Politics · India Bureau
Centre forms panel to address sugarcane farmers' demands from Maharashtra, Karnataka
India's central government has committed to establishing a high-level joint committee within a week to address grievances of sugarcane farmers from two major producing states. The move comes after senior ministers held extensive talks with farmer representatives seeking higher support prices amid rising production costs.
LSN India ·
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Food Minister Pralhad Joshi met with a delegation of sugarcane farmers from Maharashtra and Karnataka on Monday at the Pusa campus in New Delhi. The three-hour discussion included approximately 80-90 farmers from various organizations, alongside state government officials, to deliberate on pressing concerns facing the sugarcane sector.
Farmers have intensified demands for improved pricing support as the 2026-27 crushing season commenced on October 1. Key grievances include rising cultivation and production costs, with farmer representatives urging the government to raise the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar from the current Rs 31 per kilogram to Rs 50 per kilogram. Additional concerns related to sugar mill operations and recovery rate discrepancies were also raised during the meeting.
Following the deliberations, Agriculture Minister Chouhan announced that a high-level joint committee would be constituted to systematically address ground-level issues affecting sugarcane farmers. The committee's formation within the next week signals the government's commitment to finding workable solutions to the sector's challenges. The initiative aims to bridge the gap between farmer expectations and current policy frameworks while addressing technical issues such as recovery figure inconsistencies reported by sugar mills.