KARNATAKA’S LAND ORDINANCES AND

THE FUTURE OF FARMERS AND FARMING

Published : August 2020

Introduction
Agriculture and agriculturists are not merely in a crisis but in a state of
emergency. To recognize this and to address it, farmers from all regions, sizes
of holdings and types of agriculture (subsistence to commercial, small,
medium and large) as well as farm workers need to better understand the
issues related to agriculture. They must come together and organize to seek
solutions for this. Agriculture will continue to be the key source of
employment and livelihood for a majority of people. Its importance lies not
only in its contribution to economic growth but also in providing the basic
necessity of food and nutrition to all and livelihood security to the majority.
Further, it has a key role in addressing issues of social justice, ecological
sustainability and economic security.

This small booklet seeks to address some of the pressing issues related to the
new Ordinance on Land Reforms that the Government of Karnataka has
recently passed. At this juncture, farmers and all concerned citizens must
seriously engage with these issues and safeguard the interests of rural
Karnataka and India and their own future.
 PART ONE : QUESTIONS & RESPONSES

1. What are the key issues of the

Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 ?

The Karnataka government has amended the Karnataka Land Reforms Act 1961 first
through Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 9 of 2020) and
subsequently through an ordinance (Karnataka Ordinance 13 of 2020) which was
notified on July 13th, 2020. Some of the most far-reaching changes have been done
via the ordinance route and not through widespread discussions/consultations with
farmers or through legislative debates and processes.

These are the changes that have been made to the Act via these amendments:

A) Waiving of Sec 79(a) and 79 (b) which restricted purchase of agricultural land
to only those who had paani/titles to land or were in agriculture and whose
income was within Rs. 25 lakhs per annum. Amending this means that
anyone can now purchase land with no ceiling on their income.
B) Waiving Sec 79(c): which upheld the prosecution of those found guilty of
buying agriculture by violating the restrictions of who could acquire
agricultural land. So, all legal cases pertaining to violations of acquisition
rules are now cancelled. This enables many of the legal violators to go scot
free.
C) Raising the ceiling limits: The Amendment now permits persons to own
double units (from 20 units per person to 40 units) in each of the four types
of land. So, for irrigated, partly irrigated, dry land, and barren land the upper
limit for each person is now 52, 80, 120 and 216 acres. Overall, families,
companies, corporate, organisations etc can own much larger holdings than
before.
D) This Amendment will now permit all companies or organizations, who have
purchased agricultural lands to be converted for industrial use, to sell such
land to any other organization or person/s if they operate in the same domain
upon completion of 7 (seven) years of operation.
E) The time frame for both acquisition and conversion will be shortened. If
clearances fail to be approved within 30 days both acquisition and conversion
will be considered “deemed” or approved.
2. What are the overall orientation and objectives of these varied
Amendments, Acts and Ordinance?

A) This is part of a larger agenda to tie farmers to world markets, which ignores
livelihood, food and ecological security. Further, those who cannot fit into
this global economy have to exit and join the labour force, already facing
unprecedented levels of unemployment, in order to free up land for
entrepreneurs and agri-business.
B) The overall orientation of these changes is linked to the idea that agriculture
and agriculturists are redundant to the society and economy.
C) It privileges the interest of not just the industries but of those who have
access to capital and to clout.
D) The Amendments overlook all the complex problems that rural Karnataka
and agriculture as an economy are facing.
E) By seeking to do this via an Ordinance it violates the fundamental principles
of the Constitution and the rights of agriculturists.

3. What have been the impact/results of the existing Land Reforms

Act 1961 and the various Amendments ?

A) The Karnataka Land Reforms Act of 1961, and subsequent amendments

especially in 1974, sought to protect the land of small and marginal farmers
and the agricultural economy as a whole by preventing speculators, especially
industrial, urban capital, from expropriating land and also pauperising the
peasantry.
B) The results have been mixed; while the structure of agricultural land holding
has not been significantly dented, widespread dispossession of land and
displacement of small and marginal landholders have not taken place. In
many regions, especially since the amendment of 1974, landless tenants
received small parcels of land and this had enabled them to lead better lives.
C) In many ways, the Land Reform Act 1961 and its various amendments have
not assured land to all persons and a large volume of landless workers ( 1.7
crore) continues to work in agriculture without adequate income and
employment security. Although the Act stipulates that 50 percent of the land
was to be distributed to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe members,
this has not taken place in most regions of the state. Over the years, there
have been several other negative fall-outs and distortions that the Act and the
subsequent amendments have created. Primary among these is the fact that
the ineligibility of all non-agriculturists to purchase agricultural land has
created not only a bureaucratic trap but has enhanced the range of corruption
related to land dealings.
D) The state, and in reality the different political players, have used this blockage
to create new rules and processes that bypass such regulation. The processes
under which land is acquired and then allocated to industries, institutes, and
persons etc have all become sources and strategies to strengthen crony
capitalism and corrupt the government and elected representatives.
E) As a result, the state has lost revenue and the real beneficiaries have been big
political players, crony capitalists, real estate magnates, a land mafia, and
shady entrepreneurs.
F) Genuine buyers, especially those from urban and non-agricultural
backgrounds, have had to go through a bureaucratic maze and unsavory
middle men to access land or in many cases have had to put to rest their
dreams of being in agriculture or accessing land for other productive
purposes.
G) Many genuine industrialists and entrepreneurs have also had trouble
accessing land. Long delays, demand for money, lack of transparency,
litigation etc have meant that many investors and entrepreneurs have also
lost money. Several projects have been stalled and have not led to generating
employment.
H) Worse yet, the farming community itself has suffered from the poor
implementation, legal distortions, and bureaucratic burdens of the Act.
Genuine farmers have not been able to expand their holdings to an optimum
size, small holders have not been sell land at market prices to buyers, and in
some cases landless people who are keen on purchasing land have also not
been able to do so.
I) Complex production patterns have emerged. Take for instance the way in
which small holders, who are unable to cultivate their own land due to
financial and or personal constraints, have been forced to enter into ‘lease
farming’. As lease holders they have submitted their land to larger farmers or
entrepreneurial cultivators who then use their land for limited periods while
undertaking extractive agriculture on these plots. The result has been that
this is a reversed tenancy with capitalists as tenants and the owners rendered
into becoming coolies on their own land. The ecological devastation on
these lands, seen primarily in the leased plots in which turmeric, ginger,
bananas and a range of vegetables are grown is only one glaring example.
J) The problems created by this complex Act and its distortions are visible in the
fact that there is a large volume of land-related litigation in the courts.
4. What is the significance of this new Amendment being passed
through an Ordinance instead of being debated in the Legislative
Assembly?

A) Passing this Bill through an Ordinance at the time of the Covid-19 crisis,
when people cannot raise their voices by coming together and protesting,
indicates the undemocratic and unethical way in which the government has
passed this Amendment through stealth. It is not even ready to face the
Assembly while making such an important decision.
B) This Amendment to the 1961 Act does not have the interests of the larger
agricultural community at heart and this is an attempt to over ride protests
and resistance from the farming community.

5. Who stands to benefit from this Ordinance and the Amendments?

A) Non-agriculturists, and that too primarily the building and construction

lobby, politicians, speculators, and real estate companies will stand to gain
from this. With increases in land prices they will enjoy speculative capital
accumulation in the future.
B) There is a possibility that shortening the time for review and permission and
bypassing restrictions will not enable even industrialists or those interested
in purchasing agricultural land to access land. Instead, those with large
capital and proximity to those in power may be able to access large amounts
of land.
6. Who will be the key loosers from such an Amendment ?

A) The agricultural community as a whole will stand to lose from this revised
Act.
B) In most cases, small and marginal farmers, most of who are from Dalit,
Adivasi and other disadvantaged and marginalised communities, will be
affected the most. During distress times of droughts, floods, loss of crops,
poor market conditions, indebtedness etc many will resort to distress sales of
their lands, thereby becoming landless.
C) Facilitating easy access to land for those with capital will lead to them
amalgamating land for their own purposes. Many agriculturists will be
rendered into becoming landless workers or displaced migrant workers.
D) This will lead to a significant reversal of land reforms. Those families and
caste groups that had received land under the land distribution or Land
Reforms Amendment Act of 1974 may again become landless.
E) Overall, society and the nation will stand to lose in the long-term as a
completely unregulated land market and unregulated land use imply
widespread displacement of small, marginal and landless agricultural
communities, ecological devastation, social instability, and political
disenfranchisement. There will be serious negative impacts on food security.
 PART TWO : POLICY, ALTERNATIVES & ACTIONS

1. What are the key problems in Karnataka’s agrarian sector?

The key problems faced by the farming community and rural society are four-fold

Economic:
a) Although agricultural incomes are declining, in rural areas 60% of male and
80% of female workers' source of employment is the agricultural sector.

b) Cost of living is rising while rural incomes are declining.

c) Input costs for agriculture are going up (for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides,
borewells, ploughing, transport etc)

d) More than 50% of farming households are in debt. Most of the borrowing
(70%) is for agricultural expenses. At the same time institutional credit is
decreasing and is not easily available to farmers.

e) Small and marginal farmers are abandoning agriculture and this is visible in
the fact that 16% of cultivable land in Karnataka was left fallow in 2018.

f) Lack of labour in some regions, as most of the younger generation seek to be

in urban employment and are engaged in low-end, precarious urban work.
The result is that several villages consist of only old people.

g) Farmers are enterprising and often achieve high agricultural productivity but
worsening environmental conditions and non-caring policies create distress.

Ecological:
Much of the state’s rural regions are marked by land degradation, severe depletion of
soil fertility, attacks of pests and diseases on crops, groundwater depletion, loss of
green cover, loss of biodiversity, (flora and fauna), and fluctuations in rainfall
patterns due to climate change
Public service related:
a) Despite universal PDS, 40% of rural households are malnourished.

b) Medical costs are rising as government health services are poor.

c) Quality of education is poor and private school fees are exorbitant.

Social:
Lack of unity; due to sectarian interests farmers are unable to come together to
address their problems and to place pressure on the government. Rural society is also
affected by rising forms of consumerism, casteism, and submission to popular media.

2. Will corporate and industrial agriculture address all the prevailing

problems faced by agriculturists?

Corporate agriculture will be primarily agri-business in which companies with access

to capital and technology will dominate agriculture. All profits will accrue to them.
Studies also show that agri-business and corporate agriculture across the world has
resulted in the following conditions:

a) Small and marginal land holders and also landless workers become workers
without employment and food security.

b) The use of high technology, intensive and mono-cultivation of crops, and

chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, weedicides etc) leads to the
ecological degradation of lands and regions and to the loss of biodiversity.

c) Local food cultures will collapse leading to wide-spread malnutrition.

d) Human rights abuses and violation of fundamental rights become rampant.

e) Governments become subordinate to the interests of these agri-corporates

and not pay heed to the well-being and rights of people.
3. Will corporate and industrial agriculture address all the prevailing
problems faced by agriculturists?

The state government should promote new agricultural, processing and marketing
models that enable small and marginal farmers to work together and have decent
livelihoods and income.

a) The state should provide financial, administrative, and knowledge support to

enhance the functioning of group farming and farmer producer
organizations.

b) The state should regulate the use of all natural resources so that natural
resources are conserved and regenerated. Appropriate technologies that
address problems of drudgery but do not damage ecologies should be
promoted.

a) The state should regulate and farmers should subscribe to principles of

agro-ecological agriculture so that agriculture is not an extractive economy
and does not lead to the depletion of natural resources. That is, farmers
should grow only those crops that are suitable naturally to a specific region.
For eg, farmers should not cultivate wet crops in dry regions (eg, areca nut,
bananas etc in dry regions), and similarly farmers in wet regions should not
attempt to grow dry crops only for profit (eg, chillies or millets in the malnad
belt).

a) New production and processing units should be encouraged in rural areas so

that employment is generated in the rural areas, large-scale out-migration is
stemmed, and profits from value-addition accrue to agricultural and rural
workers.
4. What should be the basis for new land reforms or addressal of
rural and agrarian issues?

The state government should promote new agricultural, processing and marketing
models that enable small and marginal farmers to work together and have decent
livelihoods and income.

a) More than just land reforms which are only prescribed on paper, holistic and
new structural reforms of the rural and agrarian sectors are required.

b) Equity and sustainability must be the guiding principles. Generating rural

employment, reviving the rural economy and addressing the climate crisis
must receive top priority.

c) Climate change has initiated an emergency and is visible in the following

conditions: rainfall patterns have altered and are marked by sharp
fluctuations; there is an increase in temperature and dust levels; decrease in
the water table and in water resources; and a depletion of soil fertility and
biodiversity.

d) A combination of climate change and disruptions in natural habitats has

resulted in increase in plant and crop diseases. In addition, diseases and
illness among humans; Eg, chikungunya, dengue, swine flu, Kyasanur forest
disease, and the now Covid-19 disease threaten vast populations. Ecological
restoration via agriculture should be made a top priority. This can be done
via support programs by paying farmers to improve their lands through
conservation of soils, water, seeds and biodiversity.

e) Ecological restoration of all public lands, forests, lakes, tanks, common

grazing grounds, etc must be given priority and made a part of new rural
restoration and employment programs. These activities can become part of
MGNREG work.

f) Development work such as road expansion and creation of new

infrastructure such as water supply from distant regions, railways, solar
parks, mining etc cannot be at the cost of ecological destruction. Land use
plans must be made based on ecological sustainability, taking
micro-watershed as a unit. Development works must not violate local land
use plans.

g) Farmers from all backgrounds and all sizes of holdings and farm workers
need to receive special training for combining local agricultural and
ecological conservation methods with new practices and skills. Training in
agro-ecology, permaculture, integrated agriculture-horticulture-animal
husbandry, and other non-invasive and non-extractive methods should
 receive attention and be promoted.

h) Land and natural resources should not be treated as commodities and

should be seen as collective wealth to be held for the use of future
generations.

i) Farmers and land should be treated with great respect and dignity. The
government should use its power to distribute land to landless and
encourage them to use the land sustainably.

j) Recognise the value of dry agriculture and seek to develop methods and
processes by which agriculture in dry belts can be sustained without
imposing only the wet agriculture models on them.

5. Are there alternatives to this Amendment and to the Land Reforms

Act 1961?

If the state is genuinely interested in addressing issues related to the farming

community then it must set up a Commission on Farming/Rural Economy which will
address all the interrelated rural and agricultural issues and also provide appropriate
remedial measures.

a) All elected representatives should engage in wide-spread discussions about

ways to enhance rural economies in general and not just agriculture.

b) New policies should be discussed thoroughly with the public and in the
legislative assembly before being put to vote.

c) Agricultural and Rural Planning should be given priority and made on the
bases of recognizing Karnataka’s different Agro-Ecological Zones and the
needs of the majority who are small and marginal farmers.

d) Preparation and Proofing for Climate Change adversaries and emergency

should be given priority.

e) Direct financial support should be given to farmers to enable them to engage

in sustainable agricultural practices which will lead to the restoration of soil
and water sources and conservation of seeds. This should be seen as
payment for ecological services and enhancement of agricultural knowledge,
skills and practices.

Three types of security, namely employment security; food and nutrition security,
and income security should be assured to all rural citizens.
6. What other policies and measures are needed to supplement land
reforms?

a) Since other industries, which are extractive in nature are more profitable
than agriculture and rural industries, they must be taxed appropriately. The
rural and agricultural sector requires many more incentives and investment
by the state to level the playing field. Such policies are needed to limit
excessive migration from rural to urban areas as well as to facilitate
comprehensive development of rural regions.

b) Land registration procedures should be made transparent and free from

corruption. The registration process should be simplified and made
convenient for small and marginal farmers who wish to register their land on
partition or inheritance. Presently many of them cannot avail credit or
government schemes meant for them as their holdings are not registered.

c) Complementary cluster development (where agricultural produce can be

linked to having different industries based on these produce) in different
regions will ensure better linkages between agriculture,agri-processing,
production and marketing.

d) Even good policies can be ineffective unless resources (financial and

administrative) for policy implementation are strengthened.

e) The state government should recognize that enabling rural economies to be

vibrant and sustainable will lead to the overall economic growth and social
well-being of the state.

7. What are the interlinked demands that farmers should make?

A key issue that farmers must demand is that of the state subscribing to and
endorsing the federalism of the state. Instead of submitting to the Centre’s dictates in
which the state’s interests are compromised, agriculture must be on the state list (as
assured by the Constitution). Farmers must insist on policies that are state-specific
and cater to the needs of the marginalized in the state. Farmers and rural citizens
must recognize the importance of public institutions that can enable them to enhance
their quality of life. They must work collectively to improve the following public
institutions:.

a) Ensure that the panchayat Raj Institutions that is the gram panchayat and
zilla panchayat work effectively in their districts.
 b) Support and contribute to the positive functioning of all government
educational institutions so that rural residents receive quality education and
do not incur expenses for private education.

c) Facilitate and demand the functioning of government health institutions

(Primary Health Centres at the village level to the District Hospital).

d) Assert that PDS grains be linked to local grains that are produced in the
regions and which are part of the staple food of the people. Collection and
Distribution of grains should also be partly decentralized so as to facilitate
this. This will lead to enhancing the support price for a variety of grains
(millets, pulses) and will encourage farmers to cultivate these grains. Eg,
jowar for north Karnataka, ragi and other millets for south Karnataka, rice
for the wet belts etc.

e) Mobilise support and demand that the state government set up a new
state-level Farmers Commission so that all the grievances of farmers and the
farming community and the rural regions can be addressed. Appoint
representatives of farming community, civil society, elected representatives,
and academics to this commission and empower it.Some of these
suggestions may seem difficult to implement. But there are examples from
across India which show the success of innovative programmes and
approaches bringing together the State and rural society.

8. What role can farmers and farmers’ organizations play?

Farmers need to mobilize on a broad platform going beyond regional, caste and
political affiliations. They must also engage in the following:

a) Understand the conditions around their areas/regions and the impact of the
current Green Revolution, chemical and technology-based agricultural
systems on their ecology, land, health, and livelihoods.

b) Think beyond immediate agricultural productivity and income and consider

the long-term sustainability of their land, ecologies and society. Land owners,
with holdings large and small, must consider the interests and security of
landless workers.

c) Make time to meet and discuss issues; involve landless workers in

discussions. Ensure that timings for meetings are appropriate and suitable
for women to attend and engage with these issues.
d) Go beyond the usual demands from the state for loan moratorium, free
electricity, and access to water and infrastructure.

e) Farmers with large land holdings should consider leasing out some of their
land to workers’ cooperatives, especially to women workers’ cooperatives.

f) Engage with the establishment and effective functioning of key public

institutions in their areas; esp that of the panchayat institutions, health and
education systems.

g) Recognise the importance of their local knowledge systems and the wealth of
their own agro-biodiversities.

h) Consider ways of coming together to form collectives, group farming,

producer organizations, pooling of land so as to have collective security in
times of greater uncertainty in climate, etc.

THIS IS A TIME OF MULTIPLE EMERGENCIES: ECOLOGICAL, SOCIAL,

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC. ALL RURAL RESIDENTS AND ALL CONCERNED
CITIZENS MUST INFORM THEMSELVES ABOUT THE PROBLEMS AND THE
NEW ALTERNATIVES AND POSSIBILITIES.

ONLY A COLLECTIVE STRUGGLE FOR SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL CHANGES

CAN ENABLE RURAL CITIZENS TO LEAD LIVES OF DIGNITY, EQUITY,
JUSTICE, AND DEMOCRACY.

SHARE THIS REPORT WITH OTHERS; DISCUSS THESE IDEAS AND

WORK FOR A BETTER RURAL WORLD.