Farmers seek 5,000 per tonne for sugarcane

KOLHAPUR: A congregation of farmers producing sugarcane, onion and milk is organised at Otur village in Junnar taluka of Pune district on Saturday. The event, organised to pay tribute to farmer leader Sharad Joshi, will be preparing the ground for farmers' agitation for better price for their produce.
Farmer leader Raghunath Patil said that the farmers should get Rs 5,000 per tonne for sugarcane this season and the first instalment should be Rs 3,500.In the present situation this rate is affordable for the government and the sugar factories.
Patil said that the government is using the ‘divide and rule' policy. "The ruling parties are trying to break the farmers' movement by wooing their leaders and making them part of the government. Leaders such as Pasha Patel, Raju Shetty and Sadabahu Khot are falling to the government's plans. But these measures will not be able to break the movement and new leaders will emerge to fight for farmers," he said.
"Farmers who grow sugarcane, onion and rear cattle for milk production are at the receiving end of the wrong policies of the state government. Prices of all these products have increased in the market but farmers have not got proportional benefits. Tired of the policies of the Congress and NCP, farmers voted for the current government but this has also disappointed us," he said.
"Now it is the time to choose a leader to address the farmers' problems. For this purpose and to address other issues of farmers we have organised the congregation on the birth anniversary of Sharad Joshi," Patil said.