Kreetika Kumar 
The Sugar Cane Growers Fund, on the advice of Minister for Sugar Charan Jeath Singh, has deferred the loan repayment.
SCGF received a total payment of $4.173 million and has paid all the payments back to growers’ accounts in the banks.
Chief Executive Raj Sharma says these payments are supposed to be in the bank by this afternoon or the latest Monday.
Sharma acknowledged the support of the government and the minister for the historic payment.
He adds that those growers who were in arrears have also been refunded so that funds can be used back on the farms after consulting the Minister.
“The normal tendency is that whatever the repayment is, at a minimum, 50 percent of the amount means we would have taken $2 million in repayment. But the minister has advised us to consider motivating the farmers and also helping them boost production. We have released all the money to the farmers bank accounts.”
Sharma emphasized that the repayments due, together with other necessary repayments, will be deducted from the next cane payment either at the end of the year or in January 2024.
He adds that the whole objective of the deferment is to make the best use of it for completing the harvest.
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