The Government of Nepal has directed all local governments to make farmer registration numbers mandatory when implementing agricultural programmes. According to a circular issued by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration on Ashoj 13, 2083 BS, the directive follows correspondence from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment dated Ashoj 8, 2083 BS. The instruction requires municipalities and rural municipalities to use the registration numbers assigned through the Farmer Listing System (Kisan Suchikaran Pranali) when conducting agricultural programmes. The ministry has asked local authorities to make the necessary administrative arrangements to implement the requirement.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment stated that the Farmer Listing Programme is being implemented to identify farmers, prepare evidence-based agricultural plans and programmes, improve access to government services and support effective programme management. The ministry has already allocated budgets to local governments through conditional fiscal transfers to support farmer registration activities. The registration system is intended to establish reliable records of farmers and provide government agencies with information needed to plan and administer agricultural programmes at federal, provincial and local levels.
According to the ministry’s correspondence, the Farmer Listing Programme is being implemented under the Farmer Listing Programme Implementation Procedure, 2081, while agricultural programme expenditures are governed by the Standards for Agricultural Development Programme Implementation, 2083. The ministry has emphasized that farmer registration information should be incorporated into programme implementation to improve coordination, transparency and accountability. It has also requested that the concerned federal ministry circulate the instructions to all local governments to ensure consistent implementation of the registration requirement.
The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration has consequently instructed all municipalities and rural municipalities to take the necessary action and use registered farmer identification numbers in agricultural programme implementation. Its Information Technology Section has also been requested to circulate the directive electronically and publish it on the ministry’s official website. The circular does not announce a new farmer registration deadline or a separate financial assistance package; instead, it establishes the mandatory use of existing registration numbers in agricultural programmes. The move is expected to support more systematic farmer identification and evidence-based agricultural administration across Nepal.
