KAKINADA: Getting institutional loans for tenant farmers is a long-standing issue that has been affecting the agriculture sector in the State. The tenant farmers are being denied bank loans as the owners do not give them Crop Cultivator Rights Cards (CCRCs).
To overcome this, the Konaseema district administration has come up with an initiative of extending professional loans to tenant farmers. The district administration has decided to facilitate bank loans of up to Rs 1 lakh to the tenant farmers in 10 mandals of Konaseema under a pilot project.
To put an end to the woes of the tenant farmers in getting bank loans for taking up agriculture activities, Konaseema District Collector Himanshu Shukla has come up with the initiative, which aims to liberate them from the clutches of moneylenders.
For this purpose, he directed the agriculture officials to develop a new website for the tenant farmers to apply for loans. He also held discussions with the District Cooperative Central Bank officials for extending loans to the tenant farmers.
Generally, tenant farmers are given Crop Cultivator Rights Cards by the owners and they will get all benefits and subsidies that a normal farmer gets if they have it. As they will get input subsidies and other benefits, they need not rely much on moneylenders, but the reluctance of the owners to issue the card is leading to losses for them during natural calamities. Landowners are reluctant to issue the cards to the tenants due to various legal issues.
Under the initiative, the tenant farmers will be listed on the website. The eligibility to get a professional loan, like an engineer, doctor or other, is that the farmer should have a white ration card, at least five years of continuous residency in the village, clean credit history with bankers or societies, self-declaration, field visits of the sown crop by the village agriculture assistant.
“All the tenant farmers are being listed,’’ said K Nageswara Rao, in charge agriculture officer of Konaseema district. He added that the initiative has been appreciated by the State Agriculture Mission.
The pilot project will be ready for implementation by the ensuing Kharif season.
It will be implemented in Ainavilli, P Gannavaram, Ambajipeta, Malikipuram, Kothapeta, Ravulapalem, Mummidivaram, Allavaram, Razole and Mamidikuduru mandals. If the pilot project is successful, it will be implemented in the remaining 12 mandals. In 2022-23, 56,032 CCR Cards were issued in the district and Rs 28.82 crore crop loans were extended to 9,468 tenant farmers.
10 mandals selected
It has been decided to implement the pilot project of extending professional loans to tenant farmers in 10 mandals of Konaseema district. If the pilot project is successful, it will be extended to the remaining 12 mandals of the district benefiting all the tenant farmers