Sustained efforts on the part of sugar mills and Haryana agriculture officials have yielded results as sugar mills in Haryana have recorded a better crushing season this year.
Mills, numbering three in private sector and eleven in co-operative sector, are reasonably pleased with the crushing season this year. Private sugar mills in Haryana control 45 per cent of the total sugarcane area of the state.
Officials at the Saraswati Sugar Mill located in Yamunanagar in Haryana maintained this year the mill was expecting to crush 12.4 million quintals of sugarcane compared to 11.8 million quintal sugarcane crushed last season, and around 7 million quintal sugarcane crushed for the season 2008-09.
Sugarcane cultivation in Haryana is becoming a challenging proposition in the wake of higher remunerations in the paddy-wheat cycle and also because of shortage of migrant labour deterring farmers to opt for sugarcane. The Saraswati Sugar Mill has been taking measures to motivate farmers towards sugarcane cultivation.
The mill had earmarked a budget to help farmers ensure quality availability of seeds and regular supply of insecticides. The mill is also encouraging farmers to opt for trench method of plantation for sugarcane. According to officials, the trench method of sugarcane plantation increases yield by 20-25 per cent. To encourage farmers to adopt new methods of sugarcane plantationm, the mill is providing 25 per cent subsidy on the cost of machines.
Another advantage of trench plantation is that it provides opportunity to farmers to go for multi cropping and different crops can be sown on the bed between the two trenches.
Similarly, officials in Naraingarh sugar mill maintained this year they would crush 2.8 million quintal sugarcane as against 2.5 million quintal sugarcane the previous year.
Officials in private sugar mills said incentivising farmers who opt for sugarcane cultivation with varying options was a regular feature. Besides providing assured supply of seeds and pesticides at subsidised costs, sugar mills also impart knowledge to farmers about the crop and how it can be protected from pathogens.
Even the 10 cooperative sugar mills in Haryana have produced 1.8 million quintal of sugar by crushing 22.6 million quintal of sugarcane till date.
The overall capacity utilisation of sugar mills in the state has been 91.6 per cent, during the current crushing season as compared to 71.7 per cent last season.
In crushing season 2009-10, the co-operative sugar mills of the state had crushed 8.8 million quintals of sugarcane and produced 0.75 million quintals of sugar.
