New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet 150 sugarcane farmers from across the country. The not only to hear their problems but also to share the government plans and assistance provided to them. The government recently allocated a package of Rs 8000 crore for sugarcane farmers.

Sources said that sugarcane farmers will be accompanied by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, BJP member from Rajya Sabha Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Arun Singh. The PM will interact with the delegation at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg. The delegation will mainly consist of farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Maharashtra and Karnataka with members of the delegation having no political background. The government's intervention and initiative taken for the sugarcane sector are likely to come up during the meeting.

Actually, sugar industry is dependent on sugarcane that impacts livelihood of over 5 crore farmers and around 5 lakh workers directly employed in sugar mills. Employment is also generated in various ancillary activities like transport, trade, servicing of machinery and supply of agriculture inputs. So it is very important that issues related to people associated with it must be addressed. India is the second-largest producer of sugar in the world after Brazil and is also the largest consumer. Today Indian sugar industry's annual output is worth approximately Rs 80,000 crore.

The recent package of Rs 8,000 crore for sugarcane was to provide relief to sugarcane farmers to clear of their dues. The government also decided a minimum price for sale of sugar at around Rs 29 per kg, with this objective of clearance of sugarcane dues to the farmers. It was also mooted to put in place a mechanism to ensure that the retail prices of sugar are kept fully under control and sufficient supplies are maintained throughout the year.