Centre wants states to pay cane farmers upfront

NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday sought to prevent farmer unrest involving one of its biggest cash crops, with the food ministry asking key sugar-producing states to issue strict directions to all mills to pay farmers upfront for the cane crushed in the 2017-18 season.

Industry estimates show that mills making the sweetener, of which India is the world’s biggest consumer, already owed farmers about Rs 17,000 crore until March-end. In a strongly worded letter to the sugar producing state governments, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has said: “…seek your intervention to issue strict directions to all sugar mills for immediately clearing cane price arrears of the sugar season 2017-18 and those of earlier years. You may also consider taking necessary action against the defaulter sugar mills where warranted.”

A copy of the letter, seen by ET went on to add that “some of the mills in your state are still having arrears of sugar farmers for the previous years. Further, the arrears for the current sugar season (2017-18) for all the sugar mills have risen considerably.”


According to ministry officials, the letter has been sent to CMs of AP, MP, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Gujarat, Puducherry, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Telangana, Karnataka, UP, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand.