Telangana tenant farmers struggle amid water shortage and rising costs

Tenant farmers across Telangana are facing mounting losses this Vanakalam season due to inadequate rainfall, poor canal water supply and rising cultivation costs. With lease payments already made, many fear severe financial distress as crops fail and government support remains elusive.

Hyderabad: Tenant farmers across Telangana continue to face severe hardship this Vanakalam season as water scarcity and rising cultivation costs push many towards heavy losses.

Expecting a normal monsoon, tenant farmers in several districts began cultivation by tilling their fields and sowing seeds. However, inadequate rainfall and poor canal water supply have rendered much of their effort futile.

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In Vikarabad, many tenant farmers cultivated cotton after the initial showers. But the rains stopped soon after, preventing the seeds from germinating, said Tenant Farmers Recognition Struggle Committee member Kondal.

He said tenant farmers had purchased seeds in advance, expecting good rainfall. With water scarcity persisting, the seeds could not be used effectively, increasing both operational and input costs.

A similar situation has emerged in maize cultivation. Although the seeds germinated in many fields, the crop has not grown properly due to insufficient moisture.

Nearly 36 per cent of farmers in Telangana are tenant farmers. Lease rates have risen sharply to as high as Rs. 53,000 per acre, with the overall average at Rs. 14,936 per acre. The average leased area has also increased to 6.7 acres.

Tenant farmers usually enter into one-year agreements with landowners and pay the lease amount before the cultivation season begins. Any losses suffered during the season are borne entirely by the tenant farmers, as the lease payments are non-refundable.

With drought-like conditions prevailing, tenant farmers are facing multiple challenges. Before the season began, many struggled to procure urea. Now, they are worried about water shortages and the crop losses that may follow.

Ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress party had promised in its manifesto to provide financial assistance of Rs. 15,000 per acre to both land-owning and tenant farmers under the Rythu Bharosa scheme. It had also promised annual assistance of Rs. 12,000 to landless agricultural labourers. But both these promises are yet to be honoured.

The Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Commission has stated that assistance under the Rythu Bharosa scheme has helped farmers cope with this season’s challenges. However, it has remained silent on the difficulties being faced by tenant farmers.