State govt vows increased support for tenant farmers

Special chief secretary, agriculture, Budithi Rajasekhar said the state government is commit-ted to empowering tenant farmers by streamlining access to credit and government schemes through the Crop Cultivator Rights Cards (CCRCs) initiative, ensuring they receive their rightful benefits.

Rajasekhar participated in the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) meeting via Webex on CCRC lending, joined by district agriculture officers, lead bank managers, CCLA officials, di-rector of agriculture S Dilli Rao, SLBC convenor Bhaskara Rao, and others.

Rajasekhar stressed the importance of CCRC lending, directing lead district managers to sanction crop loans to eligible CCRC holders as per the 2025–26 scale of finance.

Dilli Rao urged district agriculture officers and bank officials to comply with the AP Crop Culti-vators Rights Act, 2019, to provide institutional credit to all eligible CCRC holders without lapses.

The 2019 Act enables tenant farmers to access crop loans, insurance, and other benefits through CCRCs without affecting landowners’ rights. Dilli Rao said that in 2024–25, 91 per cent of the CCRC lending target was achieved, with Rs 4,474.11 crore disbursed against a target of Rs 4,000 crore.

For 2025–26, 5.99 lakh CCRC cards were issued, including 75,858 renewals, with Rs 838 crore disbursed against a target of Rs 8,000 crore.

Instructions were issued to enhance coordination between bankers and lead district manag-ers to streamline loan sanctions for individual CCRC holders.