To avoid middlemen in procurement of cotton and ensure provision of Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers, the Agriculture Department in Telangana has taken a novel decision to issue bar-coded tamper proof ID cards with the help of Revenue Department to all the cotton growers in the State.
The Agriculture Department is expecting around 3 crore quintals of cotton yield this kharif season which was 50 per cent higher than the same period last year. “As per the intensive survey conducted by the Agriculture Department it is evident that 50 per cent of total farmers in the State cultivated cotton this year due to favourable seasonal conditions and pest and disease-free situation besides temptation of higher market price during last year,†says Commissioner for Agriculture C Parthasarathi.
The department officials have already computerised all details of farmers, including the standing crop, hence it is not a Herculean task to issue bar-coded ID cards to farmers. The department is already on the job and within a fortnight they plan to issue cards with details of farmers’ name, village, mandal, district, survey number and extent of cotton cultivated area in acres, expected yield, Aadhar card number, bank account no and mobile phone number.