Bar-coded ID cards for cotton growers

Hyderabad: To avoid middlemen in procurement of cotton and ensure provision of Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers, the Agriculture Department 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, said Commissioner for Agriculture C Parthasarathi to Telangana Today.

The department officials have already computerized 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.
Systematic procedure

The bar-coded cards will be distributed to farmers through Village Revenue Officers (VROs) by deputing one Agriculture Market Committee (AMC) employee to obtain signature of the farmers. While the farmers come to the market to sell their produce they should bring the bar-coded ID card and same should be shown to Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) officials. Next, the AMC employee will check the genuineness of the ID cards, duly placing them before computers linked with a scanner or swiping machine and issue gate entry pass.

Later, the entire details will reach CCI officials and amount will be credited directly to farmers accounts as per MSP. Under the new system the cotton farmers can avoid making several trips to the CCI and marketyards to get money. Once the amount is credited into the accounts of farmers they will receive an SMS to their registered mobile number, said Parathasarathi. Adding, he said that the bar-coded ID cards will also put an end to the resale of cotton crop by the middlemen.