Tenant farmers seek identity cards, fresh loans

Vijayawada: Leaders at the roundtable convened by the Andhra Pradesh Tenant Farmers Association on ‘Endowments-Tenant Farmers’ has demanded that State Government provide identity cards and fresh loans for the eligible tenant farmers cultivating endowment lands across the State.

Speaking on the occasion, AP Tenant Farmers Association State convener Ch Kesav Setty said that about 3.7 lakh acres of endowment lands have been under cultivation by the tenant farmers. Majority of the farmers were facing severe hardships with drought and delay in the implementation of loan waiver scheme by the State Government.

Only 359 mandals were announced as drought-hit by the government, where as the drought situation prevailed in 500 mandals. Tenant farmers did not cultivate the lands under Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam districts which come under Krishna delta. Meanwhile, the tenant farmers under endowments who cultivated the land also hit hard by the unusual rainfall in the State.

He demanded that government cancel the tenancy considering the plight of the tenant farmers under endowments. All India Kisan Sabha National convener Ravvula Venkaiah came down heavily on Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for his ‘inefficiency’ in providing institutional loans for the farmers, who were facing several odds to cultivate crops across the State.

The CM who promised implementation of total loan waiver for farmers has implemented it for name sake. Thousands of genuine poor farmers were deprived of the benefit due to the rigid terms of the loan waiver scheme. Focus should be laid by the government in implementing total loan waiver scheme for the tenant farmers and make agriculture a profitable occupation in the State, he demanded.

All India Kisan Sabha State convener D Harinath, AP Tenant Farmers Association general secretary KVV Prasad, AP Rythu Sangham State leader P Narasimha Rao and tenant farmers also participated in the round-table.