State draws roadmap to double sugarcane production

PUNE: Alarmed by a steep drop in sugarcane production in Maharashtra in the ongoing crushing season, the state government and cooperative sugar
factories have joined hands to double the productivity.

The state has designed a holistic scheme for growth in sugarcane productivity aimed at increasing the yield by 50 tonnes per hectare in the next 18 months. With 100 factories expected to participate in the project by bringing in 1,000 ha each, amounting to a total of 1 lakh ha, this is expected to lead to an increase in sugarcane production of 50 lakh tonnes.

“The state’s sugarcane productivity has declined from 96 tonnes per hectare in 1981 to 75 tonnes in 2005. We want to target 100 sugar factories. Each factory will select an area of 1,000 hectare for increasing productivity,” said state agriculture commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh. According to the state’s sugar commissionerate, there has been a further fall in productivity in the current season, where yields are down to 50 tonnes per ha.

Under the proposed scheme, each sugar factory is expected to spend about Rs 18.5 lakh per 1,000 hectare, while the state government will contribute Rs 111 lakh for the same area. The government’s share has been worked out by the agriculture department pooling together four existing schemes meant for sugarcane. “The factory will appoint one farmer as a para-worker for a cluster of 20 hectares and pay him a monthly honorarium of Rs 500. We will train the para-worker in good agricultural practices. The factory will also hire service providers for operations like seed treatment, micro-nutrient spraying, etc,” Mr Deshmukh said.

“The paucity of sugarcane has caused a crisis in our industry. Some factories have been running for less than 150 days, which is the minimum period a factory should run to avoid making losses. If this scheme is able to achieve even half of its target, the sugar industry will benefit immensely,” said chairman of the Karad-based Yashwantrao Mohite Krishna Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Indrajeet Mohite.
source:ET