Sugar industry opposes ban on cane crushing in drought hit Marathwada

Also suggest making drip irrigation mandatory for cane cultivation

Sugar mills, political parties and unions representing cane growers have opposed Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse's proposal to ban cane crushing and cultivation in drought-hit Marathwada in the season beginning November. Khadse made a strong case for the ban on water-intensive sugarcane in the Marathwada region, where water levels in most of reservoirs have fallen due to lack of rain. However, the state’s cooperation minister, Chandrakant Patil, insisted the crop needed to be crushed.

The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party said they would oppose a blanket ban on crushing.

Marathwada has 52 of the state’s 205 sugar mills. Of these, 27 are private and 25 are cooperative, with a daily crushing capacity of 138,000 tonnes. These mills had produced 1.98 mt of sugar in 2014-15. “The government should not take a decision banning crushing or cultivating cane in haste. It is wrong to say that cane needs a lot of water during crushing. Almost 75 per cent of the water comes from within the cane,” BB Thombre, chairman and managing director of Natural Sugar Allied, told Business Standard. “During a similar drought in 2004, sugar factories had participated in the crushing season,” he said.

“There is a wrong impression that 30 million litres of water is required for cultivating sugarcane on one hectare. Sugarcane is grown on one hectare with 7.5 mn litres of water,” Thombre said, adding that a ban was not the answer, but promoting drip irrigation for cane farming could be.

The state government would have to compensate cane growers and sugar factories if it decides to ban cane crushing and cultivation, pointed out Amit Deshmukh,  founder of Vikas Cooperative Sugar Factory and the Congress legislator from Latur. “If cane is diverted for fodder, farmers should be adequately compensated. If factories remain shut, workers will not be paid,” he said. Deshmukh suggested the government should make drip irrigation compulsory for cane cultivation.

“There are about 1.6 mn cane workers across the state, of which 600,000 are in Marathwada. The government should reconsider or these workers will agitate from September 14,” said Gahaninath Thore Patil, a sugarcane workers’ union leader.