Bhubaneswar: Odisha has achieved an all-time record in farmer registration this Kharif season, with over 18.5 lakh farmers completing the process. According to Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra, as many as 18,50,983 farmers have registered so far.
Today marks the final day of registration, which will continue until midnight. Officials expect the number to rise further by the end of the day. In comparison, 17,50,462 farmers had registered during the previous Kharif season, he said.
Explaining the rise in registrations, Minister Patra said that the government had initially introduced e-KYC to ensure middlemen did not take undue advantage. However, due to certain technical issues, a self-declaration system was later introduced, which encouraged more farmers to register.