Priyanka urges UP CM to ensure farmers get right price

Alleging that prices for various crops fixed by the state government do not reflect the increased cost of their production, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to ensure that farmers get the "right price" for their produce.

"Your government has declared cane price, which has not been hiked by a single rupee while the cost of fertiliser has doubled and power price has also increased. The production cost, including the labour cost, of farmers' various produce too are increasing but the prices of their produce is not increasing.

"Not only this, but sugar mills too have kept pending farmers' dues worth crores of rupees," Priyanka Gandhi said in a letter to the chief minister.

"Similarly, the paddy price has been fixed at Rs 1,850 per quintal. They (paddy farmers) are also not getting the due price," she said, urging Adityanath "to ensure that farmers get the right price for their produce" as they are facing "tough time".

"I think you will take positive steps," she added.

The Uttar Pradesh government has kept unchanged the State Advised Price (SAP) for the sugarcane at Rs 315 per quintal for the common variety of the cash crop for the 2019-20 crushing season.

Likewise, the SAPs for "early varieties" and "unsuitable varieties" of the sugarcane too have been kept unchanged at Rs 325 and Rs 310 per quintal respectively.

This is the second successive year that the Yogi Adityanath government has not increased the state cane price.

It had hiked the SAP by Rs 10 per quintal (common variety) in its maiden year in office during 2017-18 sugarcane season.