Haryana: Farmers demand sugarcane SAP hiked to ₹450/quintal
The delay in announcing the SAP has left farmers in a state of anxiety, as the farmers’ unions of the state were demanding a substantial hike, thus fixing it to ₹450 a quintal from the current ₹372
As the crushing season for sugarcane is set to kick off in the first week of November, the state government is yet to take any decision about the state advised price (SAP) for sugarcane for the 2023-24 crushing season.
The delay in announcing the SAP has left farmers in a state of anxiety, as the farmers’ unions of the state were demanding a substantial hike, thus fixing it to ₹450 a quintal from the current ₹372.
A group of farmers under the banner of Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU Tikait) held a protest in Panchkula on Friday and handed over a memorandum, demanding a hike in the sugarcane SAP, to the director agriculture.
“We have raised our demand of increasing the SAP to ₹450 a quintal and the director agriculture has assured us that he will take up this issue with the chief minister,” said Haryana BKU president Ratan Mann. He also warned of raising the issue during the upcoming visit of Union home minister Amit Shah to Karnal on November 2 if the government fails to address the SAP hike by November 1.
The SAP is the price at which sugar mills are obligated to purchase sugarcane from farmers, and it plays a crucial role in determining the income of these growers. Currently set at ₹372 per quintal, farmers are demanding an increase in the SAP to ₹450 per quintal. Even the BKU (Charuni) has echoed similar demands, holding protests at district headquarters earlier this month.
“We had already raised this issue with the government and now another farmer union has raised the same demand. But this year the government will have to fix the SAP to ₹450 a quintal,” said BKU (Charuni) spokesperson Rakesh Bains.
According to the farmers, the demand for a higher SAP is rooted in the rising input costs and the need for improved profitability to sustain sugarcane cultivation. The delay in announcing the SAP has raised concerns among farmers, who argue that the pricing decision should have been made well in advance of the crushing season.
It is worth noting that last year the state witnessed protests for a hike in the sugarcane SAP by the farmers as they had curtailed the supply of sugarcane to the sugar mills resulting suspension of the crushing operations for around one week. The week-long impasse between the Haryana government and BKU (Charuni) ended on January 26 after the government announced a hike of ₹10 per quintal fixing the SAP to ₹372.
Agriculture director Narhari Bangar said the decision about the SAP sugarcane has not been discussed yet but the farmers raised this issue on Friday and submitted a memorandum of their demand.