Beed Sugarcane Farmers Seek ₹5,000 Per Tonne Amid Drought

Beed: Severe drought conditions have wiped out soybean and cotton crops across Marathwada, leaving farmers desperate to salvage at least their sugarcane yields. Amid this agrarian crisis, the Shetkari Hakka Morcha on Monday launched a sharp attack on sugar factory operators, accusing them of profiteering at the expense of growers despite rising retail sugar prices.

“Sugar that previously sold at ₹30 to ₹35 per kilogram is now retailing at ₹60 to ₹70. Yet, factory owners refuse to pass on the benefits of these rising prices to the farmers who toil day and night in the fields,” said Rajendra Amte, leader of the Shetkari Hakka Morcha. “There must be a limit to how much mill owners pocket. Their unchecked greed is devastating growers.”

The organisation submitted a memorandum to the District Collector’s office, demanding fair remuneration that reflects the hard work of sugarcane cultivators. The delegation sought a first instalment of ₹4,200 per tonne, followed by a final instalment that would bring the total payment to ₹5,000 per tonne.

The memorandum highlighted regional price disparities across the country, pointing out that sugarcane farmers in Punjab, Tamil Nadu and even Western Maharashtra receive significantly higher procurement prices.

“Why should growers in Marathwada and Beed be shortchanged?” Amte asked, urging mill managements to abandon “bureaucratic paper-pushing and profiteering” and immediately announce higher procurement prices.

The delegation that submitted the memorandum included farm activist Rajendra Amte, Dr Ganesh Dhawale, Balasaheb More, Ashok Yede, Hanumanrao Ghodke, Ramdhan Jamale, DG Tandale, Syed Sadeq, Ganesh Vatare, Ashok Survase, Bajirao Dhakne, Yunus Shaikh, Dr Sanjay Tandale, Sarfaraz Pathan and Shaikh Mubin, along with local farmers.