Maharashtra cane farmers end agitation

The sugar industry in Maharashtra got a major relief today, after various farmers organisations decided to call off their agitation to press for the payment of a first advance of Rs 2,200 a tonne by mills to cane growers.

The farmers bodies, the Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories in Maharashtra (FCSFM), and the state government arrived at a consensus for the payment of Rs 1,800 a tonne by the mills to growers in Pune, Solapur and Ahmadnagar, while mills in Khandesh, Marathwada and Vidarbha would pay Rs 1,750 a tonne as the first advance.

The agitation had been stepped up during the past fortnight, hampering the ongoing crushing season across the state. Last week, agitators sat on a protest sit-in at Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar’s residence at his hometown, Baramati, in Pune district. Nor did agitators spare the two cooperative mills of state cooperation minister Harshvardhan Patil, in Pune district. Subsequently, Pawar and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, at the Federation’s annual general meeting this Friday, called for a dialogue.

Patil said, “Farmers’ organisations have agreed to call off their agitations after today’s meeting. This will pave way for the smooth functioning of sugar mills, especially when nearly 82.5 million tonnes of sugarcane needs to be crushed, to produce 9.5 mt sugar in the current season.”

He said the farmers’ bodies were persuaded not to press their demand for a first advance of Rs 2,200 a tonne, as the payment depended on the sugar recovery, which differed across regions. They were also told about the loss to the industry due to untimely rainfall across the state.

Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, the new chairman of FCSFM, said the agreement was a major achievement. Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Gopinath Munde, who was at the meeting, said it was a positive step. He called on the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank to release payment at the earliest to the mills.

An independent MP, Raju Shetty, who was to launch a protest ‘yatra’ from Tuesday to Pawar’s Baramati from Pandharpur, said the plan had been cancelled.