The Uttar Pradesh government has proved to be a major support for sugarcane farmers. Giving priority to farmers’ issues, regular and timely payment of sugarcane prices is being ensured on the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Due to the policies of the UP government and the transparent, technology-based system, sugarcane farmers have received a record sugarcane price payment of ₹3,22,722 crore from 2017 till now, creating history. The payment amount is being transferred directly into farmers’ bank accounts, ending the role of middlemen.
The sugarcane and sugar industry has now become the backbone of the rural economy of the state. The state government is working with full commitment to strengthen farmers’ prosperity, employment for youth, and the rural economy. Uttar Pradesh has also moved far ahead of other states in average sugar recovery.
The UP government’s policy of timely payment to sugarcane farmers has outperformed previous governments. In the last 9 years, the Yogi government has made a record payment of ₹3,22,722 crore.
Officials here on Thursday said on the instructions of the state government, continuous payments are being made to sugarcane farmers. In crushing season 2025-26, payments worth ₹30,831.81 crore have already been made to sugarcane farmers, meaning around 90 per cent of farmers have been paid. Payments from some sugar mills are still pending, and instructions have been issued to clear them soon.
Through the UP government’s ‘Smart Ganna Kisan’ system, the process of sugarcane area registration, survey, calendaring, and slip issuance has been made completely online. Farmers now receive their sugarcane slips directly on their mobile phones, while payments are transferred to their bank accounts through DBT.
In crushing season 2025-26, a total of 121 sugar mills are operational in Uttar Pradesh. These include 3 mills of UP State Sugar Corporation, 23 mills of UP Cooperative Sugar Mills Federation, and 95 private sugar mills. Together, they crushed 877.96 lakh tonnes of sugarcane and produced 89.68 lakh tonnes of sugar. Uttar Pradesh has 121 operational sugar mills, while Maharashtra has 210 sugar mills. Despite this, Uttar Pradesh has achieved an average sugar recovery of 10.21 per cent. In this matter too, Uttar Pradesh has moved far ahead of other states. Notably, Maharashtra’s sugar recovery stands at 9.49 per cent, while Karnataka’s is 8.19 per cent.
The state government also took a historic step in crushing season 2025-26 by increasing sugarcane prices by ₹30 per quintal. The rate was fixed at ₹400 per quintal for early varieties and ₹390 per quintal for general varieties. Due to this increase, sugarcane farmers received an additional sugarcane price payment of around ₹3,000 crore.
During the tenure of the present BJP government, sugarcane prices have been increased for the fourth time. Timely payments have provided economic strength to 48 lakh sugarcane farmer families in the state. The Sugarcane Development Department is also playing an important role in taking the state’s economy towards the one trillion dollar target.