A bitter turn for sugar
A glut in production is depressing prices, exacerbating farmers' woes and upending the political fortunes of many a political party.
Surendra Singh, 40, a farmer with 15 bighas of land (four bighas comprise roughly an acre) in Malakpur village of Baghpat district in western Uttar Pradesh, is distraught. He uses most of his land to grow sugarcane, producing 600 quintals a year, and earning close to
And it's not just one farmer in one state. Across the country, sugar mills have withheld a total of as much as
Crushing woes
Over 4 million rural households are engaged in farming sugarcane in UP, which produced 12 mt of sugar this year - more than any other state. Sugarcane prices are fixed by state governments (state advisory prices or SAP). The UP government increased prices for the 2017-18 crushing season by
Not all farmers
