UP cane acreage estimated to rise 10%

The Uttar Pradesh government will employ Global Positioning System (GPS) to ascertain sugarcane area for the 2011-12 crushing season, even as the acreage is estimated to rise 10 per cent and breach 2.3 million hectares (m ha).

GPS would ensure acreage estimates are more accurate to enable the department prepare better for the impending season. Besides, it would help sugar mills in ascertaining cane availability in their reservation area.

The private mills will also cooperate with the sugarcane department in using the GPS technology. The survey will start soon and the final estimates would be available by the first week of July.

“The government targets to use GPS technology for surveying at least 50 per cent of the cane area,” UP sugarcane chief publicity officer Bhupendra Singh Bisht told Business Standard.

According to initial estimates, cane acreage is likely to increase 10 per cent to 2.316 m ha during 2011-12 against 2.101 m ha in 2009-10. It includes area under ratoon crop, which is expected to increase 15 per cent to 1.149 MH vis-à-vis 0.998 m ha last year.

Areas, where major increase in cane acreage is likely, include Meerut, Moradabad, Bareilly, Lucknow, Faizabad, Devi Patan, Gorakhpur, Deoria and Saharanpur.

UP sugarcane development and sugar industry minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui has directed department officials to gear up for the next crushing season beforehand.

Besides, the government will set up 15 soil testing laboratories in sugar mill premises to benefit the local farmers. The government will integrate the department website with those of individual sugar mills for faster information exchange.

To increase sugarcane production, the government will provide Rs 100 per quintal incentive to selected farmers for cultivating new breeder seeds. About 58,000 farmers would be covered under the scheme.

Meanwhile, 2010-11 crushing season has wrapped up and all 125 mills together crushed 64.315 million tonnes (MT) of cane producing 5.875 MT sugar, which is 13 per cent more compared to last year.

Rs 455 crore is still pending on private and cooperative sugar mills in farmers’ dues. Against total dues of Rs 13,030 crore, the mills had so far paid Rs 12,575 crore. Earlier, the government had issued recovery certificates (RCs) against 12 private sugar mills, who were the top defaulters.

“We have also collected about Rs 15 crore as interest from sugar mills over farmers’ cane dues pertaining to the 2009-10 crushing season,” Bisht informed.