Sugarcane growers' plea for fixing cane price

Sugarcane growers in Orissa's Ganjam district have urged the authorities of cooperative sugar industry, Aska to fix Rs 2,500 per quintal of cane price this year at the field level before commencement of the crushing season.

The factory authorities paid Rs 1,700 per quintal of sugarcane in the last crushing season to the farmers while they procured at the field level.

Due to increase in price of almost all commodities, it is essential to raise the rate of sugarcane to shield the farmers from loss, General Secretary of Ganjam district Sugarcane Growers Association Samir Pradhan said.

Pradhan was present at a meeting of sugarcane growers at Aska, about 40 km from here, where several officials of the sugar industries, agriculture department and a number of sugarcane growers across the district were present.

Former MP and association President D K Panda and Rajya Sabha MP Renubala Pradhan also addressed the meeting.

Supporting the demand to raise the price of sugarcane, the Rajya Sabha MP said more and more farmers in the district would come forward to grow sugarcane if they get profit from the crop.

"It would also help the factory to run for more days and to produce more sugar," she said.

The sugarcane area in the district got drastically reduced in recent years as farmers switched over to other crops considering the low profit from sugarcane.

About a decade ago, sugarcane was raised in around 10,000 hectares of land in the district but it came down to 2,500 hectares last year, according to official figures.