The state's sugarcane farmers are a worried lot, as they very well should be, following an ambiguous government directive that instructs them to harvest and transport their produce directly to the Sanjivani sugar factory for payment. This comes amid a long-standing demand from them that the government clearly outline the future of the Sanjivani sugar factory; particularly whether it will be restarted at all or remain shut for good.
This latest development is a rather bitter twist when one recalls the sweet beginnings of the state's lone sugarcane crushing factory. Set up by the government in 1973 in South Goa's Dharbandora, it was officially known as the Sanjivani Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana, and was run by Sanjivani Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana (SSSK) Ltd, Goa. Soon enough, the factory had a direct impact on sugarcane cultivation, as the area on which the crop was grown increased greatly. The factory received 55,000 tonnes of cane in 1977-78 compared to 13,532 tonnes that was produced in 1973-74, the trial season during the commissioning of plant.
The government ably supported the farmers too by providing loans and other assistance to promote sugarcane cultivation in Goa. Ultimately, various societies of sugarcane farmers were amalgamated and reorganised into a single society.
Sugarcane cultivation in Goa and operations at the factory reached their peak in the early 90’s. But in 1996, the government took over the factory in 1996 after it started incurring losses. Despite this intervention, however, the losses continued to pile up.
When the government took over, the factory had incurred Rs 8 crore in losses. More than two decades on, this amount soared to more than Rs. 120 crore, rendering the sugarcane crushing plant redundant and crushing the will of farmers to cultivate the cash crop like before.
According to reports, 2017-18 saw around 789.48 hectares of land under sugarcane cultivation, with the engagement of 955 farmers producing 47,503 tonnes of the crop. In the subsequent year, 798.64 ha of land was under cultivation with the engagement of 865 farmers, who then produced 33,212 tonnes of sugarcane; a substantial drop.
In 2020, the government announced that operations at the sugar factory would be shut, and transferred the management of the plant from the cooperative department to agriculture department. This led to a drop in sugarcane production - 26,282 tonnes - which was cultivated by 784 farmers. In 2020-21, the number of farmers dwindled further to 535.
What has irked the farmers is that the long-awaited ethanol plant, proposed by the government to bail out the struggling community, has not materialised either. Chief minister Pramod Sawant had, last year, announced that the government had initiated the process of restarting the factory and had said that the plant will also produce ethanol and will be operated on public-private partnership basis. He has appealed to farmers to cultivate sugarcane as it would be received at the factory for crushing when operations commenced.
Apart from this, Sawant had also assured that the special assistance as notified by the government earlier, will continue through the financial year ending on March 31, 2025.
However, amid the prevailing uncertainty about the reopening of the factory, it is but natural that the farmers have demanded a revised notification from the government that is chalked out keeping them in mind and after holding consultations with them. They also seek a two-year extension of the compensation scheme until the sugar factory resumes operations.
These demands are only fair considering the limbo the farmers have been in and the losses they have incurred to their respective livelihoods as the government drags its feet over the future of the sugar factory. It is high time the government stop doling out stepmotherly treatment to them, considering that sugarcane cultivation in the state itself may die of the farmers decide to stop growing the crop entirely.
Before the finger-pointing and mud-slinging begin, it would be in the fitness of things for the state to come clean on its intentions for the sugar factory and to ensure that the farmers are protected, whichever way Sanjivani may go.