The Hindu : Karnataka / Mysore News : Centre urged to increase support price for sugarcane

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mysore

Centre urged to increase support price for sugarcane

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, NOV. 16. The Sugarcane Growers' Association has demanded that the minimum support price (MSP) fixed for sugarcane by the Union Government be increased.

In a resolution passed here on Tuesday, the association said that the Union Government had recently fixed the MSP at Rs. 970 a tonne, which was not sufficient owing to the increased farm input costs. It said that the MSP should be at least Rs. 1,250 a tonne.

Farmers' convention

The resolutions were passed by the association at the convention on "Farmers' Awareness" organised by the association.

The association has also demanded the inclusion of sugarcane under the crop insurance scheme. While demanding insurance coverage, the association said that the insurance premium should be affordable.

One of the resolutions said that the cost of the premium to be paid by sugarcane growers should not be exorbitant. The cotton growers were still coming to grips with the insurance premium that was fixed at 13 per cent.

The association demanded that the dues from the Bannari Sugar Factory of Rs. 12 per tonne of sugarcane should also be released immediately.

It pointed out that the factory had not released the entire amount of the MSP fixed by the Union Government during the last harvesting season. While the Union Government had fixed the MSP at Rs. 934 a tonne, the farmers were paid Rs. 922.

The association demanded that the sugarcane brought for crushing be weighed before the farmers.

It demanded that the cases booked against six farmers of T. Narsipura, who were protesting in front of the factory last year, be withdrawn.

Earlier, at the convention of farmers from Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts, experts discussed wide-ranging issues pertaining to agriculture.

They stressed the need to have pricing policies based on a scientific approach. They said that farmers' leaders had to be consulted before the Government announced the new MSP.

Kurubur Shanthkumar, farmer leader, was elected president of the association. More than a thousand farmers from both the districts participated in the convention.

The former Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board, D.M. Nanjundappa; the Joint Director of Agriculture, Krishnaiah; the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, M. Mahadevappa; Shankaraiah, scientist; and D. Rajanna, entomologist, participated.

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