A Bitter aftertaste

For a crop that has been savoured by Uttar Pradesh farmers for decades, sugarcane is beginning...

For a crop that has been savoured by Uttar Pradesh farmers for decades, sugarcane is beginning to leave a bitter aftertaste. Besides the current tussle with sugarmill owners, the farmers have been beset with too many problems for too long8212;middlemen pocket the profits, the cane cooperative structure is in a mess and the mills buy at their own convenience8212;to make them think of abandoning the crop in favour of wheat.

The present battle between the sugarcane farmers and mill owners centres on price: while the farmers claim they are not able to recover the cost of cultivation, mill owners say that cane crushing is not viable after buying the crop at the State Advised Price SAP.

As a major relief to the mills, the Allahabad High Court has now ordered the UP Government to scrap the SAP fixed by it for purchase of sugarcane and suggested that a committee with all stakeholders8212;cane farmers, mill owners, consumers and the government nominee8212;be formed to arrive at a fresh SAP.

The battlelines were drawn after former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav8217;s sugar policy in October 2004 resulted in 30 new sugar mills being set up in three years. The daily crushing capacity of UP soared from 3 lakh tonnes in 2003 to over 7 lakh in 2007-08. With this increase, the area under sugarcane increased four times. The excessive sugar production led to a glut in the open market and the prices crashed, which eroded the capacity of the sugar mills to clear the cane arrears.

Meanwhile, the distressed farmers of Shahjahanpur, frustrated by the delay in payment of cane dues by sugar mills and distress sale during the current season, are beginning to look for better alternatives. 8220;We8217;ve had enough of sugarcane. From this season we will shift to wheat and are also looking at cultivating mentha,8221; said Rajendra Singh, a progressive farmer and former chairman of the Cane Cooperative Society, Lakshmanpur.

Echoing similar sentiments, Om Pal Singh from Mianpur village said, 8220;No mill is willing to buy my standing crop in 60 bighas. I8217;ll be left with no option but to sell my crop at Rs 50 per quintal to middlemen, who will sell it to sugar mills for Rs 110 per quintal.8221;

According to farmers, the situation has worsened over time. The network of cane cooperative societies CCS, which protected the farmers8217; interests and worked as a bridge between the mill and the farmers, has all but collapsed. Now, private sugar mills have taken over the societies8217; functions, like managing the cane collection centres and framing the calendar of supply according to which the farmers bring their produce to the Centre.The orders for cane supply by the CCS, locally called satta, are now issued at the behest of the powerful clique of cane supervisers of mills and middlemen. The sattas are issued to middlemen, who do not own any land, and buy the cane from farmers at Rs 50-60 per quintal, selling the same at SAP to sugar mills.

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However, the mill owners think the farmers8217; threat of shifting to wheat is an empty one. 8220;The farmers of UP, particularly in this region, will never shift to wheat or any other crop as they are lethargic, unlike the farmers in Punjab and Haryana. Sugarcane is a low input crop and farmers get some return even if there is a natural calamity. This won8217;t be possible if they shift to wheat,8221; said P.K. Saini, General Manager, Rosa Sugar Works, a KK Birla Group company.

8220;It8217;s a myth that farmers are not satisfied with the SAP of Rs 110 per quintal,8221; said Saini, claiming they were selling cane at Rs 50 per quintal to khandsari and jaggery units. 8220;Sugar mills, despite heavy odds, will pay higher rates,8221; he said.

Even as farmers8217; groups are threatening to go to Supreme Court to appeal against the high court order, the last word is yet to be heard on the issue.