[Photo: FILE]
Sugarcane farmers in Ba say they will not harvest cane this season if their demand to revise the forecast cane price is not met.
The issue was raised during a National Farmers Union meeting held in Ba today, with the $57.40 per tonne forecast price at the forefront of their concerns.
Farmers say current returns are not enough to cover rising harvesting and transport costs, making cane farming financially unsustainable.
They say the existing delivery payment forces growers to pay production costs from their own pockets.
Pushpram Sharma, a farmer who attended the meeting, said the current pricing system is outdated and does not reflect rising living and production costs.
Akuila Sidure, another farmer at the meeting, lashed out at the government, demanding it fulfil promises made to farmers.
He raised concerns over rising living costs, fuel prices, and the burden of replanting cane under current conditions.
“The cost of living now is too high, what are you (government) going to do. You’re telling us to plant more cane, now the fuel price is going up, who is going give the fuel price for replanting the cane?”
Farmers are calling for the guaranteed minimum cane price to be increased to $110 per tonne.
The National Farmers Union is also calling for the forecast price to be revised to $85 per tonne.
The union believes this would improve overall cane returns and support struggling farmers, lifting delivery-related earnings to around $60 per tonne.
