Sugarcane growers seek FRP of ₹4,500
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Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar says sugarcane farmers were facing severe financial stress due to deficient rainfall and the increasing expenditure on fertilizers, labour, and cultivation. | Photo Credit: File Photo
The Karnataka Sugarcane Growers’ Association has urged Union Food Minister Pralhad Joshi to take the requisite steps to increase the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane to at least ₹4,500 a tonne, citing drought, rising input and labour costs, and declining yields.
Addressing presspersons in Hubballi on Thursday, association State president Kurubur Shanthakumar said sugarcane farmers were facing severe financial stress due to deficient rainfall and the increasing expenditure on fertilizers, labour, and cultivation.
He said the present system of determining the FRP payment based on sugar recovery from cane supplied by farmers in the previous year was “unscientific” and unfair. He demanded that the system be changed immediately.
He also sought relaxation of restrictions on the direct production of ethanol from sugarcane juice and syrup. Mr. Shantakumar said farmers should be permitted to produce ethanol at their own small-scale units, subject to regulations. Greater opportunities for ethanol production, he said, could provide farmers with an additional source of income and help promote alternative fuel use.
He said drought and poor rainfall had reduced sugarcane production and yields in several regions, while rising demand had pushed up sugar prices. Although the government had directed sugar factories to commence crushing operations early, the problems faced by sugarcane growers continued to remain unresolved, he alleged.
He urged the Karnataka government to introduce stringent legal provisions against sugar factories that allegedly violated government orders and repeatedly approached courts seeking stays. He also sought the immediate implementation of the Kali river linking project for the benefit of farmers in the Dharwad and Haliyal regions.
Calling for relief for drought-hit farmers, he demanded a waiver of crop loans in the State. The government should ensure an adequate and uninterrupted electricity supply to agricultural pumpsets, he demanded, alleging that inadequate power supply was causing crops to dry up.
Taking a dig at Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s visit to an APMC yard recently, he said that it would have been better if the Chief Minister had done something to check the illegal 10% commission taken from farmers in APMCs across the State.
State general secretary of the association, Mahesh Belagaunkar, vice-president Suresh M. Patil and other office-bearers were present.
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