BJP ally SSS against mandatory drip irrigation for sugarcane

Raju Shetti, whose Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna (SSS) is an ally of the ruling BJP in Maharashtra, today alleged the state government's decision to make drip irrigation mandatory for sugarcane cultivators would prove more beneficial for private companies than for farmers.
The Hatkanangale MP, whose rally in May for various demands of farmers including a blanket loan waiver stirred the cultivators, has threatened to launch a strong protest against the latest decision of the government.
Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra Cabinet decided to make drip irrigation mandatory for sugarcane crop in all the irrigation command areas across the state.
"Almost 70 per cent farmers in Maharashtra fall in the small and marginal category. When it comes to sugarcane sector, this number would cross 80 per cent, as land division is more frequent among sugarcane cultivators.

"It is not practical to implement the drip irrigation system on such small piece of land. Experts in this field have given adverse opinion from time to time over drip irrigation being made mandatory. Hence, I strongly suspect the exact motive behind such move," Shetti said.
Discounting the need for any special report to understand this topic, he said the government's insistence on the drip irrigation would invite more ire. "It is not going to be a successful scheme, though the state has made it mandatory," the farmer leader said.
"There was Drip Irrigation Policy and its draft is with the state government. The recommendations in the draft were completely ignored and without any statewide consultation, this decision is taken.

"Why didn't the state increase the subsidy or set up a scheme to encourage farmers to deploy drip irrigation machinery and equipment?...It would have helped the state to modify its decision and there could have been crop specific drip irrigation schemes than one flat decision that is taken without understanding the ground reality," Shetti said.