enabled DBT (direct benefit transfer), and at the same time there should be an adequate number of procurement centres so that farmers do not face any difficulties.

He also asked the states to ensure that farmers receive a fair price for their produce, their complaints are redressed in time, and procurement is done directly from the farmers.
Information on Regional Agriculture Conferences

In addition, while sharing information about the organisation of Regional Agriculture Conferences, he said that the country will be divided into five agro‑climatic zones and comprehensive discussions will be held for each zone. Accordingly, the first conference for the Western Zone will be held in Jaipur on April 7.

On the Viksit Krishi Sankalp Abhiyan (VKSA), the Union Minister said that last year the campaign was extremely successful, during which more than 60,000 villages in 728 districts saw scientists directly interacting with farmers and learning about their problems. He said that in view of this earlier success, he has requested the states to again run this 15–20‑day campaign in the month of May this year. The objective is to strengthen the lab‑to‑land connection and to spread new technologies, improved varieties, and modern farming practices.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Ministry of Agriculture will provide support for this campaign, and nodal officers will be appointed by the states. Priority areas will include soil health, balanced fertiliser use, and creating awareness about quality seeds.

At the end of the meeting, the Union Agriculture Minister stated that ensuring fair prices for farmers, a transparent procurement system, and an effective distribution mechanism is the primary responsibility of the states, through which the agricultural sector can be strengthened. The virtual meeting was attended by the Agriculture Ministers and representatives of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh.

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