Farmers express concern over norms to get entry in Agri Stack’s ‘registry’ in Delta districts

As efforts to generate unique identification numbers for farmers under the ‘Farmer Registry’ continue across Tamil Nadu’s delta districts, several farmers’ organisations have voiced concerns over the efficiency and inclusivity of the initiative.

The state-wide drive, implemented under the Agri Stack programme by the Union government, aims at streamlining access to government benefits, credit, and markets for farmers. The Agriculture department and allied agencies are conducting special camps in revenue villages to collect farmers’ data, generate unique IDs, and e-signatures, and integrate them into the digital database. Officials have said that data will be uploaded only with farmers’ consent.

While Vayalur N. Rajendran, State treasurer of the Farmers’ Wing of the Tamil Maanila Congress, welcomed the initiative, he said it would eliminate the benami system in land ownership, ensuring fair landholding regulations, and preventing irregularities in subsidy allotments.

However, tenant farmers fear exclusion from the scheme, says P.R. Pandian, president of the Tamil Nadu Coordination Committee of All Farmers’ Associations, who has strongly opposed its current format. He argued tenant farmers face a high risk of eviction, as a large portion of agricultural land in the delta districts belongs to temples, trusts, and mutts. In Tamil Nadu, a significant number of farmers were tenant cultivators, but under this system, they could not register as farmers, effectively denying them access to government benefits.

Mr. Pandian has announced a mass hunger strike on March 25 in front of the Mayiladuthurai District Collector’s Office, urging the State government to protect tenant farmers’ rights.

Ayalai Siva Suriyan, State committee member of the Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association (affiliated with CPI), has urged immediate amendments to the Farmer Registry scheme to ensure equal benefits for all farmers. He pointed out that under the current guidelines, only landowners and officially registered tenant farmers under the Tenancy Rights Act are eligible for inclusion.

Mr. Siva Suriyan said since the Tenancy Rights Act had not been enforced in Tamil Nadu for several years, a majority of tenant farmers lacked official records, making them ineligible for the Kisan Identification Card. As a result, many tenant farmers, contract cultivators, and individuals who have purchased land without completing legal registration will be excluded from government benefits, including crop loans and subsidies.

Senior Agriculture Department officials stated while their focus is on creating unique registration numbers for farmers, concerns raised by farmers’ groups are being conveyed to the Union government through the department and district administrations, allowing scope for modifications to the Farmers Registry.

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