Tenant farmers demand edit option in crop enumeration

Andhra Pradesh Tenant Farmers’ Association on Wednesday (November 5) demanded that the government allow an edit option in the ongoing crop enumeration so that the names of actual cultivators and tenant farmers can be registered. The association also urged the government to extend the enumeration deadline and ensure fair compensation for farmers who suffered crop losses due to Cyclone Montha.

In a joint statement, association president Y. Radhakrishna and secretary M. Haribabu said that while Cyclone Montha did not cause large-scale property damage, it severely affected crops such as cotton, chili, banana, papaya and vegetables, especially those cultivated by tenant farmers.

Despite being the real cultivators, tenant farmers were being excluded from official crop records due to administrative negligence and “anti-farmer decisions” by the government. As many tenant farmers have not received official ID cards, their names are missing from the e-Crop records, while the names of non-cultivating landowners are being registered instead, they said.

They warned that if compensation for cyclone damage is disbursed based on these flawed e-Crop entries, the benefits will go to landowners rather than the tenant farmers who actually suffered losses. “The Agriculture Department must enable the edit option to include the names of real cultivators,” they demanded, adding that the government should consider applications submitted by tenant farmers whose crops were yet to be recorded, to conduct field inspections and to record actual crop losses accordingly.