Rising costs, lack of Govt support hits tenant farmers hard

metro india news I hyderabad

Tenant farmers, who play a crucial role in Telangana's agricultural sector, are facing mounting uncertainty as rising cultivation costs, erratic weather conditions, and the absence of institutional support threaten their livelihoods.

With forecasts of below-normal rainfall due to El Niño conditions, many farmers are reconsidering whether to cultivate crops this season, while tenant farmers say the financial risks have become increasingly unsustainable. Government estimates suggest Telangana has over 72 lakh farmers, of whom more than 22 lakh are believed to be tenant farmers.

Lease rates vary across the state depending on local conditions, but farmers say rents generally range between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 per acre, with higher rates in irrigated areas. Besides lease payments, tenant farmers must meet the costs of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, labor, tractor services, and harvesting. Tenant farmers point out that even when crops fail because of natural calamities or pest attacks, lease payments remain mandatory. In several districts, landowners reportedly lease out land only after collecting advance payments from cultivators.

While compensation for crop losses and government relief packages are generally paid to landowners, tenant farmers often receive no direct financial assistance. Similarly, access to crop loans, subsidies and other government welfare schemes largely remains restricted to landowners, leaving tenant farmers dependent on informal credit. 

Farmer organizations point out that mounting debts have driven several tenant farmers to take extreme steps, including suicide. Before the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress had promised to provide tenant farmers with financial assistance of Rs 15,000 per acre annually under the Rythu Bharosa scheme. However, while the government is currently depositing investment assistance of Rs 12,000 per acre each year into the accounts of eligible landowning farmers, tenant farmers say they continue to be excluded from the program.

Tenant farmers also claim that lease rates for irrigated paddy land, which previously ranged between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 per acre per season, have now risen to Rs 16,000- Rs 18,000 per acre in many areas. Some tenant farmers allege that landowners have also demanded a share of the government's bonus for fine paddy varieties as a condition for renewing lease agreements, warning that leases would otherwise be cancelled.

Farmer leader demands implementation of tenant cultivator law

Rythu Swarajya Vedika president Kanneganti Ravi criticized successive governments for neglecting tenant farmers. Ravi said the Congress had promised before the 2023 elections to implement the Licensed Cultivators Act introduced during the undivided Andhra Pradesh era but has not acted on the commitment after coming to power.

He pointed out that under the fertilizer purchase system linked to mobile-based OTP verification, the one-time password is sent to the registered landowner's mobile phone. If the landowner does not share the OTP promptly, tenant farmers are often unable to purchase fertilizers on time. Ravi demanded that the government officially recognize tenant farmers by issuing cultivation identity cards, which he said would enable them to independently access government welfare schemes, agricultural inputs, and institutional support.