Team Herald
PANJIM: The State government has decided to work out better harvesting and support price for the sugarcane farmers after they expressed their discontent over the functioning of the sole sugar factory and the limited financial support they receive.
Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai on Friday chaired a high-level meeting of the officials from Sanjivani Sugar Factory, along with Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar and farmers. The meeting discussed the issues faced by the farmers, due to which, they have been turning away from cultivating Sugarcane in areas like Sanguem, Quepem and Canacona talukas.
Emerging from the meeting, Sardesai announced that his department will be having “limited intervention” in the matter to solve the woes of the farmers.
The leaders of the farmers stated that the factory, located at Dharbandora, was supposed to start for the current season during early this month, but it is yet to start functioning, forcing the farmers into more problems.
“ Sanjivani Sugar Factory is in ICU (Intensive Care Unit), we want to get it out of it. The factory requires a share capital of Rs 10 crore for smoothening its functioning,” Sardesai said.
Speaking about the demands of farmers, Minister said the farmers’ demand is that Rs 600 per tonne harvesting charges should be paid to them from the current rate of Rs 200 per tonne.
“Except for the support price given by the agriculture department, we have no role to play in it. It is entirely with Minister of Cooperative Societies, which is the Chief Minister,” he said.
Sardesai said that government will work to ensure that the Sugar Factory should start by end of the month. Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar said that in Sanguem taluka itself, total 35,000 tonnes of sugarcane is harvested and sent to the factory annually.
“We are the biggest source of sugarcane for the factory. But the farmers are in penury as the harvesting price provided by the government needs to be increased,” he said.
“We want to bring in more area under sugarcane cultivation but that is not happening as the irrigation facilities are very poor. The farmers are not able even to change their crop pattern as the soil does not support any other production,” he added.
