The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has decided to continue the mandatory requirement of AgriStack Farmer ID for land-owning farmers enrolling under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS).
The decision was communicated by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare following requests from Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Uttarakhand seeking relaxation or exemption from the Farmer ID requirement for Kharif 2026.
As per the government communication, Farmer ID will remain mandatory for land-owning farmers availing benefits under PMFBY and RWBCIS. States and Union Territories have been directed to facilitate the immediate generation of AgriStack Farmer IDs for eligible farmers who do not currently have one. Enrollment under the crop insurance schemes will thereafter be carried out through the prescribed Farmer ID-based process.
However, the requirement has not been made mandatory for tenant and sharecropper farmers at this stage. The Ministry noted that several States are still finalising standard operating procedures and mechanisms for identifying such farmers and creating their Farmer IDs. The exemption for these categories will continue until further decision.
The government has also asked States and UTs to facilitate the generation of Farmer IDs for tenant and sharecropper farmers at the earliest, in accordance with the procedures being finalised by them.
The directive is part of the government’s efforts to strengthen AgriStack-enabled digital agriculture services and streamline the delivery of crop insurance benefits. All concerned stakeholders, including State PMUs, implementing departments, insurance companies, banks and other agencies involved in PMFBY and AgriStack Farmer ID enrolment, have been asked to ensure strict compliance.
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The government has further reiterated that States and UTs seeking assistance under the Special Assistance to States/UTs for Capital Investment (SASCI) for the AgriStack-enabled PMFBY use case must adhere to the existing guidelines without dilution.
The move is expected to strengthen the digital infrastructure supporting agricultural governance and enable a more streamlined, technology-driven approach to crop insurance enrolment and service delivery.