The Andhra Pradesh Tenant Farmers’ Association has urged the State government to extend immediate financial assistance to tenant farmers who suffered severe crop losses due to Cyclone Montha. Association State president A. Katamayya and general secretary P. Jamulayya said that heavy rains, floods and strong winds have damaged over two lakh hectares of agricultural crops and another 1.38 lakh hectares of horticultural crops across the State.
In a statement, the leaders demanded that officials conduct a rapid enumeration of crop damage and ensure that tenant farmers are compensated, regardless of whether they possess a tenant identification card. “The real cultivators who invested heavily and paid lease amounts in advance should not be left out of relief benefits,” they asserted.
The leaders said that paddy, cotton, maize, banana and vegetable crops suffered extensive losses, while fish and prawn ponds were also badly damaged. “Farmers invested lakhs of rupees and were on the verge of harvest when the cyclone struck. The government must immediately compensate them on a war footing,” they said.
They demanded compensation of ₹50,000 per acre for food crops, ₹75,000 per acre for commercial crops, ₹1,00,000 per acre for horticultural crops, and ₹1,00,000 per acre for aquaculture ponds.
The Association also appealed to the government to relax procurement norms and purchase discoloured paddy, cotton and maize at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). They further requested urgent measures to protect standing crops from further damage.
Published – October 29, 2025 07:59 pm IST
