UP govt working to ensure payments to sugarcane farmers within a week

Uttar Pradesh Cane Development and Sugar Mills' Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary on Sunday said the state government is gradually inching towards ensuring the payment of sugarcane farmers by sugar mills within a week.

"At present, sugarcane farmers are getting their payment within 10 days in 105 sugar mills of the state. We are making efforts to bring this to a week (from giving sugarcane crop to sugar mills)," Chaudhary told reporters here.

He said during previous governments, ensuring early payment to sugarcane farmers was considered a herculean task. However, a payment of over Rs 2.04 lakh crore to farmers for their sugarcane produce has been made within a span of six years.

Against the crushing of 930 crore tonne sugarcane this season, Rs 21,620 crore have been paid to farmers till March 31, the minister said.

At present, 96 sugar mills (located in areas where sugarcane production is high) are running and instructions have been issued to run the mills till all the sugarcane of the farmers is crushed, he stated.

According to the minister, the state is at the top of ethanol production in the country and efforts are on to pave the way for running the tractor of the farmer with ethanol.

Chaudhary also said sugarcane farming is the only way for doubling the income of farmers since at present sugarcane farmers are paid more than combined payment made to farmers through MSP for wheat and paddy.

He added that in the post-independence period, owing to early closure of mills, the sugarcane crop of farmers remained uncrushed on several occasions. However, sugar mills continued to run even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UP cabinet minister also said that now the focus is on natural farming of sugarcane, since it is not only zero budget farming but the market of natural farming is also gaining momentum.