LUCKNOW With the 2027 Assembly elections on the horizon, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government is considering an upward revision in the State Advised Price (SAP) of sugarcane for the ongoing crushing season, exploring the possibility of rolling out the hike as a Diwali gift to the state’s politically crucial farming community.
The process of deciding SAP involves three rounds of consultations: the first at the level of the additional chief secretary, sugar industry and cane development, and cane commissioner; the second under the chief secretary’s chairmanship and the final at the level of the departmental minister. He indicated that an upward revision of SAP was possible to accommodate the farmers’ demand. Any decision on SAP is believed to be significant given the scale of sugarcane cultivation in UP.
The state has more than 47 lakh sugarcane-supplying farmers. The area under sugarcane cultivation stands at 28.14 lakh hectares in the ongoing season, according to the cane department’s data.
“We urged at the meeting that this is the time for consolidation instead of further increasing SAP,” an office-bearer of the UP Sugar Mills Association said, adding the final call will be taken by the state government. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) national president Naresh Tikait said growing cane these days was a loss-making venture in UP. “The production cost of cane growing is more than ₹ 400 per quintal that exceeds the current SAP level,” he said, demanding the government to raise the SAP at least by ₹ 100 per quintal keeping farmers’ woes in mind. Minister for sugar industry and cane development Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan said the final meeting to be chaired by him, would be held soon, possibly before Diwali, to seek the stakeholders’ views. “After that, we will send a proposal to the Cabinet, if any hike is to be effected,” the minister told HT over phone from Mathura. “With farmers seeking a substantial increase and millers pressing for a status quo to consolidate their finances, the government faces the task of balancing farmers’ expectations with financial viability of sugar mills,” an official in the chief secretary’s office said.
