New Delhi: In the midst of the ongoing farmers’ protests, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an increase in the fair payment for sugarcane to Rs 340/quintal for the 2024-25 (October-September) season.
Speaking to the media, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, “It has been decided to fix the price for the upcoming sugarcane season, in the period from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, to ensure the fair and reasonable price of sugarcane to the farmers by the sugar mills. It has been decided to fix the price at Rs 340 per quintal for the year 2024-25 as compared to the previous year which was Rs 315, which has increased to Rs 340 per quintal this year.”
The Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) acts like a minimum support price for sugarcane farmers, making sure they get a fair and steady income for their crops.
“In last 10 years, Modi Sarkar has ensured that farmers get Right Price of their Crop in Right Time. 99.5% cane dues of previous sugar season 2022-23 and 99.9% of all other sugar seasons are already paid to farmers leading to the lowest cane arrears pending in history of sugar sector. With timely policy interventions by the Government, sugar mills have become self-sustainable and no financial assistance is being given to them by Government since SS 2021-22. Still, Central Government has ensured ‘Assured FRP and Assured Procurement’ of sugarcane to farmers,” the government said in a statement.
The government’s choice comes as farmers, mostly from Punjab, protest near the borders of Haryana and Delhi, asking for a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) on all crops.
Recently, Union Ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal, and Nityanand Rai discussed a five-year plan with the farmers’ representatives. The plan involved government agencies buying pulses, maize, and cotton crops at MSP. Despite this, the farmers turned down the offer.