NAMAKKAL: Farmers have called upon the State government to modernise cooperative sugar mills which remain under financial crisis for the last ten years. The farmers said the mills are in dire need of an upgrade.
Secretary of Tamil Nadu Banana Growers Federation G Ajeethan, who is also a sugarcane farmer, said, “Lack of modernisation of the mills is a major drawback. Of the 440 sugar mills in the country, 20-25 per cent are cooperative mills. Due to fund crunch, the mills have not been revamped or upgraded. Revenue from the sugar that is sold or pledged is enough only to pay farmers and staff salaries. Unpredictable price changes in the national and international markets only add to their burden, which often results in a loss.”
He added, “Unless steps are taken to increase the area under sugarcane cultivation, the economic condition of mills will not improve. That is why the private mills have started giving seeds free to farmers . If the government really wants to improve cooperative sugar mills, they should concentrate on areas of sugarcane expansion by giving suitable seed and cultivation related subsidies.”
“Effluent from sugar mill should be effectively treated with the solid waste management through the government’s programme and it should be rolled out as manure,” he added.
‘Target unachieved since 2011-12’
Secretary of Salem cooperative sugar mill sugarcane farmers association OP Kupputhurai said, “Due to change in climate conditions, scarcity of water and increasing input cost, farmers are losing interest in sugar cane cultivation. After 2011-12, the cooperative sugar mill in Mohanur did not achieve its crushing target of 4.5 lakh tonnes.”
He further said, “Despite submitting several petitions to modernise the cooperative mills by adopting the latest equipment and producing more value-added products, there has been no use. Last year, during the first wave, the sugar mill produced sanitisers. As the production cost was Rs 95 per litre, we suggested selling it for Rs 150. But, the officials fixed Rs 300 and hence, thousands of litres were dumped here. However, at present, even though the officials are ready to sell the sanitiser at the cost of Rs 150, no one comes forward to buy it.”
Kuppudurai added that FRP for sugarcane is Rs 2,900 including incentive of Rs 200 provided by the State government. “We are ready for the next crushing period which will commence in November, but are yet to receive the incentive,” he pointed out.
When contacted, officials in the Mohanur sugar mill said, “Due to drought, we were unable to expand the area of cultivation over the last few years. However, we support farmers by providing bio-fertilisers, pesticides and weedicides. We are unaware of the modernisation policy of the government. Due to the fund crunch, providing seeds free of cost is unfeasible. For the upcoming crushing period, we will get 1.5 lakh tonne of sugarcane in Salem and 50,000 tonne from Kallakurichi district. But, achieving the crushing target of 4.5 lakh tonnes is impossible this year as well.”
The official added that the State government has issued an order to disburse incentives to farmers before Deepavali.
The above news was originally posted on www.newindianexpress.com
