Farmers seek increase in FRP for sugarcane
A delegation of farmers, led by Atahalli Devaraj, secertary of the association, met the authorities in Bengaluru on Wednesday and submitted their demands.
Mr. Devaraj told reporters here on Thursday that FRP for sugarcane has been increased by only ₹150 a tonne, which, he said, is unscientific. A review must be conducted, and the price should be fixed at ₹4,500 a tonne as per the CACP (Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices) report, he added.
The association members also reiterated their long-pending demand of fair share of profits accrued from sugarcane by-products, by the sugar mills. In a memorandum submitted to the authorities, the association said the government has fixed an additional price of ₹150 a tonne for sugarcane by-products. But the sugar mills were yet to pay the amount due for the previous year (2024-25), and steps should be taken to ensure that the amount was released to the farmers immediately, Mr. Devaraj said.
The association claimed that there was an outstanding amount of ₹950 crore payable to the sugarcane farmers.
On the issue of computing the rates, the farmers said that FRP should be the price at the field and pointed out that sugar mills tend to recover transportation charges from field to factories. This, Mr. Devaraj said, should be stopped.
The association pointed out that sugar factories deduct 25% of payment for sugarcane crop that was burnt due to fire and wanted the government to step in and end this practice.
Seeking transparency in weighing, the farmers have sought the installation of weighing machine in front of sugar mills. Besides, there is an 8% deduction by way of wastage during harvesting and this should also be stopped, according to the association.
The delegation, which met senior officials of the Directorate of Sugarcane Development and Sugar, also discussed other issues faced by farmers and urged the authorities to address their demands.
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