UP to facilitate mutually agreed price for sugarcane

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Lucknow: Even as agitating cane farmers brought the entire western Uttar Pradesh belt to a standstill demanding higher remuneration for their crop, the Uttar Pradesh government tried to gain political mileage from the issue.

Trying to push the ball in Centre’s court, the state government said that the angry farmers were agitating against the Centre’s fair and remunerative price (FRP) for cane and that the Uttar Pradesh government’s state advisory price (SAP) was only the minimum price that should be paid to the farmers and not the maximum.

‘’The state government is trying to ensure that a mutually agreed price is worked out between the millers and the cane farmers at the local level. The role of the state government in this is that of a facilitator and directives have been issued to district level administration to work this out,’’ Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told newspersons here on Monday.

Interestingly, no specific slab has been fixed for this ‘’mutually agreeable price’’, which will not be constant but would vary from place to place depending on the recovery of the crop.

It would be up to the millers to work out what price they are capable of giving along with the farmers who have to agree to providing cane at that price.

In fact, sensing the anger of the farmers, the Uttar Pradesh chapter of Indian Sugar Millers Association has taken a conscious decision to not only pay sugarcane farmers as per the SAP announced by the state government but also pay a premium on it so as to procure sugarcane.

‘’For us, the Centre’s FRP has no meaning. We have to pay as per the SAP and will also mark that on our price slip. Whatever else we give beyond the SAP will be over and above the SAP and will not be marked,’’ said an official of ISMA, adding that UP millers will meet Food minister Sharad Pawar on Tuesday to thrash out a middle way out of the impasse.

Confirming the development union minister of state for food, KV Thomas said that the government is hopeful of resolving the issue soon.

Meanwhile, industry sources said the private millers have made up their minds to pay a premium of almost Rs 90 over and above the SAP for the cane, which would bring the total payment to Rs 250/quintal.