The Agriculture Department held a regional conference in Visakhapatnam on Monday to gather insights on the proposed New Cultivator Rights Act 2024, designed to replace the current Crop Cultivator Rights Act (CCRA) 2019.
The conference aimed to address gaps in existing legislation and discuss improvements for better support to farmers, including easier access to crop loans and agricultural investments.
Agriculture Director S.D. Rao highlighted the conference's goal of addressing the limitations of CCRA 2019, while Special Chief Secretary Rajasekhar emphasized the government's commitment to ensuring cultivators benefit from available government support.
District Collector Harindra Prasad and Joint Collector Mayur Ashok shared optimism that the new law would strengthen tenant farmers' rights, improving access to essential benefits.
Representatives from six districts attended, including tenant farmers, landowners, NGOs, and tenant associations. Participants shared experiences, particularly challenges in obtaining cultivator recognition documents and crop loans. Agriculture department officials were also present to address concerns and gather feedback.