Finally, there is a sweet deal to end the struggle of sugarcane farmers who have been unable to get their money of yields from the sugar mills for years. As per the five-point agreement reached between the agitating farmers and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) on Friday, the sugar mills must clear all dues to the farmers by January 21. For this, the MoICS will act to enforce the accord that can be vital to minimise the long-running conflict between the sugarcane farmers and mill operators. The agreement has stipulated that the government will constitute a task force under a joint secretary of the ministry to recommend ways to iron out the problems of sugarcane farmers. The panel will also recommend to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and the Ministry of Finance to provide fertilises, seeds and machines to the farmers so as to increase the production of sugarcane, and make sugar industries self-reliant and capable to export sugar. It will study about creating an automated system to fix sugarcane prices every year. The government has also committed to coordinating with the line ministries to distribute money in subsidy to the farmers.

Following the accord, the farmers have stopped their fortnight-long protest in Kathmandu. Farmers from central Terai had come to the capital and staged sit-in at Maitighar Mandala, with their 11-point demand. They had braved the chill and rain of the freezing winter. They had lit a fire on the ground of the Maitighar to beat the cold. Ironically, the police had intervened in their agitation and put out the fire. But farmers have successfully drawn the attention of the state, media and civil society to their genuine grievance. The people from different walks of life including the rights organisations and students expressed their solidarity with the peasants’ struggle. The increasing support for the agitation was perhaps one key factor that impelled the authorities to strike the agreement in favour of farmers.

Earlier, under mounting pressure, the MoICS had written a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs to arrest the defaulting sugar mill owners. The move had sent the chill down the spine of some owners who hastened to pay the dues to the farmers. For example, the owner of Annapurna Sugar Mills, Rakesh Agrawal, announced that he cleared a total of Rs 5 million due to the sugarcane farmers on Thursday and Friday. He promised to settle all remaining amounts gradually. It is imperative that all sugar mills owners follow suit and bring smile on the face of farmers who had taken loans from banks on high interest rate and invested their money in sugarcane farming. The sugar mills have yet to pay around Rs 1.3 billion to the farmers. The dues have piled up for the past five years as the mill masters were dilly-dallying to pay the price of sugarcane in time.

It is an irony that the farmers have been pushed from pillar to post in a democratic republic that is known as agricultural nation committed to building a socialism-oriented economy. The Constitution contains oodles of welfare provisions in support of farmers and workers. Now the government must act as a facilitator between the farmers, industrialists and market to ensure that every player performs honestly and no one plays smart to dupe the weaker sections of society and rig the fragile system to fulfil his/her vested interests.