MP to come up with sugar policy for farmers

To tackle the problem of sugarcane plenty and growing resentment among farmers the Madhya Pradesh government is considering inviting more sugar mills to the state and coming up with a sugar promotion policy soon.

Further, the transport subsidy offered at Rs 25 per quintal (100 kg) of sugarcane moved out of districts may be extended for sugarcane movement for crushing within districts.

This year the state has registered surplus sugarcane production of 250,000 tones and an increased acreage of 76,000 hectares against 55,000 hectares of the previous year.

"We are working on a plan to have more sugar mills in the state," said Pravesh Sharma, principal secretary, agriculture. Three more mills are likely to come up in the state, he hinted.

He also said the government had a plan to launch a sugar promotion policy to improve the quality of sugarcane production.

However, sources in industry said opening more mills would not serve the purpose as many as two proposed mills will have existing state cabinet ministers in the driving seat as a result farmers will find them at receiving end.

"There are 11 sugar mills in the state and most of them have influential people on the boards but hardly anyone who can protect sugarcane growers' interest," an industry source said.

Sources in industry and government have also informed BS, "Cooperative minister Gopal Bhargava is planning to launch his own sugar mill in Garha Kota of Sagar district." Another mill (not by Bhargava) has been planned near Gadarwara (in Narsinghpur district).

A Central Cooperative Bank official in Narsinghpur district told Business Standard that the bank also has plans to form a cooperative of sugarcane growers to set up a new mill in the area.

"Farmers must have their own mill in the area. This year farmers are facing a tough time and at least Rs 150-200 crore agri loans recovery is in lag-jam," said the official.

On the other hand millers feared that farmers, in panic, might take some wrong move. "If rains start early this year farmer may set their crop on fire since gur (jaggery) season has been faded away and khandsari (raw sugar) mills are almost closed in Narsinghpur district," a senior official in a sugar mill in Naringhpur district hinted telephonically.

Sugar mills are scattered all over the state as a result farmers, despite Rs 25 per quintal subsidy, have to cover a distance of at least 200 km to sale his crop.

According to state agriculture department sugarcane crop of 4000 hectare is yet to be crushed. But it does not tally with the reports coming from the districts and the surplus crushing target of 11.95 lakh tones given by the state government to millers in March this year.