Farmers take up a fight to 'retain' their land

LAND ACT AMENDMENT

K Manjunath, a farmer in Chapparadahalli village in Kottur taluk of Ballari district, grows over a dozen crops on his one-acre land. But over three acres of land adjacent to his farm lies barren.

"This land was bought by an outsider from my parents 12 years ago. This seems to be just an investment for him. But for us, it is a lost opportunity to grow food and generate livelihoods," he says.

Over 50 acres of land in Chapparadahalli has been left uncultivated for reasons like this. On the other hand, more than 50 farmers, landless and those with small landholdings, grow food in around 200 acres of leased land. The landless there feel that the Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 2020 has snatched away from their hopes of owning land.

They fear buying land will be impossible for them as land will become the property of those who have money, not of the ones who can make a livelihood and grow food for the community.

This is one of the many concerns that farmers across Karnataka raised as they began a campaign on August 8 opposing the amendment. The civil society campaign is using postcards, banners and wall writings to make their statement - "Nammoora Bhoomi Namagirali, Anyarigalla" (Let the land remain with the farming community, not outsiders).

"Scrapping of clauses like 79 (a), (b), (c) of the Act will strip small farmers and rural landless from an opportunity to own land. That farmer will never be able to buy land once it is sold is known from previous instances," says activist and grassroots worker V Gayathri, convenor of the campaign.

She feels that the government should have supported farmer families with special packages when reverse migration is happening. Instead, now farmers who are in distress due to the pandemic will fall prey to this government's move and end up with no land, no money and not even any livelihood.

Farmer leader Kurubur Shanthakumar says, "Over 20 lakh hectares of fertile land near major cities in the state remains unutilised after being bought for various purposes such as real estate. Land is not an investment, it is a livelihood for crores of people. We welcome those who are passionate about farming through a suitable amendment, but will not allow our source of living to turn into a landbank," he said.

The campaign plans fight for the cause at various levels till the ordinance is withdrawn and the government caters to the needs of farmers and the landless.