Tenant farmers to stage statewide protests on Nov 3

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Tenant Farmers’ Association called for statewide protests on November 3 at all district collectorates demanding that the state government immediately deposit Rs 20,000 each under the Annadata Sukhibhava scheme into the accounts of tenant farmers.

In a statement on Tuesday, association president V Radhakrishna and general secretary M Haribabu said tenant farmers have long awaited the implementation of the government’s election promise. They recalled that the previous government issued Tenant Identification Cards only with the consent of landowners and extended the Rythu Bharosa benefit only to those who had such cards—excluding many genuine tenant farmers, particularly those from the OBC community.

During the election campaign, the TDP-led alliance had assured that it would repeal the old tenancy law, enact a new pro-tenant legislation and transfer Rs 20,000 annually to each tenant farmer under Annadata Sukhibhava.

Although agriculture minister K Atchannaidu announced in the Assembly that the old Act would be scrapped and the new scheme implemented, the Association alleged that the government has since shown utter negligence by failing to table the draft bill in the legislature.

The association condemned the delay as “injustice to the food providers of the state,” pointing out that tenant farmers have been waiting for over two years. They recalled major protests held on September 22 near the Assembly and October 13–14 at mandal offices, where hundreds of farmers demonstrated demanding justice.

According to the association, after the new government took office, minimum support prices have fallen, input costs have risen, and fertilisers have become scarce, forcing farmers to purchase them in black market. They further alleged that over 300 tenant farmers have died by suicide due to mounting debts and lack of institutional support.

The leaders said that banks continue to deny crop loans to tenant farmers despite repeated appeals and agitations, as officials register e-Crop data in the names of landowners instead of cultivators.

Calling the government “indifferent and insensitive,” the Association urged all tenant farmers to actively participate in the November 3 protests at district headquarters to “wake up this stubborn administration” and secure their rightful benefits.