BENGALURU: The Union Government has assured the sugarcane growers of looking into their demands, including an increase in Fair and Remunerative Prices (FRP).A delegation of farmers leaders from Karnataka and other southern states, along with the Members of Parliament, met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Tomar assured the delegation of looking into their demands and taking appropriate action, said Kuruburu Shantakumar, president, Karnataka State Sugarcane Growers Association. He was part of the delegation that met the minister. Shantakumar said injustice is meted out to farmers from southern states as the FRP is based on the percentage of sugar recovery from cane.
The FRP has been fixed at Rs 305 per tonne at the base recovery of 10.25% of sugar, he said added that it has to be reduced to 8.5%. They also demanded that the FRP should be increased to Rs 350. Farmers are not getting a fair price as the test for recovery of sugar from the cane is done by the factories on their premises, they said and added that such tests should be conducted in front of farmers in their fields.
The farmers urged the Centre to ensure that sugarcane growers’ dues are cleared by factories within 14 days of supplying cane as per the Sugar Control Act, 1966. Criminal cases should be booked against the firms that are not following the rules, they urged. They also demanded relaxation from the 20 months repayment period for the cane loan. Shantakumar said the minister assured them of a meeting with MPs to discuss their demands.