Sugarcane acreage falls in Punjab

The minimum support price (MSP) of sugarcane in Punjab has dissuaded farmers from growing the crop. According to data presented by the cane commissioner of Punjab, the area under sugarcane production fell from 225,000 hectare in 2007 to 153,000 hectare in 2008. The acreage is likely to fall further to 93,000 hectare in the coming year.

The Punjab government fixed the MSP of sugarcane at Rs 165 per quintal this year, whereas a farmer can get Rs 180-Rs 200 per quintal in the open market.

According to Balbir Singh Rajewal, one of the members of the Punjab Sugarcane Control Board, the Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, calculated the cost of cultivating sugarcane at Rs 183.35 per quintal and some profit should be added to it to determine the MSP.

But the state government’s inability to revise the sugarcane MSP in the backdrop of revision in the MSP of wheat and paddy has deviated many farmers from producing suagrcane to wheat and paddy.

Sugarcane is an annual crop, whereas a farmer can harvest two crops if he grows wheat and paddy.

Besides the low MSP, an outstanding amount of Rs 70 crore till last year is also responsible for the decrease in the sugarcane acreage.

Besides, delayed payments by the mills has become a consistent feature.

The fall in the sugarcane acreage and less availability of the crop also had an impact on sugar refineries in the state in the past few years as 6 cooperative sugar mills were closed down. Some of them closed down and many are in red.

Last week, state Cooperation Minister Captain Kanwaljit Singh announced a bailout package of Rs 650 crore for restructuring the cooperative sugar mills of the state.

The farmers find his proposal of setting up of mega sugar complexes to benefit the corporate sector and employees and no effort to streamline the payments to the farmers.