ROING, 5 Oct: Agriculture Minister Gabriel D Wangsu said that good agricultural governance will begin only when farmers and their needs are properly understood.

Launching a farmer ID generation camp here in Lower Dibang Valley district on Monday, Wangsu said that farmers of the state have no records of their farmlands, crops grown, yield data, etc, and have been working on assumptions so far, and that the farm registry and farmer ID generation exercise will help in streamlining the process and aid farmers avail of benefits.

The farmer ID generation exercise, an initiative of the Government of India, aims to collect accurate and relevant data for better policymaking in the agricultural sector.

Wangsu sought farmers' cooperation in the farm registry and farmer ID generation, stating that the farming community needs to get organised and digitise data for better identification of farmers and disbursal of services to them.

Agriculture Director Toggul Pertin Perme stressed the importance of all schemes under the Agriculture Department, with special emphasis on the farmer ID card.

"All farmers need to have ID card as it will become an integral part of their life and the basis for benefits provided to them," Perme said.

Entomologist Idar Nyori spoke on the importance of the initiative and its relevance in the agriculture sector.

Stating that the farmer ID and farm IDs generated will be linked to farmer-centric schemes, Nyori urged farmers to register for free and declare their farm holdings to avail benefits.

ADC Lui Shiba, DAO Nasiya Mena, heads of offices, officers of the Agriculture Department and farmers of the district attended the programme. (DIPRO)