Give Rs 4,000 as MSP for cane: OPS

Former chief minister and AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam on Wednesday urged the DMK government to provide Rs 4,000 per tonne as the minimum support price for sugarcane farmers.

In a statement, the AIADMK leader pointed out that the DMK in its poll manifesto stated that the government would provide Rs 4,000 as the minimum support price. The farmers are now demanding Rs 5,000 per tonne but the DMK, which promised Rs 4,000, had failed to implement its poll promise. The state had passed orders fixing MSP as mere Rs 2,900 creating unease among TN sugarcane farmers.

During my tenure as CM, the MSP was revised to Rs 2,850 per tonne for 2017-18 and this was much higher than the Centre’s fixation of Rs 2,300. The then AIADMK government increased the price because neighbouring Karnataka and Maharashtra were providing MSP of Rs 2,600 and 2,475. Now, the TN farmers are demanding an increase in the MSP and the state government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin should pass GO as per their poll promise revising the MSP rates, OPS said.