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In the riot-hit Muzaffarnagar, 40-year-old Sallah and 24-year-old Sonu Tyagi are divided by faith. Both won’t dare entering the other’s village for fear of life. Yet, both stand united by their decision to not cut the sugarcane crop till the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government increases the purchasing price of their crop.
“Last year, I sold 280 quintal (28,000 kg) of sugarcane, but the mills are yet to pay me,” says Tyagi, who is protesting outside the Uttam Sugar Mill, with around 100 more farmers. “Until now, many such protests would have happened. They aren’t just happening because of the riot, as farmer unity is broken,” says Sallah.
For over a month now, the sugar fields of Western UP have stood still. While, earlier the farmers feared rioters, now economic uncertainty grips them. Usually by this time of the year, the crop would have reached sugar mills and crushing started. Fields would have been prepared for the rabi crop, which is wheat here, and sowing completed.
Now, however, sugar mills are closed, sugarcane in the field has begun to rot and farmers are looking for alternatives to recover their losses. One of these is selling the crop to local jaggery manufacturers. But, as the selling price here is much less, only desperate farmers are taking this route.
Muzaffarnagar, part of western UP, is part of India’s sugar bowl. The district alone has around eleven sugar mills, with a combined capacity of 14-lakh-quintal. The sugarcane economy here is dominated by Jats. However, Gujjars, Thakurs and Muslims are also prominent participants.
The labour workforce is substantially contributed by landless Muslims, most of who have since September shifted to relief camps and refused work. But, so far, the shortfall of agricultural labour has not been felt by farmers.
The present inaction is fuelled by two reasons. And, interestingly, the recent riots, is not one of them.
The primary reason is the demand of farmers for an increase in sugarcane prices by 25%, against last year’s price of around Rs 280 per quintal. According to farmers, they have a right to higher prices as input costs have increased. Mill owners, on the other hand, resist any increase citing mounting losses.
The price at which mills purchase sugarcane is set by the state government. The State Advised Price (SAP), as it is referred, is one of the highest in Uttar Pradesh. During 2012-13, UP paid Rs 280 per quintal as the SAP, while Maharashtra and Karnataka paid around Rs 230. However, unlike in UP, farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka are paid extra for transportation costs, which comes around Rs 40-45 per quintal, thereby fetching farmers a higher price than in UP.
Mill owners, however, prefer paying a higher price in Maharashtra and Karnataka, as the sugarcane there has a higher sucrose content because of the longer growing cycle. A usual sugarcane crop in Maharashtra has a growing cycle of 14 months, while it is eight months in Uttar Pradesh.
The farmers are also agitated as they have not been paid for crop sold to mills last year. An average farmer has dues of Rs 50,000-60,000. Mill owners agree that arrears have not been paid.
“Arrears of Rs 2,400-crore are outstanding,” says Abinash Verma, director general of Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA). According to Verma, the mills in UP cannot pay anything above Rs 220-225 per quintal. “The mills in UP cannot pay any price above this. If they do, they will be making losses.”
