Sugarcane farmers in Maharashtra call off stir

Both factions of the Shetkari Sanghatana on Sunday withdrew their statewide agitation for higher advance rate for sugarcane this season after it was decided in a meeting in the city that farmers would get up to Rs1,800 per tonne of sugarcane, up from Rs1,400 per tonne, as per fair remunerative price (FRP) decided by the government committee.

Agitations by Shetkari Sanghatana activists belonging to MP Raju Shetty and Raghunath Patil had led to serious law and order problems in rural areas of the state, especially in Pune district. Sugarcane crushing in five sugar mills in the district had come to a standstill.

Intervention in the situation by senior leaders like Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had become necessary due to the agitation. Senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde mediated between Shetkari Sanghatana and the state government as well as proprietors of sugar mills.
State cooperatives minister Harshawardhan Patil, president of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Mills Federation Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, as well as Raju Shetty and Raghunath Patil attended the meeting in the city on Sunday.

Raghunath Patil told media persons after the meeting that farmers were offered a rate of Rs1,400 per tonne but due to the agitation the government and proprietors of sugar mills agreed to increase the rate to Rs1,800 per tonne.

Farmers would get an additional Rs3,200 crore due to the hike in the rate as about 800 lakh tonnes of sugarcane would be crushed this season. Hence, the agitation was successfully withdrawn.

Harshawardhan Patil said it was unanimously decided in the meeting that farmers in Pune, Solapur and Ahmednagar would be given advance rate of Rs1,800 per tonne for sugarcane, while in northern Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha the rate would be Rs1,750 per tonne.

Raju Shetty said there are limits to how long sugarcane crushing could be delayed. “An honourable solution was found at the right time to end the agitation,’’ he added.