The State Sugarcane Growers’ Association on Monday said the change in Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) announced by the Centre for sugarcane was very meagre and demanded that the FRP must be revised appropriately in the interest of farmers.
The farmers, led by Association President Kurubur Shanthkumar, took out a bike and tractor rally in protest against the “imbalanced” FRP, from Gun House Circle and later staged a demonstration at the Deputy Commissioner’s office seeking immediate revision of FRP.
“When the prices of diesel, cooking gas and fertilizers are increased several times in a year, why cannot the FRP,” he asked, while addressing the protesters.
Mr. Shanthkumar said injustice is being done to sugarcane farmers as they were not getting a suitable price for their produce and alleged that the sugar factories were not complying with the laws which had put farmers in distress.
Calling upon the farmers to unite and fight against the injustice, he said the FRP must be fixed at ₹3,200 a tonne as the ₹50 hike announced by the Centre was unacceptable. Along with the FRP, the profit earned by the factories must be shared with the farmers, the farmers demanded.
“The production cost of sugarcane is more than the FRP announced,” he claimed, adding that farmers were getting trapped in debt as they are not getting appropriate and reasonable prices for their produce.
Accusing the Centre of practising “anti-farmer” policies, Mr. Shanthkumar said the FRP was revised without going into the costs incurred by farmers on sugarcane production.
