Soon after the government issued notification regarding sugarcane prices, the Saraswati Sugar Mills (SSM) at Yamunanagar has started making payments to farmers.
The sugar mill today issued payment schedule of around Rs 50 crore for sugarcane supplied up to November 14 and the payment of next day shall be extended automatically on a daily basis. There are around 22,500 farmers, who are associated with the sugar mill. The payment will be credited to their bank accounts.
Sudhir Rajpal, Additional Chief Secretary of Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, issued the notification on November 23.
As per the notification, the sugarcane prices have been fixed at Rs 386 and Rs 379 per quintal for early and other varieties of sugarcane, respectively, for crushing season 2023-24.
As per available information, the sugar mill started its crushing operation on October 31. It was the first mill to start crushing operation so early in the state this season.
Normally, it starts its crushing operation around November 20. However, it started its crushing operation on November 8 last year.
“Our sugar mill is the first to start crushing operations in Haryana so early on October 31 and now it is the first to start payments to sugarcane farmers,” said DP Singh, senior vice-president (cane), SSM.
The early start of crushing operations was said to be a big relief for farmers as it facilitated timely sowing of wheat crop on about 25,000-30,000 acres after harvesting of the sugarcane.
“Although the government issued the notification very late, start of payment by mills will definitely help the farmers in meeting their day to day expenses,” said Satpal Kaushik, a sugarcane farmer.
Till date, the SSM has crushed about 21.30 lakh quintals of sugarcane and has fixed a target of crushing 175 lakh quintals of sugarcane in the current crushing season.
“We urge farmers to supply the entire quantity of sugarcane to the mill to get state advisory price and not divert their produce on cheaper rates to other sources,” said the senior VP of the mill. He added that the mill would purchase all the available sugarcane in its command area.
The above news was originally posted on news.google.com
