Salem: Sugarcane farmers in Namakkal district have demanded a special incentive for the current season to ensure they receive an assured price per tonne of sugarcane, reports The New Indian Express.
Farmers staged a protest in front of the Mohanur Cooperative Sugar Mill on Saturday, urging the Tamil Nadu government to issue a Government Order to release the incentive.
The protest was organised under the leadership of R Velusamy, president of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam founded by Uzhavar Perunthalaivar Narayanasamy Naidu. Addressing the gathering, he said the State government should immediately announce the incentive so that the minimum price of sugarcane is raised to ₹4,000 per tonne.
The Centre has fixed the Fair and Remunerative Price at ₹3,290.50 per tonne for sugar mills with a recovery rate below 9.5 per cent. Farmers said this amount has already been credited to their bank accounts.
The crushing season at the Mohanur Cooperative Sugar Mill began on November 15 and has since ended.
Velusamy said the mill had assured farmers of a minimum price of ₹4,000 per tonne even before the crushing season started and had communicated this through newspaper notices. However, he said farmers have received only ₹3,290.50 per tonne so far.
Mill Managing Director R Kuppusamy said the mill achieved a recovery rate of 7.2 per cent this season, an improvement from 6.8 per cent last year, and crushed about 65,000 tonnes of sugarcane. He said payments to farmers were made within a few days this year, unlike the delays experienced in the previous season.
On the demand for a minimum price of ₹4,000 per tonne, he said the mill could act only after the State government announces the incentive and issues the required Government Order.
Several farmer leaders, including K Balasubramaniam, general secretary of the Vivasaya Munnetra Kazhagam, and M Thangaraj, president of the Tamil Nadu Natural Farmers’ Association, along with members of other farmers’ groups, expressed support for the protest.
