MUMBAI/PUNE, Nov. 7 -- Sugarcane farmers called off their 62-hour road blockade of the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway (NH-48) past midnight on Thursday, after reaching an agreement with sugar mill owners on sugarcane prices. The decision followed a meeting between representatives of sugar mills and farmers' representatives at the Kolhapur district collector's office. The meeting, also attended by NCP minister from Kolhapur Hasan Mushriff, devised a new formula that fixed prices for farmers. After the meeting, Raju Shetti, chief of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, arrived at the Kini toll plaza, the protest site, and announced the suspension of the agitation. Under the new 'Kolhapur Formula', farmers will receive Rs.3,900 per tonne as the first payment, against the fair and remunerative price (FRP) of Rs.3,650, and an additional Rs.100 at the end of the crushing season. Farmers will also receive a share in additional profits if sugar prices cross Rs.4,500 per quintal next year. For the current season, the government had approved an FRP of Rs.3650 per ton. But the state government had decided to advance the crushing season from October 15 to ensure seamless supply of sugar before the Diwali season at an affordable price to curb a sudden rise in sugar prices. Sugar factory owners and farmers had opposed this decision, pointing to losses in sugar production due to a lower recovery rate from pre-matured sugarcane and losses to farmers' income due to tonnage loss. Shetti said the agitation had been temporarily called off and it was decided at the meeting that the 'Kolhapur Pattern' would be implemented in Sangli and Satara districts as well. He said if this was not done, farmers would launch fresh protests. On the new formula, Shetti told HT, "Due to this formula, farmers will get more money as per the recovery rate in their area than existing rates. Besides, farmers will get a share in additional profits from the sale of sugar if prices exceed Rs.4,500 per quintal. Farmers will get 70% and factories will get 30% of the additional profits. Farmers are also likely to get an extra Rs.200 per ton. The blockade, which had severely impacted traffic on the busy highway, was launched on November 3 over the demand for better prices for sugarcane supplied during the ongoing crushing season....