Kathmandu, Oct 14: A total of 2.38 million farmers have been registered under the national Farmer Listing Program, according to Sanjiv Pandit, an official at the Agriculture Information and Training Center. The government launched the program with the aim of providing grants and other necessary support to farmers across the country.
The initiative is part of a broader plan to deliver services to farmers through an integrated electronic system. The program collects data through local governments across Nepal, Pandit said.
Farmers will be classified into four categories based on their income levels: subsistence farmers, smallholder farmers, medium-scale farmers, and large-scale farmers. Registered farmers will be issued identity cards reflecting their classification.
Once integrated into the digital information system, farmers will have easier access to subsidized chemical fertilizers, seeds, grants, and service management, among other benefits.
“According to the 2021 National Census, around 4.1 million farmers were recorded in the country. Our goal is to bring all of them under the program, though the final number may vary slightly by the time the program concludes,” Pandit explained.
Data collection includes information such as the types of crops produced and the total area of cultivated land. The Agriculture Information and Training Center has been compiling this data to build a unified database of farmers.
The program was launched in March 2021 following a ministerial-level decision. Pandit urged all farmers to register, emphasizing that without official identification, they will not be eligible for government subsidies and services.
