Karnataka's sugarcane growers are set to suffer further as mills in the state will delay crushing cane for the current season. The sugarcane farmers are already burdened with a higher cost of cultivation and pending cane arrears in excess of Rs 125 crore from sugar mills. |
According to the South Indian Sugar Mills Association, maintenance at the mills, which had crushed cane for a longer duration last season following higher crop, will delay cane crushing this season. However, growers allege that the mills are delaying to further defer sugarcane payments. |
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In the southern parts of Karnataka, cane crushing normally starts in June or July. However, this season, only two of the 16 mills have started crushing. This has resulted into a loss of yield for farmers in the districts of Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Mysore, Tumkur, Hassan, Kolar and Bangalore urban and rural. |
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Last year, 12 lakh tonnes of sugarcane was left uncrushed, accounting for about 5 per cent of the total production in Karnataka, said Kurubur Shanthkumar, president, Sugarcane Growers' Association of Karnataka. Sugar production in the country is expected to go up by 10 per cent over the last year's 270 lakh tonnes. |
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Left with no choice, cane growers are planning to divert their crop to jaggery and have demanded the Centre to provide a subsidy of Rs 200 a tonne on a par with sugar exporters, who also get the same sum as export subsidy. The association feels that this would help farmers recover a part of their investment on sugarcane cultivation and also help in utilisation of the crop. |
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The association has urged Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to implement the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers (NCF) headed by M S Swaminathan, before fixing the statutory minimum support price (MSP) to sugarcane growers for the current season. The NCF had recommended the minimum support price to be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production. The cost of cultivation was Rs 1,500 a tonne as against an SMP of Rs 890-1,100 a tonne fixed last year. "As many sugar mills refused to crush our cane last year, we want to divert the cane towards jaggery-making this year. This will also help us utilise the standing crop in a better way," Shanthkumar said. |
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He further added that the farmers, who were unable to pay for their debts have been resorting to suicides. Last year, as many as 55 sugarcane farmers had committed suicides in the state, with Bidar district alone accounting for 36 suicides, he said. The growers have also demanded the Centre to announce a package on the lines of what the state government has announced. |
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