Sugarcane Harvest Season Begins in Bara, Farmers Face Price Discrepancies

As the sugarcane harvesting season begins in Bara, farmers are extremely busy cutting sugarcane from early morning till evening, working to transport it to the sugar mills. Farmers are seen busy with the work of cutting sugarcane and delivering it to the sugar mill.

A long queue of farmers has formed to sell sugarcane at Reliance Sugar Mill, the district's sole sugar industry. Although sugarcane farming has become a source of local employment for many, there is little enthusiasm among them due to not receiving a fair price.

The government has set the minimum support price for sugarcane for the fiscal year 2082/83 at NPR 620 per quintal, with an additional NPR 70 as government subsidy, meaning farmers are entitled to a total of NPR 690. However, farmers complain that this price does not even cover their investment due to significantly increased production costs.

Farmer representatives have been demanding NPR 750 per quintal. Due to disagreements over pricing, a dispute, as seen every year, has emerged between farmers and sugar mill operators this time as well.

Sugarcane planted from Falgun to Baishakh is considered best harvested 10 to 12 months later, i.e., from Mangsir to Phagun. Accordingly, with the onset of the winter season, the hustle of cutting sugarcane and transporting it to the mill has increased in the rural areas of Bara.

Manish Aryal/Nepal Photo Library