GUWAHATI

The Assam government has included tea and plantation class landholdings in the farmers’ registry portal, which Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said would prove to be a “game-changing” move for small tea growers (STGs) in the State.

He said the facility, formalised on June 26, would enable the STGs to obtain a Farmer ID and ensure the timely, requirement-based availability of fertilisers, government scheme benefits, and other services on a single platform.

“This will also allow credit with better terms for the STGs and eliminate middlemen who exploit our tea growers,” the Chief Minister said, calling the onboarding a major leap for the tea community.

The tea industry has hailed the Assam government’s initiative.

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“Officially, there are 133,626 small tea growers in Assam, although the actual number is estimated to be more than 1.5 lakh. Assuming an average household size of four, this well-conceived initiative of the Chief Minister will directly benefit more than six lakh people,” Bidyananda Barkakoty, the adviser to the North Eastern Tea Association, told The Hindu on Saturday (June 27, 2026).

A former vice chairman of the Tea Board of India, he said the step would strengthen and empower the STGs, who contribute nearly 50% of Assam’s total green leaf production.

A farmers’ registry portal is a centralised digital database created by government agricultural departments to establish a verified Farmer ID or unique digital identity for individual farmers. It links a farmer’s personal details, Aadhaar, and land records to streamline access to subsidies, crop insurance, and agricultural schemes.

Once registered, farmers do not need to provide repetitive paperwork to prove their identity or land ownership for government benefits. The registry also integrates with land records to map ownership, allowing farmers to view their land records, update linkages, and log their seasonal crop surveys online.

“By creating a transparent, verified database, the government can directly transfer financial aid, fertiliser subsidies, and other scheme benefits to eligible farmers without leakage,” an Agriculture Department official said.