Hyderabad: The government's new scheme for farmers offering a subsidy of Rs 4,000 per acre from next year has already started creating a rift between the tenant farmer and the land owner, months before its implementation. There are about 10 lakh tenant farmers. They have demanded that the subsidy amount should be given to them but the land owners say that the government is extending the subsidy to them for cultivating the lands. Meanwhile, the state government has taken a decision to give the subsidy to land owners only and not the tenants.
Many land owners give their fields to small farmers for cultivation. But these farmers or tenants find it difficult to get bank loans, especially since they have little evidence of their right to till, on paper. Most owners give the land to these small time farmers only on oral agreements. Land owners live in the fear that if they prepare papers, the tenant will find some way to retain the property. That is also why tenant farmers cannot get bank loans.
With the state government's proposed subsidy scheme, differences have cropped up between land owners and tenants over claiming subsidy. A senior officer in the agriculture department said that the tenants were the worst sufferers. He said most farmers who committed suicide were tenant farmers. Agriculture department secretary C. Parthasaradhi said if any farmer showed evidence of his tenancy, the government would give him subsidy and not the land owner. According to government records there are 34.41 lakh marginal farmers who have up to one hectare.
There are 13.27 lakh small farmers who have between 1 and 2 hectares. About 6 lakh small and medium farmers have between 2 and 4 hectares, 1.66 lakh medium farmers have between 4 and 10 hectares and 15,775 large farmers have 10 hectares and above.
