Mumbai, July 8
Sugar output from Maharashtra is all set to see a sharp fall this year as farmers reduce acreage under cane due to poor rainfall.

As per information available from the state agriculture department, acreage under cane could fall as much as 10 per cent. With not enough water for the cane under cultivation sugar output could fall by as much as 20-25 per cent, farmers’ organisations have warned.

The Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has, however, pegged the likely fall in sugar output at a more conservative 16 per cent. “Area under sugarcane cultivation will fall in Maharashtra and Karnataka due to inadequate rainfall. However, output from Uttar Pradesh is expected to rise because of more land devoted to cane cultivation," ISMA said in a study released in Pune earlier this week.

Maharashtra is expected to produce around 76 lakh tonnes of sugar in 2012-13 as against 90 lakh tonnes in the previous year, according to ISMA.

However, farmer organisations such as Shetkari Sanghatana say cultivators are hesitant to sell cane to sugar co-operatives because they haven't paid them on time. "Though the sugar co-operatives have to pay within 14 days they have delayed payment this year," Raghunath Patil,a leader of the Sanghatana said.

Meanwhile, a fodder scheme introduced by the government to provide relief to farmers in Maharashtra is proving to be lucrative for cane farmers.

Reports from a number places in Maharashtra say, farmers are selling sugarcane to the state government's fodder camps because of the higher prices paid. The state government is paying between Rs 2,500 and Rs 2,900 for every tonne of fodder as against Rs 1,800 for every tonne of sugarcane paid by the sugar factories.

According to the Shetkari Sanghatana, since the state government is also more prompt in paying the farmers its members are encouraged to sell cane as fodder.