Sugarcane farmers from across the country have started an indefinite sit-in at Maitighar, Kathmandu, from today in protest against the government’s decision to cut subsidies.
According to Nepal Sugarcane Producers’ Federation President Kapilmuni Mainali, farmers arrived in the federal capital with sugarcane stalks, demanding continuation of the subsidy. Leaders of sugarcane farmers from 13 Tarai/Madhes districts, including Sarlahi, Mahottari, Siraha, Rautahat, Bara, Sunsari, Morang, Nawalparasi, and Kanchanpur, are taking part in the protest.
In late June, the Cabinet decided to scrap the subsidy of Rs. 70 per quintal that sugarcane farmers had been receiving. While the government had provided a subsidy of Rs. 35 per quintal for last year’s crushing season, this fiscal year’s budget did not allocate any funds for sugarcane subsidies.
This has made it almost certain that farmers will not receive subsidies for the sugarcane crushed this year. Farmers had been receiving subsidies since 2010 (2066 B.S.), but the government has yet to release even last year’s committed payments.
For instance, farmers in Sarlahi alone are still owed Rs. 373.9 million in subsidies.
Sugarcane farmers have warned that the government’s move to cut subsidies could force hundreds of thousands of them to abandon sugarcane farming. They have demanded that the government continue the Rs. 70 per quintal subsidy without interruption.
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