Sugarcane farmers seek hike in cane prices

The sugarcane growers in Orissa’s Ganjam district have urged the authorities of Aska Cooperative Sugar Industry (ACSI) to fix the cane price at ' 2500 per quintal at the field level during the coming crushing season.

The factory authorities had paid '1700 per quintal to the cane growers last year. The sugarcane farmers want increase in cane prices to be announced before the start of the crushing season which begins from December next.

“Due to increase in the input prices, the authorities should hike the procurement price of sugarcane to bailout the farmers from suffering losses”, general secretary of Ganjam district sugarcane growers’ association, Samir Pradhan said.

He was addressing a meeting of the sugarcane growers at Aska, about 40 km from here, where several officials of the sugar industries, agriculture department and sugarcane growers from across the district were present. Former MP and president of the association, DK Panda and Rajya Sabha MP, Renubala Pradhan also attended the meeting.

Supporting the demand of the farmers, Rajya Sabah MP, Pradhan said more and more farmers in the district would be keen to cultivate sugarcane if they were paid higher price for their produce. It would help the factory to run for more days and produce more sugar, she said. 

Sugarcane area in the district has been reducing over the last few years with the farmers switching from sugarcane to other crops. Sugarcane was being cultivated in around 10,000 hectares of land in the district about a decade ago. The area has now reduced to 2500 hectares, sources said.

The factory authorities as well as the agriculture department should come forward to solve the problems of the farmers to increase the sugarcane acreage in the district, said the association secretary.