Bhubaneswar: Following protests by farmers in several places of Odisha, the State government on Monday said that the AgriStack identity number is not mandatory for peasants to participate in the paddy procurement process. Paddy farmers in Baragada and Balangir districts staged a protest on Monday, alleging that an AgriStack ID or farmer ID was being asked for during registration for the upcoming Kharif crop season. “Only farmers who have crop land in their name can get the AgriStack ID. Later, while talking to reporters, Patra said that AgriStack is not mandatory for farmers to register to sell paddy to the government. Now, two types of registration slips are provided to the farmers — one with AgriStack and the other without it — and both are valid, officials said, adding that farmers can register till August 31.