Assam Cooperation Minister Kaushik Rai on Tuesday met Gujarat Cooperation Minister Jitu Vaghani in Gandhinagar to study the state's cooperative sugar sector, which pays sugarcane farmers between ₹3,900 and ₹4,500 per metric tonne — well above the Centre's Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of ₹3,550 per metric tonne. The visit is part of a broader Assam delegation tour aimed at drawing lessons from Gujarat's farmer-centric cooperative model.

Gujarat's Cooperative Sugar Sector at a Glance

Gujarat currently operates 17 sugar factories, of which 12 are cooperative sugar societies, three are societies leased to Indian Potash Limited, and two are private factories. The cooperative sector holds a combined sugarcane crushing capacity of 73,800 tonnes per day and an ethanol production capacity of 390 kilolitres per day.

Sugarcane is cultivated across approximately 1.25 lakh hectares in the state, with more than two lakh farmer families directly dependent on the crop. In 2025–26, Gujarat crushed 72.06 lakh metric tonnes of sugarcane, produced 7.66 lakh metric tonnes of sugar, and disbursed ₹3,070 crore to sugarcane farmers, at an average recovery rate of 10.64 per cent.

Beyond Sugar: Ethanol, Green Energy, and Digitalisation

Vaghani told the visiting delegation that the cooperative sugar movement, which traces its origins to Bardoli in 1955, has evolved far beyond conventional sugar production. 'Sugar mills are being developed beyond conventional sugar production by integrating ethanol manufacturing, green energy and digitalisation to improve their profitability,' he said.

The State Sugar Commissioner made a detailed presentation covering production capacity, farmer payment mechanisms, and diversification initiatives. The Assam delegation was also briefed on special assistance programmes including the Sakar Yojana, bio-promotion measures, and capital subsidy schemes introduced to strengthen cooperative mills.

What Assam Hopes to Replicate

Rai expressed appreciation for Gujarat's transparent administration and above-FRP farmer payments, and said he intended to draw on Gujarat's experience to strengthen the cooperative sector back home in Assam. Ministers of State Ishwarsinh Patel and Ramesh Katara were also present at the meeting.

Notably, the gap between Gujarat's cooperative payout and the Centre's FRP — as much as ₹950 per metric tonne at the upper end — signals the financial headroom that a well-run cooperative model can generate for farmers, a benchmark that other states are increasingly looking to match.

Broader Context

Gujarat's push to integrate sugar mills with ethanol and power generation aligns with the Centre's national biofuel blending targets, giving cooperative mills a diversified revenue stream that cushions them against sugar price volatility. For Assam, which is working to expand its own cooperative infrastructure, the Gujarat template offers a roadmap that combines farmer welfare with commercial sustainability. The next steps will depend on how Assam adapts these learnings to its own agrarian and institutional context.