Rasulpur: In a bid to get rid of bogus farmers, the state government will install iris scanners to identify genuine farmers at paddy procurement centers during procurement in this block in Jajpur district, a report said Thursday.
The iris scanner is an automated method of biometric identification that uses mathematical pattern-recognition techniques on video images of one or both the irises of an individual’s eyes, whose complex patterns are unique, stable, and can be seen from some distance.
It uses near-infrared light to take a high-contrast photograph of a person’s iris. This works as a form of biometric technology. This has been done to ensure transparency and facilitate online trading in paddy procurement.
The matter came to the fore during a block-level training camp on kharip paddy procurement for secretaries of 11 PACS (primary agricultural cooperative societies) and data entry operators at the conference hall of Rasulpur block office here Wednesday.
At least 1605 farmers under this block have registered for selling their paddy in mandis. The paddy procurement season will start from December 15 and will continue till March 31. Rasulpur supply officer Anuj Kumar Sahu joined as a chief trainer and imparted training to the delegates.
The PACS officials will have to put up the names of registered farmers on PACS walls and provide token in advance to farmers for procurement. The state government has fixed Rs 1815 and Rs 1835 as the per quintal price of paddy. The farmers have been advised to bring their paddy in gunny bags instead of plastic packets.
The iris scanners will be installed to identify bogus farmers for which the block supply department is carrying out an awareness drive. The PACS will have to procure paddy through online P-pass system. In case the online process becomes defunct, paddy has to be procured manually by obtaining permission from assistant registrar of cooperative societies (ARCS).
Farmers will have to submit their Aadhaar numbers and bank pass books during procurement. The farmers will receive their payment in their bank accounts within 48 hours.
The farmers can dial the toll-free number-1967 and lodge their complaints if they face any problem while selling their paddy.
Krushna Chandra Nayak, cooperative extension officer, Panchanan Rout, Surendra Sethi, Nasiruddin Mohammed and Chita Ranjan Nayak from the regulated market committee (RMC) gave tips on how to check quality and moisture content in paddy.
PNN