Latur, Oct 25 (PTI) Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna leader Raju Shetti on Saturday demanded that the sugar factories in Marathwada must pay farmers a minimum price of Rs 3,500 per tonne for sugarcane.
"If factories refuse to pay this rate, farmers should collectively decide not to supply sugarcane to them," the former MP said, speaking at a sugarcane conference organized by local Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Santosh Nagargoje and others at Pangaon in Maharashtra's Latur district.
Sugar factory owners are exploiting farmers by refusing to pay the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) in one installment even as cane cutters and transporters demand money from farmers before starting work, he said.
Farmers must unite against this exploitation, Shetti added.
MNS leader Dilip Dhotre and farmer Pandurangrao Awhad, director of Natural Sugar, were present as chief guests at the gathering.
A cheque of Rs 11,000 was handed over on Dhotre's behalf to a farmer who lost his buffalo due to a lightning strike at the event. Bags of seed and fertilizer were also distributed to farmers affected by natural calamities.
Dilip Dhotre urged farmers to stand firm against sugar factories, like their counterparts in western Maharashtra do, and ensure they receive the full FRP.
Awhad guided farmers on how to grow 100 tonnes of sugarcane per acre.