Cane growers seek share in increased profits

[Nemani Chandrasekhar]

Other States - Orissa   

Cane growers seek share in increased profits

Staff Reporter

http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/19/stories/2009101953180300.htm

They also suggest steps to ACSIL for promotion of sugarcane cultivation

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Hike in procurement price sought

The company urged to invest in infrastructure development

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BERHAMPUR: Sugarcane growers of Ganjam district have asked the Aska Cooperative Sugar Industries Limited (ACSIL) to share the profits that the company gained following steep increase in sugar prices during the recent months with them.

The Ganjam District Sugarcane Growers’ Association (GDSGA) made this demand during a meeting of the association held at Aska. The meeting was attended by the president of the association, Dutikrushna Panda, the Aska MP, Nityananda Pradhan and the Rajya Sabha member, Renubala Pradhan. The GDSGA listed seven demands and put forward them before the ACSIL for the promotion of sugarcane cultivation.

Ganjam district has a potential for 22,000 hectares of sugarcane cultivation. In 2007-08, the total area under sugarcane cultivation in the district was 7,000 acres. It came down to 4,000 acres in 2008-09.

This year the ACSIL is expected to procure 45,000 tons of sugarcane from Ganjam district for crushing. It is the only sugar mill in the area. But during last year 70,000 tons of sugarcane was procured by the sugar mill for processing. In 2005-06, the total amount of sugarcane provided by the sugarcane growers to the sugar mill was 1,52,000 tons.

List of demands

The vice-president of the GDSGA, Narayan Jena, said through these seven demands they were trying to revive sugarcane cultivation in the area. Their most important demand was the hike in procurement price of sugarcane to Rs. 2,200 per ton. The sugarcane growers want the State government and administration to intervene so that they could be provided seed, fertilizers and pesticides at subsidised price under the Rashtriya Krushi Vikas Yojna. They wanted extensive publicity of the procurement price and other benefits provided for sugarcane cultivation, so that farmers would get attracted to it.

The ACSIL should provide Rs. 4,000 per acre as an advance to attract sugarcane cultivation, they said. The farmers also wanted share in the increased profit that the sugar mill got due to recent hike in sugarcane prices.

The GDSGA wanted the ACSIL to invest in infrastructure development by helping in renovation of roads connecting the sugarcane fields and the sugar mill. They also asked the ACSIL to pay up the transportation cost of sugarcane brought to the company from fields beyond the distance of 30 km.

 

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Chandrasekhar, Nemani
Program Associate
Watershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN)
H.No. 12-13-450, Street No.1, Tarnaka
Secunderabad - 500 017, Andhra Pradesh, India
Website: www.wassan.org, www.rainfedfarming.org