Sugarcane farmers urge Centre to increase fair remunerative price

They stated that due to less yield, farmers in South Indian States were suffering losses to the tune of Rs 525 crore per annum, in the wake of increased recovery percentage.

Hyderabad: Sugarcane farmers from South Indian States have urged the Centre to increase the fair remunerative price for their crop from Rs 300 to Rs 350 per quintal.

They also requested the union government to reduce sugarcane recovery percentage from 10.15 to 8.5 per cent. They stated that due to less yield, farmers in South Indian States were suffering losses to the tune of Rs 525 crore per annum, in the wake of increased recovery percentage.

A delegation of the Parliament members and farmers leaders from South Indian States led by BRS Lok Sabha floor leader Nama Nageshwara Rao met union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in Delhi and urged the Central government to address the issues at the earliest. They wanted the Centre to fix the same remunerative price for sugarcane to be applicable across the country.

The union government was also requested to facilitate speedy payment of amount from the sugar factories to farmers and also prevent irregularities in weighing of sugarcane crop, apart from providing insurance coverage to the crop against damage caused due to fire and natural calamities. The farmers appealed to the union Minister to extend the repayment period of farm loans and delink it from CIBIL score.

The delegation comprised MPs and farmers leaders from Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Odisha including MPs Nama Nageshwara Rao, Sumalatha Ambareesh (Karnataka), L Hanmanthaiah, Shanta Kumari, A Ganeshmurthy, and P Swasti Sundara Siya, and others. South India Sugarcane Farmers Association president Kotapati Narasimha Naidu, general secretary PK Daivasigamani and others were also present.