Rajasthan Plans New Fertilizer Booking System To Spare Farmers Long Queues

Jaipur: Rajasthan is coming up with a new fertilizer booking and distribution system that will enable farmers to book urea, DAP, and other fertilizers from home. The initiative is aimed at developing a time-bound and transparent fertiliser distribution system.

Based on the experience of the first phase of the Farmer Fertiliser System (FFS) and feedback from farmers, the Agriculture Department of the state has made a proposal to offer booking of fertilizer through mobile phones, mobile applications, or fertilizer dealers.

The government also eventually plans to develop a system under which fertilizer can be supplied to a farmer's doorstep based on the farmer's landholding, crop, and actual requirement.

The department had introduced the FFS on a pilot basis to make fertilizer availability and distribution more transparent. Under the system, farmers could book fertilizer through the app or e-Mitra centers and receive information about availability at nearby dealers. They were required to visit the dealer, show a QR code generated during booking, and collect fertilizer at the prescribed price and quantity.

According to the department, 8.31 lakh farmers generated QR codes during the initial phase, while around 1.20 lakh metric tonnes of fertilizer were purchased through the system.

Agriculture Minister Dr. Kirori Lal said the government was working with the Department of Cooperatives to develop a system that could make fertilizer available to farmers based on their land, crop, and actual requirements.The department is seeking further feedback before rolling out the new system and identifying practical difficulties faced by farmers during booking and collection. Based on the feedback, technical and procedural changes will be made. The proposed system will also include offline options for farmers not familiar with online procedures.

A special campaign to create farmer IDs is being conducted across Rajasthan from September 1 to 30 to deliver agriculture services and schemes to farmers in a more targeted and transparent manner.

The Agriculture Minister, Meena, said that the proposed system is aimed at making fertilizer booking and distribution simpler and more transparent while ensuring that farmers receive fertilizer on time and according to their actual requirements.