Tenant farmers account for 32 lakh of the total 42 lakh farmers in Andhra Pradesh. Yet they have been meted out a raw deal as access to crop loan, investment subsidy, loan waiver and market intervention scheme remained elusive for them, felt participants at a meeting organised by the All India Kisan Sabha-led Koulu Rythu Sangham to put forth farmer-friendly proposals for inclusion in the election manifestos of political parties.
Briefing newsmen on the day-long deliberations on the problems of tenant farmers, Sangham State secretary P.Jamalaiah said ‘cash transfer in place of subsidies on farm inputs is welcome. But this should be given directly to the actual person tilling the land after enumeration’.
Crop loans
Pressing for a monthly pension of ₹5,000 to each tenant farmer who had crossed the age of 60 years, the meeting demanded setting up of a separate ministry to meet the needs of tenant farmers, including soft loan, market intervention support and immediate relief to those who were caught in a debt trap. Most of the benefits, including loan waiver and input subsidy, were cornered by land owners leaving in the lurch the actual cultivators.
Despite Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu’s promise to ensure at least 10% of the total crop loan to tenant farmers, a majority of tenant farmers still did not have access to institutional credit, he lamented. Though Loan Eligibility Cards were given to six lakh tenant farmers as against the target of 9 lakh ryots during 2017-18, crop loan for ₹574 crore had been given to 2 lakh tenant farmers only from the overall allocation of ₹69,000 crore. In the previous year, only 72,000 tenant farmers got crop loan for ₹182 crore where as the allocation for the purpose was ₹59,000 crore, he said.
Responding to their demands, Communist Party of India (Marxist) East Prakasam district secretary P.Anjaneyulu said the Left parties and Jana Sena Party combine would include the demands in its joint manifesto. Lok Satta Party leader Ch.Ratnakumari said her party would come out with solutions to persisting problems of tenant farmers and fight for their implementation. Prof. D.Venkateswara Reddy suggested that revenue officials record the tenant farmers operating at the grassroots level and extend all benefits to them instead of land owners.
