Sugarcane pricing

Proposed reforms are good but much more needs to be done

The government and its think tank NITI Aayog are reported to be working on the mechanism to set up a price stabilisation fund for the sugar sector, apart from modifying the revenue-sharing formula mooted by the Rangarajan committee to tilt it in favour of sugarcane farmers. While the proposed fund would be used to shield cane growers and sugar producers against price risks, the revenue-splitting arrangement would replace the present system of setting sugarcane prices. Moreover, the cane farmers’ earnings are planned to be tied to the level of sugar recovery from the cane produced by them. All these, if