The sugarcane farmers of Uttar Pradesh are yet again upset with the government. On December 11, 2019, farmers from various districts of Uttar Pradesh, including the state capital Lucknow, burnt sugarcane on 11 December, 2019 in protest. Although farmers’ protest has subsided, for the time being, they have warned that if their demands are not met, they would once again take to the roads. Farmers have alleged that the government is not giving them a price befitting their costs.

The state’s BJP government has not, for the second successive year, hiked the sugarcane prices. For the year 2019-20, the state advised price (SAP) for sugarcane has been maintained like the previous year 2018-19, which was Rs 325 for early crop, Rs 315 for regular and Rs 310 for the unsuitable variety. In the crushing season of 2017-18, the Yogi government had hiked the price by a mere Rs 10 per quintal.

Since 1999, the BJP has been in power for a total six years in Uttar Pradesh and during these years, the state advised price for sugarcane has increased by a mere Rs 20. The biggest hike in sugarcane’s SAP of Rs 40 per quintal had been made by the Akhilesh Yadav government in 2012-13.

Before this, during 1999-2001 too when the BJP was in power, the SAP had increased by Rs 10. The Samajwadi Party had produced a hike of Rs 95 during its eight-year tenure whereas the BSP had increased it by Rs 120 during its seven years.

Like the Minimum Support Price (MSP), the Central government decides the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP). However, a few state governments also set a state advised price over and above these prices. The FRP is the minimum price that the sugar mills have to provide to the farmers.

Uttar Pradesh tops the sugar production in the country and has over 35 lakh farmers engaged in sugarcane farming. In the year 2019-20, sugarcane crop has grown over 26.79 lakh hectare and in the current crushing season, 117 sugar mills are operated within the state. The sugarcane industry in the state is estimated to be worth about Rs 40,000 crore.

The country’s sugarcane farmers received a jolt from the central government when, for the first time, in October 2019’s crushing season, no hike was made in sugarcane’s FRP. The central government had, for the year 2019-20, maintained the FRP from last year, which was Rs 275 per quintal.

Thirty-nine-year-old farmer Piyush from Charthawar block’s Akhlora village in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district explained the rationale behind the demand of a price hike. He said: “Three years ago, a sack of DAP used to cost Rs 1,050 whereas it costs Rs 1,450 now. The electricity charges have shot up. Tilling costs have doubled in the past three years, but the price of sugarcane has been increased only by Rs 10. Our input costs have leaped up, but our income has gone down.”

“Previously, I used to cultivate sugarcane in my 30 bigha field, but reducing it gradually over the past few years, I now do it on 20 bigha. I have no idea as to how our income be doubled,” Piyush added.

Fighting since long for the sugarcane farmers, leader and national coordinator of ‘Rashtriya Kisan Majdoor Sangathan’, Sardar VM Singh, said: “The farmers had set the price for sugarcane for the first time on October 19, 2019. The farmers had hoped for the price of Rs 436 per quintal from the state government. The sugarcane minister of the state had himself stated in the Vidhan Sabha, last year, that a quintal sugarcane costs Rs 290 and these days had increased to Rs 296-297.”

“Our prime minister says that his government gives the farmer 1.5 of his input costs, so keeping that in mind, the farmers had demanded the price of Rs 435 a quintal. It has been one-and-a-half month since the crushing season has begun, but the state government did not increase the price. Everywhere, prices have shot up, but sugarcane price remains the same,” he said.

Although the state government has not made any hike in the sugarcane prices, Uttar Pradesh still remains the highest producer of sugar at the time when the sugar production is estimated to be on a decline throughout the country. Issued on December 19, the report of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), the biggest association of private mills, informed that in the current season, till  December 15, the state’s sugar output was 21.1 lakh tonne which is 12.17% more than the last year.

During this time, the crushing season is ongoing in the state with 119 sugar mills whereas last year, during this time, 116 mills were engaged.

Uttar Pradesh’s 2018-19 sugar production was about 1.18 crore tonne, which was bit more than 1.2 crore tonne in 2017-18. India’s sugar production is estimated to fall by 14% in 2019-20 to 2.8 crore tonne from current season’s output of 3.3 crore tonne.

The country’s sugar production has plummeted by 35% at 45.8 lakh tonne till  December 15. In the marketing year 2018-19, during same time, sugar production was of 70.5 lakh tonne. The ISMA has informed that till December 15, 2019, 406 mills were engaged in sugarcane crushing whereas by this time the previous year, 473 mills were engaged.

The Bhartiya Kisan Union’s state spokesperson Dharmendra Mallik told Rural Connection: “It is absolutely wrong of the state government not to hike the sugarcane price. By doing this, the government is pushing the farmers to suicide. Our input costs have multiplied in the past three years and it is the mills’ interest that the government is looking after.”

He added: “If one looks at the recovery rate, one would see that it has increased from 8.5 per cent to 10 per cent in the past three years. The mill owner are solely benefitting from this raise whereas the farmers do not get timely payment and their good is being overlooked. Still the government proclaims itself to be belonging to the farmers.”

“You may look at the inflation of the past few years. Inflation has gone up for everyone so a farmer should get the rate accordingly. The Shahjahanpur Sugarcane Institute states that a quintal of sugarcane crops takes Rs 304 and the government gives us Rs 325. Now how much does a farmer gain by this?” asked Mallik.

Raju Ahlawat, the head of Muzaffarnagar block of Bhartiya Kisan Union said: “It has been 30-31 months since the current government has assumed office, but still they haven’t considered the state of sugarcane farmers. Last year, it had increased the price only by Rs 10. This year it didn’t even do that. Coming under the pressure of the sugar lobby, the government is ignoring the farmer. Fertilizers, electricity etc have all become expensive. The electricity charges in Uttar Pradesh are the highest in the country. From my district, Muzaffarnagar, the sugar mills owe the farmers Rs 550 crore as pending payments. While the government provides sops worth crores to the sugar mills, for farmers it doesn’t have any provision.”

As per the information received from the Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association, till December 23, 2019, state’s sugar mills owed farmers Rs 2,418 crore as pending payment from the crushing season of 2018-19. Out of this, the major chunk worth Rs 2,092 crore is of the private mills whereas the cooperative mills owe 303 crore and corporation mills owe Rs 21.69 crore.

Besides Rs 40.54 crore remains unpaid from the crushing season of 2017-18. Sugarcane farmer, Arvind Sharma of Bijnor’s Tehsil Chand, village Sikander Nagla, informed that his cost has leaped up due to the excessive hike made by the state government in electricity charges. He said: “If, for example, you sow sugarcane in the month of February, an acre would require a minimum of five times irrigation. Each time the tube well must run for a minimum of eight hours incurring an electrical expenditure of a minimum of Rs 500. So, an acre calls for the irrigation charge of a minimum of Rs 2,500.”

“If the sowing is undertaken in April and if it rains adequately, a farmer still has to irrigate at least four times. In this case, the expense runs to Rs 2,000 per acre and if the supply is erratic then more power is consumed. Three years ago, the irrigation cost of an acre used to be between Rs 1000 and Rs 2000 whereas now it ranges between Rs 2,000 and Rs 2500,” informed Arvind.

He added, “Electricity charges have ruined the budget of the people in rural India. In my very home, my household electricity bill, including that of tube well, ranges between Rs 35,000 and Rs 36,000 per annum whereas three years ago, it used to be up to Rs 14,000.”

Uttar Pradesh’s electrical charges are the highest in the country. In September 2019, the state government had increased the electrical charges by 12%. In case of hike in other states, Madhya Pradesh hiked the charges by 7%, Karnataka by 4.28, Punjab by 2.14% whereas Uttarakhand hiked it by 2.79 % in 2019. Delhi, on the other hand, had brought down the charges.