New Delhi, June 10: Agriculture minister Rajnath Singh said today a formula will soon be finalised to provide assistance to the cane farmers of Uttar Pradesh, India's largest sugarcane producing state. "We are working out a solution, very soon the package will be worked out and announced by the Centre, even though the issue falls under the domain of the state government,” Singh said here in a meeting with cane farmers of the state.

Farmers from Uttar Pradesh led by state agriculture minister Hukam Singh have converged here to petition the Centre over the pricing issue which has defied solution for the last eight months.

During the meeting, Rajnath Singh said that viable alternatives were being considered in the wake of the private sugar millers' failure to pay the state advised price of Rs 95-100 per quintal to the farmers.
Impact of the proposed package on other states would also have to be assessed since they could also make similar demands in future, he said.

Chief of the UP State Cane Cooperative Society Rajvir Singh said the farmers were looking up with hope at Rajnath Singh since not only was he the agriculture minister but also belonged to Uttar Pradesh.

Farmers' representatives from Baghpat, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Bareilly and Saharanpur participated in the meeting.
Virendra Malik from Muzaffarnagar said even though the cane crushing season was nearing its end, farmers were yet to get their dues.

Bureau Report