Farmer ID explained: what India's 11 crore digital farmer identities are for, and who gets left out

What is a Farmer ID?

It is a unique digital identity for a farmer, which the government describes as similar to an Aadhaar card for agriculture.

Each ID is tied to the farmer’s Aadhaar number and linked to verified records held by the state: the land the farmer owns, the crops sown on it each season, livestock, family details and the government schemes the farmer has used. States and Union Territories create and maintain the IDs. The idea is that a farmer proves who they are and what they farm once, and every office that deals with them can then rely on the same record.

Where does it come from?

It is the centrepiece of AgriStack, part of the Digital Agriculture Mission the Union Cabinet approved on 2 September 2024.

The mission has an outlay of ₹2,817 crore, of which the Centre’s share is ₹1,940 crore. AgriStack, which the government brands “Kisan ki Pehchaan”, is built from three registries kept by the states: a Farmers’ Registry, which issues the IDs; geo-referenced maps of every village; and a Crop Sown Registry, filled in through a seasonal digital crop survey done plot by plot on a mobile phone. A second pillar, the Krishi Decision Support System, layers satellite data on crops, soil, weather and water on top.

The system was tested in six pilot districts: Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Beed in Maharashtra, Yamuna Nagar in Haryana, Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab and Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu.

Why is 11 crore a milestone?

Because 11 crore was the target the Centre set for the whole programme, and it has been reached early.

The original plan was 6 crore IDs in 2024-25, 3 crore in 2025-26 and 2 crore in 2026-27. The start was slow. By early 2025, replies in the Lok Sabha put the count at about 2.06 crore. In February 2026 Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told the Rajya Sabha that a little over 8.47 crore had been issued. On 24 October he said the 11 crore mark had been crossed the night before, five months before the 31 March 2027 deadline. The ministry says more than 6 crore farmers have already received benefits through the ID-based system.

From approval to 11 crore IDs

1. 2 Sep 2024Cabinet approves the ₹2,817 crore Digital Agriculture Mission
2. Early 2025About 2.06 crore Farmer IDs created, Lok Sabha told
3. Feb 2026Count passes 8.47 crore, Chouhan tells the Rajya Sabha
4. 23 Oct 202611 crore mark crossed, the minister says
5. 31 Mar 2027Original deadline for the 11 crore target

What will a farmer need it for?

More and more of what the state offers farmers.

The government’s list is long: crop loans and Kisan Credit Cards with less paperwork, crop insurance claims under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana assessed against recorded crop data and paid straight into bank accounts, faster disaster relief, and sales at the minimum support price without middlemen. The crop survey data is also meant to feed procurement planning and fertiliser distribution.

In practice the ID is already turning from an option into a gate. The Centre made it mandatory for new applicants to PM-Kisan, the Centre’s income support scheme for farmers, in early 2025. By August 2026 it was reported to be compulsory for PM-Kisan in 14 states, required in Chhattisgarh to sell paddy and needed in Madhya Pradesh’s fertiliser distribution system.

How does a farmer get one?

Usually through a village camp or a Common Service Centre, with Aadhaar and land papers.

The details vary by state. In Assam, for example, a farmer needs an Aadhaar card, proof of land ownership or lease, the first page of a bank passbook and a mobile number linked to Aadhaar. Identity is checked through Aadhaar e-KYC, the land against the state’s records, and in some cases a photograph of the farmer with the crop. Agriculture department staff help at registration camps, and the ID is issued once verification is complete.

Who could be left out?

Anyone who farms land that is not recorded in their name.

Because the registry is built on land records, it naturally covers landowners. Tenant farmers, sharecroppers and many Adivasi cultivators with forest rights titles fit less easily. The same Assam sheet says plainly: “Landless farmers not eligible.” The ministry acknowledges the gap and says states are taking steps, under their own rules, to bring tenants and actual cultivators onto the platform.

Groups working on the ground are less patient. At a consultation in Visakhapatnam in August, Rohin Kumar of Hands of Transition said: “The problem with AgriStack is that it is only provided to landowners.” Chakradhar Buddha, co-founder of the research group Lib Tech, claimed that about 48% of forest patta holders in Andhra Pradesh were not registered as farmers, and said: “This is a huge marginalised population.”

What about privacy?

The government says the data stays with the states and the system complies with the data protection law.

AgriStack is designed as a federated system, so each state owns its registry. In replies to Parliament the ministry has said it complies with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Critics point out that the ID still pulls a farmer’s identity, land, crops and benefits into one linked record, in a country where rural internet access and digital literacy remain patchy. Those questions will matter more as the ID becomes the key to the money that reaches farmers, and as of October 2026 the Centre has not published a state-wise breakdown of who holds the 11 crore IDs.