Bhubaneswar: Odisha Cabinet has addressed concerns regarding farmer registration under the AgriStack portal and its impact on paddy procurement. Following discussions on recent media reports indicating that farmers were encountering difficulties with AgriStack registration, the Cabinet clarified that AgriStack enrollment is not linked to the Paddy Procurement Automation System (PPAS).
The state government stated that the Cabinet discussed the issue thoroughly to ensure that farmers face no disruptions during the procurement process. Officials reassured farmers that their status on the AgriStack farmers’ registry will not affect their ability to sell paddy. Registration in the PPAS system will continue this year following the same procedures as in previous years.
The registration process for the Kharif paddy procurement season in Odisha opened on August 6 and runs through the coming weeks. Farmers can complete their enrollment free of cost at local Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS), Large Area Multipurpose Cooperative Societies (LAMPCS), or Pani Panchayats. To complete registration, applicants need to submit their Aadhaar card, bank passbook, and land records.
The system uses the Paddy Procurement Automation System (P-PAS) for processing applications. During registration, society officials log the details and complete verification via e-KYC using biometric scanning. Farmers are able to inspect and verify all data entries in real time alongside society staff to prevent errors.
Specific measures have been introduced to support sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Landowners can provide online consent for tenant farmers through a specialized digital portal or mobile app, removing the requirement for physical visits to registration centers.
The state government aims to streamline payments using Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) directly into verified bank accounts after paddy is delivered to mandis. In the previous Rabi procurement cycle, Odisha successfully procured over 20.46 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from more than 3.63 lakh farmers, disbursing over 4,844 crore rupees.