2.70cr farmers to be brought under Farmer Card programme within three years

Agriculture Minister Mohammed Aminur Rashid said on Friday that the government has set a target of collecting data on 43 lakh farmers this year under the pilot Farmer Card programme.

He said around 2.70 crore farmers across the country would be brought under the Farmer Card programme within the next three years. 

The initiative would create an integrated and modern agricultural database, which would play a vital role in future agricultural planning and service delivery.

The minister made the remarks while briefing journalists during a visit to the farmer registration and data collection programme in Patiya upazila of Chattogram.

Aminur said the nationwide farmer registration programme was launched on 16 July, while information collected during registration was being uploaded instantly to the central server through an online system and monitored in real time from a central control room.

As of Friday noon, around 45,000 farmers had been registered, and the number was increasing steadily, he added.

The minister said the Farmer Card is not intended for any particular category of farmers; rather, all farmers in the country will be brought under the programme in phases.

He said the initiative aims to facilitate evidence-based planning according to farmers' categories and needs, increase agricultural production, align production with market demand, and ensure fair prices for agricultural produce.