Sugarcane farmers have once again been compelled to sell their produce to middlemen, on credit, as the government delays in fixing its support price.
As the sugarcane has started drying up in the fields, farmers have started selling them at last year’s price. If the support price had been fixed on time, farmers could have sold the sugarcane directly to the sugar mills at a better price.
Last year, too, the government was late in setting the minimum support price of sugarcane. On December 19, it had fixed the price at Rs 635 per quintal. Of the total, farmers were to receive Rs 565 per quintal from the sugar industries and Rs 70 as a subsidy from the government.
Although the price last year was Rs 25 per quintal more than that in the previous year, farmers were unable to benefit from the delayed decision.
Ramjitu Ray, a farmer from Sarlahi who has cultivated sugarcane in 1 bigha (or around 0.67 hectares) of land, told NBA that he has begun selling sugarcane to middlemen at the rate of Rs 565 per quintal. “Despite the good harvest, they have started to dry in the field,” said Ray. “Since the government has not set the support price yet, I had to sell sugarcane grown on 3 katha (or 0.015 hectares) of land to the local middleman at last year's price to meet household expenses.”
The industries do not buy directly from the farmers until the government sets the price, leaving farmers with no option except to opt for the middlemen.
According to the Sugarcane Farmers Struggle Committee in Sarlahi, there are about 40,000 sugarcane farmers in the district. Around 2,000 of them started selling their produce.
The committee expects the situation to be no different in other districts.
Farmers suspect collusion between the government and sugar industries for the delay in fixing the price.
Sugarcane crushing begins in mid-November and continues until April. The government deliberately delays setting the price before the crushing begins so that factories can get the supply at a cheaper rate, they say.
Annapurna Sugar Mill, Baba Sugar Mill and Indira Sugar Mill among others have started crushing sugarcanes.
Neither the government has fixed the price on time, nor the industrialists have paid the farmers without a delay, Harishyam Ray, the coordinator of the struggle committee in Sarlahi, complains.
The neglect and harassment from all quarters have forced many farmers to switch to other crops. Sugarcane production has been declining in the country in recent years.
In the fiscal year 2020/21, 3.18 million tonnes of sugarcanes were produced, but by the year 2022/23, it decreased to 3.13 tonnes, data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development show.
Sabnam Siwakoti, joint secretary of the ministry, stated that the support price of sugarcane will be set by next week. However, Kapilmuni Mainali, President of Nepal Sugarcane Producers Association, informed NBA that the government has not yet discussed the matter with farmers' organisations.
"If the ministry has made internal preparations, that is a different matter, but so far, there has been no discussion with the association on this issue," he said.
