The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has directed states to complete their agricultural commitments and targets by fixed deadlines, rather than holding meetings without results. Union Agriculture Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan made this call while addressing the Southern Regional Agriculture Conference in Hyderabad. The directive affects all southern states and focuses on critical tasks like Farmer ID generation, land record integration, and delivery of farm advisory services.
What States Must Do
States have been told to finish Farmer ID generation within their promised timelines. Telangana and Karnataka have already crossed 75 percent completion, but Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands need to accelerate their work. States must also link land parcels to farmer records, particularly Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and coordinate between land data systems and the Farmer Registry.
Additionally, states are required to prepare and notify Standard Operating Procedures for tenant farmers, sharecroppers and agricultural tenants. Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been specifically asked to take up this work. Puducherry and Lakshadweep must complete georeferencing of village maps.
The government will expand Bharat Vistar, a mobile phone-based agricultural advisory system, to 13 regional languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. State government schemes will be integrated with this platform. Scientists from government institutions will visit states during 15 to 20-day agricultural campaigns to ensure research findings reach farmers directly.
A Rabi Conference will be held at the Pusa Institute in Delhi on September 28 and 29, where state agriculture ministers and officials will present detailed plans for the winter crop season, including crop selection, area under cultivation, and requirements for seeds and fertiliser.
What This Means for You
Farmers can expect faster digital registration and better access to agricultural advice in their own language through mobile phones. The emphasis on direct scientist-farmer engagement means technical knowledge from research institutions should reach villages more quickly. However, the push for deadline compliance suggests that implementation speed is now a priority for the government, and state-level delays could affect the pace at which these services reach farmers on the ground.