Bareilly, Oct 29 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh sugarcane farmers held a massive protest meeting here Thursday against the current practice of fixing sugarcane prices by the government, and demanded that the farmers be allowed to fix the prices.
“Farmers must get the right to determine the price of their produce,” Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan president V.M. Singh told IANS.

According to Singh, Bareilly was chosen as the venue for the protest meeting as it is the “centre point of the state’s main sugarcane belt”.

All major organisations representing the sugarcane farmers in the state including the Mahendra singh Tikait-led Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), Kisan Mitra Sangharsh Samiti, Kisan Sabha and Kisan Sangathan participated in the joint action.

Singh said sugarcane farmers were forced to follow the prices determined by the state and the central governments.

“We have to bring an end to this practice. Let the government make suitable changes in the law. After all, this traditional practice is only benefiting the sugar mill owners.”

Asked about the recent hike in the State Advised Price (SAP) of sugarcane by Rs.25 per quintal by the state government, Singh said it was “inadequate”.

“The hike of Rs.25 a quintal in SAP means just 25 paise per kilogram. But the sugar mill owners will jack up the sugar price by at least Rs.5-10 per kilogram,” he said.

The sugar price in the market has already hit Rs.35 a kilogram, he added.

The farmers have also raised their objection against a central government’s ordinance, which, according to them, seeks to “withdraw” the power of the states to fix sugarcane prices.

According to the Oct 23 ordinance, if the SAP is higher than the Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) announced by the central government, the state governments will have to pay the excess amount.

This ordinance would discourage the state government from announcing higher SAP, farmers said.

“If the government failed to pay any heed to our demand, cane growers may be compelled to switch to other crops over which there was no official control,” Singh said.