Guwahati: Assam has over 31 lakh registered farmers, and the agriculture department is working in expeditious manner to increase the farmers’ registration so that all farmers can enrol and avail the benefits under the govt schemes, the govt told the state assembly on Wednesday.Replying to a query raised by BJP MLA Mrinal Saikia in the House, agriculture minister Pijush Hazarika on Wednesday said, “The total number of registered farmers in Assam as per PM-KISAN portal is 18.59 lakh while the total number of registered farmers in Assam as per Farmer Registry is 13.02 lakh.”“It is pertinent to mention that due to lack of digitisation of land records and forest village it has not been possible to register all eligible farmers of the state. The state govt is actively trying to resolve the issue in discussion with the central govt,” he said.The minister said as of June 29, 13.02 lakh farmers of the state have been issued farmer IDs under the Farmer Registry. “The department is targeting to cover all the eligible farmers who received the 23rd instalment of PM-KISAN benefit. The departments of agriculture and the department of revenue, in collaboration, are conducting joint campaigns, including camp-mode registration drives, to bring all eligible farmers under the ambit of the Farmer Registry…,” he added.Hazarika said farmers remain the govt’s highest priority, adding, “In a predominantly agrarian state like Assam, working for the welfare of our ‘annadatas’ is a shared responsibility of every public representative. We remain committed to ensuring that every policy and every effort strengthens farmers’ livelihoods and secures a brighter future for our agricultural community.”
