JHAPA, JANUARY 4

Agro Centre Pvt Ltd (ACPL) has started providing farmers’ identity cards so as to distribute fertilisers, seeds and agriculture inputs to the needy farmers at subsidised rates.

The centre based in Jhapa Rural Municipality-3 had developed a general criteria for the distribution of ID card on a pilot basis. It is the first organisation in the district to distribute farmer ID cards.

ACPL Chairperson Chandra Prasad Basnet said the ID cards were distributed to incentivise farmers and attract youths to agriculture.

The centre has stipulated certain eligibility criteria for obtaining the ID card.

They include Nepali citizenship certificate, permanent residence in Nepal, agriculture dependant livelihood, placement of electric metre at home, land ownership documents and no criminal offence record.

So far the centre has distributed ID cards to 25 farmers of the rural municipality.

Token system would be introduced after the distribution of ID cards, the centre sources said.