Bhubaneswar: Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday played the farmer card and said the Centre was planning to bring a new law to recognise "sharecroppers", ahead of BJP president Amit Shah's visit to the state on Sunday.

Pradhan was addressing the valedictory function of Agri Vikas 2018 conclave. The state government has formed a ministerial committee to find out a solution on how to give legal status to the sharecroppers, who are landless farmers.

Pradhan said: "The Centre is planning to issue certificates to the sharecroppers. By showing the certificates, they can avail themselves of loans from the banks. The Centre has also recommended the state to introduce e-registration in all the regional co-operative marketing societies. Once the law comes into effect, there will be radical changes in the fate of the lakhs of farmers. We aim to ensure that farmers income would be doubled."

He also stressed on the importance of Bio-CNG generation from agricultural produce and described how Bio-CNG could contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's missions of reducing dependence on fuel import and increasing the farmer's income.

The state minister of food supplies and consumer welfare Surjya Narayan Patro said: "The state government has already announced to give loans to the sharecroppers at 1 per cent interest. They can get the loan by forming a joint liability group."

Ministry of food processing industries secretary Jagdish Prasad Meena described how employment opportunities were being created under Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMBAD Yojana.

Ministry of agriculture & farmer's welfare secretary Sobhana K. Pattanayak enunciated on matching the cultivation with soil and weather conditions for optimal output..