By Our Reporter The agitating sugarcane farmers withdrew their indefinite protest following the government’s assurance through a five-point agreement that the government would get the defaulting sugar mills to pay their outstanding dues by January 21. The sugarcane farmers and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies reached a five-point deal on Friday. The government also agreed to set up a task force to study an automated system to fix sugarcane prices every year. The task force has also been mandated to prepare reports on providing fertilizers, seeds and machinery required for sugarcane farming to make the country self-sufficient on sugar and even export the surplus. Tussles flare up every year between sugarcane cultivators and sugar producers over the rates of the crop. Most of the times, factory owners refuse to clear the dues on time and delay the collection of sugarcane, which is a cash crop that needs to be harvested and sent for processing on time. Farmers often incur huge losses because of the delay in their product reaching sugar mills. Some of the framers said they were not paid the dues of three years. In order to address the grievances that the farmers are not paid the subsidy allocated by the government, the ministry said it would request the Finance and Agriculture Ministries to release the amount on time. The government has also assured the farmers that a public relation unit will be set up at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies to address their grievances regarding delayed payment and supply of farm inputs. However, the government has released only about Rs. 920 million of Rs. 1.33 billion of subsidy allocated for the sugarcane farmers, and only Rs. 230 million has reached the sugarcane farmers by January 5, 2020, according to Dr. Hari Bahadur KC, spokesman at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. The sugarcane farmers have not reached the concerned offices to claim the subsidy amount with the required documents even though the government had released the amount to the District Treasury Controller Offices, he said. The government had dispatched Rs. 920 million one and a half months ago, he said. As per the procedures of subsidy, the farmers have to submit the copies of land ownership certificates or lease certificate and bills showing that they have sold the canes to the sugar mills. The government has been providing subsidy to the framers based on their sugarcanes crushed to produce sugar. Last year, a total of 20.4 million quintals of sugarcane was crushed in local sugar mills.