UP govt hikes SAP for sugarcane, not sweet for farmers

LUCKNOW: The State Advisory Price (SAP) of Rs 162-170 for sugarcane announced by the state government on Friday is around Rs 20 higher in
comparison to the last year. But, it will not be sufficient for the farmers who were demanding Rs 200-215 per quintal SAP in view of the drought and floods in the state.

In fact, the SAP is less than Rs 176 per quintal, average input cost incurred by a farmer, calculated on the basis of a method fixed by UP government. Also, the price is much lower than what other cane producing states in India are giving to their farmers. Such a situation may lead to further drop in sugarcane production in coming years, posing a threat to sugar industry, one of the few left in UP.

INPUT COST

Sample this: For this season, the state government has fixed SAP Rs 170 for early variety sugarcane, Rs 165 for general variety and Rs 162.50 for lower grade. Last year, the prices were Rs 145, Rs 140 and Rs 137.50 per quintal respectively. However, when the state government's own criterion, the SAP for fresh plantation variety comes to be around Rs 203.41 per quintal and for the Ratoon around Rs 150.41 per quintal. The average input cost, thus, comes to around Rs 176.90 per quintal. The input cost has been determined by taking into consideration field preparation, labour, seed and planting, management, irrigation, fertilisers and application, harvesting labour and transportation etc.

CACP SUGGESTIONS

Further, if recommendations of the Commission for Agriculture Cost and Price (CACP) such as risk premium, managerial cost are included, the average SAP comes to be around Rs 233 per quintal. This year, 53 districts, mostly cane producing, were declared drought hit by the state government due to scanty rains. Diesel prices also went up and power situation was bad. Farmers had to rely on diesel operated pumps. This increased their input cost by at least Rs 18 per quintal as cane needs minimum three `watering sessions' in a season. "We will suffer huge losses. It will hit the small and marginal farmers most. Government should reconsider its decision," said Pritam Singh, a farmer from Saharanpur.

PRICING IN OTHER STATES

"The state government has said that the increase in cane SAP is more than the other states but the reality is that in other cane producing states, farmers are already getting higher prices," Rakesh Sharma, a farmer from Saharanpur, told TOI over telephone. In Maharashtra, farmers had demanded Rs 250 per quintal for cane and have been assured a minimum Rs 200 by Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar. In Maharashtra, pricing is different. Most of the mills are in the cooperative sector in which farmers are shareholders. They get advance price as well as share in profit. Last year, Maharashtra farmers got Rs 180 plus free processing and transport from field which costs around Rs 22.50 per quintal.

In Haryana and Punjab, state governments have announced that cane SAP would be not less than Rs 185 per quintal this year. The rate in Haryana in 2007-08 was Rs 138, 128, 126 per quintal for different varieties, while in UP it was Rs 130, 125, 120 per quintal respectively but farmers got only Rs 110 due to intervention of court. During 2008-09 in Haryana the rates were Rs 170, 165, 160 per quintal respectively for different varieties and in UP the same was Rs 145, 140, 135 per quintal. Karnataka gives around Rs 145 per quintal SAP for cane but due to tropical climate, the produce per acre is double than UP. As a result, a farmer in Karnataka almost gets double of his counterpart in UP.

POSITION IN UP

This year, if farmers in west UP suffered because of drought, their brothers in east UP and Terai suffered first due to low rainfall and then floods. The SAP should be announced at the start of the season to motivate farmers to go for cane plantation. But successive governments in UP have been announcing SAP in first week of October. This time it was delayed by a fortnight. The delay forced many of them to sell their produce at Rs 185-200 per quintal to jaggery and khandari units producing `gur' and `low quality sugar'. However, these units are small and cannot take all the produce. Hence, the farmers are dependent on sugar mills which are expected to start cane crushing within few days.

REACTIONS

"Government seems to have succumbed before the sugar lobby and has announced SAP lower than input cost," said Prof Sudhir Kumar, president, Kisan Jagriti Manch. Cane commissioner was not available for comments but an officer said that government will monitor the situation and may announce bonus, if needed, to help farmers. "We hope mills will offer over Rs 180 rate to farmers, he added. Mill owners, while welcoming government stand, have assured to offer more than input cost to farmers. "As the production is low this year, mills will offer higher price to run at optimum level. A satisfied farmer is also in our interest, nobody wants production to go down further, " said a mill official.

source: TOI