Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday while addressing a rally asked farmers in western Uttar Pradesh to grow crops other than sugarcane, citing that overgrowth and excess consumption of the cash crop could cause diabetes.
"You must start growing other crops besides sugarcane. Excess production of sugarcane leads to its more consumption, which, in turn causes sugar (diabetes)," he had said at a road inauguration programme in Baghpat.
According to a Times of India report, Adityanath also asked the farmers to grow other vegetables as they were more in demand in the national capital.
In May this year, sugarcane farmers came in for a tough time as their dues have risen to Rs 21,000 crore. Of this, Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for Rs 12,000 crore, India Today reported.
Adityanath's comments comes at a time the Centre approved the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for sugar season 2018-19 at Rs 275 per quintal for a basic recovery rate of 10%. The price is higher by 77.42% over production cost thereby ensuring the promise of giving the farmers a return of more than 50% over their cost. Keeping the expected production of sugarcane in the sugar season 2018-19 the total remittance to the sugarcane farmers will be more than Rs 83,000 crore. The government, through its pro-farmer measures, will ensure that sugarcane farmers get their dues in time.
The government has also decided that there shall not be any deduction in case of mills where recovery is below 9.5%. Such farmers will get Rs 261.25 per quintal for sugarcane in place of Rs 255/qtl in the current season. The FRP so approved shall be applicable for purchase of sugarcane from the farmers in the sugar season 2018-19 by the sugar mills.
Earlier this year, in the backdrop of frequent droughts and a severe shortage of drinking water in growing urban areas, the Maharashtra government has issued the circular asking private- and cooperative-run sugar mills to mandatorily employ drip irrigation for sugarcane farms by June 2019.
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