Tenant farmers urge APCOB to lend to all eligible cultivators

The Andhra Pradesh Tenant Farmers’ Association has urged the Andhra Pradesh State Cooperative Bank (APCOB) to extend crop loans to all tenant farmers, saying inadequate access to institutional credit is pushing cultivators into debt and financial distress.

A delegation, led by the association’s State secretary M. Haribabu and Krishna district secretary Panchakarla Rangarao, met APCOB Managing Director R.V. Ramakrishna and submitted a memorandum seeking immediate measures to improve access to crop loans.

The association said tenant farmers constitute nearly 70% to 80% of the cultivators in the State but continue to face difficulties in securing institutional credit. Escalating prices of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, fuel and tractor hiring have significantly increased cultivation costs, forcing many farmers to rely on private moneylenders charging exorbitant interest rates. Low crop prices have further eroded their incomes, making loan repayment difficult and adding to the financial distress of farming families.

The association urged APCOB to provide crop loans to all eligible tenant farmers in accordance with the prescribed Scale of Finance. It also sought crop loans for sugarcane growers supplying cane to KCP Sugar Factory, individual loans to holders of Crop Cultivator Rights (CCR) cards, and credit support for tenant farmers without CCR cards by forming groups based on e-Crop records.

Among its other demands were the opening of zero-balance bank accounts for tenant farmers, exemption from CIBIL score requirements while sanctioning crop loans, financial assistance for purchasing subsidised agricultural machinery, and regular coordination meetings involving officials of the bank, Revenue and Agriculture Departments to improve awareness of government welfare schemes.