Sugarcane growers demand higher price

ASCIL provided Rs 2,270 per tonne to the farmers in the last crushing season, including Rs 50 per tonne as transport subsidy

The sugarcane growers in Ganjam district have urged the authorities of Aska Cooperative Sugar Industries Limited (ACSIL) to fix the procurement rate of sugarcane at Rs 3,500 per tonne at field level.

ASCIL, the oldest sugar industry in the cooperative sector in the state, provided Rs 2,270 per tonne to the farmers in the last crushing season, including Rs 50 per tonne as transport subsidy.

"Due to the increase in price of inputs for cultivation of the crop, the procurement price of sugarcane needs to be enhanced," said general secretary of Ganjam District Sugarcane Growers' Association Samira Pradhan. The association has adopted a resolution at its meeting held at Aska, recently. The Association president and former MP DK Panda presided over the meeting.

Sugarcane growers in the district had suffered heavy loss due to cyclonic storm Phailin which hit the state's southern coast on October 12 last year. Though the government had declared a special package of Rs 4.99 crore to the sugarcane growers in the district, the farmers are yet to get cyclone-related assistance, except the fertilisers, alleged association's vice president Narayan Jena. "The factory authorities need to increase the sugarcane price to compensate last year's loss of the farmers and to encourage them for sugarcane cultivation in more areas," said Pradhan.

Area under sugarcane cultivation in the district has reduced drastically in the last few years as farmers have switched over to other crops since sugarcane was no more a profit-making crop, said Jena. Around a decade ago, the area under sugarcane was around 12,000 acres. The area, however, reduced to around 8,400 acres last year, he rued.

"The price fixation committee will consider the demand of the farmers considering all aspects. The committee would meet before operation of the factory starts," said managing director of ASCIL, Trilochan Majhi. The factory authorities are planning to operate in the second week of December this year.