IFAD Consultancy Case Study by S Kotnala Landless farmers turn wasteland 2016

425 landless farmers turned wasteland into into cultivable land in Telengana, Andhra Pradesh In India. Sunita Gupta Kotnalla documents this struggle for ILC and SDPPA in 2016

In 20 years, 425 poor landless tenant farmers in the villages of Telangana State, India, transformed 1400 acres
of infertile and idle wasteland into cultivable land using dryland farming. Realising the potential of the improved
land, the absentee landlords tried to reclaim the land by threatening the tenants with eviction. Following a
considerable struggle with the landlords, the farmers’ collective, with the support of SDDPA, successfully
negotiated the registration of land in the name of 395 families. The security of tenure for the farmers has
prevented the loss of livelihoods, enhancing agricultural and environmental sustainability in the area.