Farmers’ woes. The many flaws with Telangana’s crop loss compensation system 

26-year-old Kurva Manjula, a tenant farmer from Thondapalli village in Vikarabad, has a total debt of ₹7 lakh, of which ₹5 lakh must be repaid to eight different lenders.

She was pushed into an endless debt trap after her husband died by suicide in March 2021, burdened by severe crop loss due to heavy floods.

Since 2019, Manjula’s family has been suffering crop losses. But they still haven’t received any compensation. Manjula continues to farm, trying to repay her debts and support her three children.

“I have cleared ₹2 lakh debt. I pay around ₹40,000-₹50,000 every year, for which I borrow from another money lender at an interest of 3 per cent per month,” explains Manjula.

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A farmer in Kothlapur village in Marpalle mandal in Vikarabad who lost his chilly crop in the hailstorms

Besides, she also has other monthly expenses like food, groceries, electricity, etc., which come to over ₹5,000. Last month, her health expenses shot up to ₹20,000 when she was down with a fever. Manjula also works as a daily wage worker earning ₹250 per day.

Around 350 km away, in Adilabad, many farmers were affected due to the floods in July 2022.

“The crops of more than 50 farmers in my village were destroyed. No government official came to enumerate the losses,” explains Venkata Ramana, a farmer from Kupti village in Adilabad, who lost his soybean and cotton crops.

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Why compensation now 

Following the hailstorm in March 2023, the Telangana government announced a crop loss compensation of ₹10,000 per acre to farmers (including tenant farmers), for the first time since 2018, but it is not the first time farmers have suffered crop loss.

In October 2020, around 15 lakh acres of crops were damaged in Telangana, according to the data submitted by the State government to the Centre. But no compensation was given then.

The Disaster Management Authority at the Centre gave approval for ₹188 crore in February 2021, but even these funds have not been disbursed so far, as per the Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV), a non-registered voluntary organisation working for farmers’ rights in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

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Some of the farmers filed a case and the High Court, in September 2021, ordered the State to compensate. But the State government went to the Supreme Court claiming the destroyed land has been recovered. The case is still pending at the Supreme Court.

In July 2022 rains, around 11 lakh acres were damaged, but the State did not release a penny. In the last five years, the government has only compensated once, in 2018 (₹23 crores) following a High Court order.

A farmer looks at his damaged maize crop in Vemavaram Village in NTR District. Crops were damaged due to gales and rains on AP-Telangana borders causing huge losses to the farmers. Villagers of Penuganchiprolu and Vatsavai mandals said that maize, cotton, chilli and other crops were destroyed due to unseasonal rains. (PHOTO: GN RAO/THE HINDU)

Issues with PMFBY

Crop loss compensation is especially important for Telangana as it is one of the few States which has walked out of the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and is without an alternative State policy. The Telangana government cited low claim ratio and financial constraints for the decision. But there are larger gaps.

The government said insurance companies were trying to make profits, but other stakeholders say that stopping the policy is not the solution.

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“In 2018-19, paddy crops in Mancherial were affected due to heavy rains. But the insurance companies said it was inundation crop loss, and hence, did not fall under its coverage. The State needs to take a strong stand against insurance companies,” added Sree Harsha Thanneru, a volunteer with RSV.

Until 2019, PMFBY was implemented in Telangana, but the premium was not paid by the State on time.

“In 2019-20, the State government did not pay the premium on time and the payment to farmers was delayed by around three years. The farmers paid their share on time. The State government, however, paid it in 2022,” said Sree Harsha.

A cotton farmer shows his damaged field at Tallampadu in Khammam District on Wednesday. Cotton, paddy, and other crops in about 1720 acres in Khammam and 5700 acres in Bhadradri Kothagudem districts reportedly submerged following heavy rains for four days. Chilli seedlings were also affected in several mandals due to heavy waterlogging caused by incessant rains in the past few days. (Photo: GN Rao/The Hindu)

No enumeration since 2018 

According to the National Disaster Response Fund Act, 2005, after a natural disaster occurs, local officers make a rough estimate of the crop loss.

Then, the State government must carry out enumeration within one or two weeks, where they will prepare a detailed, farmer-wise list. The State will then send a factsheet of the details of damage to the Centre, requesting funds.

In Telangana, enumeration has not been done for the last few years. “2018 was the last time it was done. Preliminary estimates are only being done now and they tend to overlook the actual loss for each farmer,” says Sree Harsha.

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Larger issue of tenant farmers 

Another issue is the lack of implementation of the Licensed Cultivation Act, 2011 that requires the State government to identify tenant farmers and issue Loan Eligibility Cards (LEC), which will make them eligible for all government schemes. After 2014-15, the government has not been implementing it.

Is ₹10,000 enough?  

M Raghunandan Rao, Agriculture Commissioner of Telangana said, “For the first phase of hailstorms in March 2023, the enumeration has been completed and the disbursement is going on.”

The farmers are happy, but they ask about previous years’ compensation? Besides, they also say ₹10,000 is not enough. “I spend nearly ₹70,000-80,000 per acre. ₹10,000 is not even enough to cover the losses,” says Manjula.

However, Rao said, “Nobody is ever happy with the money given to them. Everybody wants more.”

On a long-term note, RSV’s Kiran Vissa said, “This should not remain a one-time thing but should be made into a policy. Also, the government should introduce a proper crop insurance policy for the State and ensure inclusion of tenant farmers.”

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