KOCHI: In a move to bring large tracts of unused land under farming, the state government is set to introduce a bill to give legal sanctity to tenant farming. The move will also help cultivators access bank credit, crop insurance and other benefits.
Currently, the state has a total of 1,03,334 hectares of fallow land, of which 49,420 ha is permanently fallow. The remaining 53,914 ha has been classified under ‘current fallow’, or lying unused in recent times.
In Kerala, 35% of horticulture and vegetable production is through tenant farming, though such practices violate the provisions of Kerala Land Reforms Act (KLRA). “Such farming is done through simple 11-month contracts,” said Dr B Ashok, principal secretary, Department of Agriculture. “By legalising these 11-month contracts, tenant farmers will be able to access bank loans,” he told TNIE, adding that the government move follows a request from the banking industry. The bill is likely to be introduced in the next session of the assembly.
