he Salem Cooperative Sugar Mills Limited at Mohanur has planned to crush one lakh tonnes of sugarcane during the current 2024-25 crushing season, said Rajya Sabha MP K.R.N. Rajeshkumar here on Thursday.
Inaugurating the crushing operations in the presence of District Collector S. Uma, the MP mentioned that sugarcane was cultivated on 2,449 acres across the district, with farmers registered with the mill. “If the average yield per acre is 36.75 tonne, the total output would be 90,000 tonnes,” he said. The MP also pointed out that according to The Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966, sugarcane cultivated in the areas under the mill’s jurisdiction but not registered by farmers accounts for about 10,000 tonnes. “A total of one lakh tonnes of sugarcane has been planned for crushing this season,” he added.
Mr. Rajeshkumar further stated that during 2023-24, 1.65 lakh tonnes of sugarcane were crushed and ₹48.18 crores were paid to farmers in single instalment. Additionally, the State government provided a special incentive of ₹215 a tonne to farmers for the 2023-24 crushing season. He noted that the Central government has fixed the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane, which will be paid to the growers.
The MP encouraged farmers to register directly with the mill to benefit from these schemes and advised them to cultivate new sugarcane varieties introduced by the State government. He also highlighted that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, during his recent visit to Namakkal, announced a project to enhance the ethanol production capacity at the mill. “A project worth ₹8 crore would be submitted to the government soon,” he added.
