How did the crop-lien system contribute to the survival of sharecropping and tenant farming for generations after reconstruction? (5 points) farmers who sought to eventually own land in the same area saw it as a way to save money toward the purchase. it required former slaves to pay back their value as slaves in increments through the sale of crops before being paid. poor farmers had to borrow against the value of future crops for supplies, creating a cycle of debt they could not escape. the system assumed an increasing rate of production, even as the prices were falling and the economy suffered downturns.