New Andhra Pradesh Law to Protect Tenant Farmers

Kakinada: The agriculture, sericulture, cooperation and marketing special chief secretary B. Rajasekhar announced that the state government will introduce a new law titled the "Andhra Pradesh Land Cultivators Rights Act-2024" to assist tenant farmers without adversely affecting landowners. He convened a regional meeting to gather input from farmers and tenant farmers regarding the new Act at the collector’s office in Amalapuram, B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema District, on Saturday.

Rajasekhar highlighted that tenant farmers cultivate 80 per cent of the state's land, yet they face significant challenges due to national calamities like cyclones and droughts. These hardships prevent them from accessing input subsidies, insurance, and loans, as banks often deny loans on crop cultivator rights (CCR) cards when landowners refuse to sign them for fear of losing their property. If a landowner has taken out a loan against the land, banks will not extend credit to tenant farmers.

To address these issues, the new Act aims to simplify the process of obtaining loans and subsidies. Under the existing 1954 Tenant Farmers Act, land ownership complicates the issuance of crop cultivator rights certificates (CCRC) to tenant farmers. Previous laws enacted in 2011 and 2019 aimed to protect tenant farmers but have also created obstacles for banks.

The new law will empower agriculture officers to conduct field visits and identify genuine cultivators, with discussions held in Grama Sabhas and social audits at Rythu Seva Kendras. If there are no impediments, CCRCs can be issued within 15 days. While these cards will provide rights only to the cultivated crops, they will enable cultivators to secure bank loans, input subsidies, cash transfers, insurance claims, and other government assistance during their crop seasons. The CCRCs will have a validity of one year, but if a farmer cultivates long-term crops, the Act will be applicable for that duration. Landowners will still be able to obtain loans against their properties independently of tenant farmers' loans. The agriculture director S. Delhi Rao, konaseema district collector R. Mahesh Kumar, and others were present at the meeting.