Sugarcane farmers protest new sugarcane pricing policy

Thousands of sugarcane farmers from north India today staged a demonstration here to protest the new sugarcane pricing policy of the government and demanded an increase in procurement prices.

Holding sugarcane stems and shouting slogans against the government, the farmers marched from Ramlila grounds to Jantar Mantar, a demonstration hotspot in the city, this morning as the Winter Session of Parliament began.

The protest is organised by Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal, Bharatiya Kisan Union of Mahendra Singh Tikait and Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan. The Centre brought in an ordinance recently specifying a price of Rs 129.85 per quintal for sugarcane during the 2009-10 crushing season under the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) system, which the protestors and opposition parties say is less.

In case a state government fixes the state advisory price (SAP) higher than the FRP, it will have to pay the difference.

"We are protesting against the government's FRP ordinance. We are also asking the government to hike the prices of sugarcane and paddy. The price of sugarcane should be increased to somewhere between Rs 280-400," Tikait said.

Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh told the protestors that "the FRP is something right for industrial tycoons but not for farmers. It is forcing farmers to commit suicide." He accused the UPA government of sleeping over the issue.