Opposing suggestions on imposition of curbs on cane farming in Marathwada, Western India Sugar Mills Association president BB Thombare said preventing farmers from cultivating cane would be against their fundamental right to decide the crop they wish to cultivate.

 

Suggesting micro irrigation and incentives for farmers who adopt water saving techniques, he said the government can restrict the amount of water to be released from dams for crops like sugarcane but a blanket ban on cane will

not work.

 

The Marathwada region has had a deficient monsoon, with all eight districts receiving 12-43% less than average rainfall for this time of the year. The region has around 54 sugar factories and cane was grown by nearly 1.25 lakh farmers in 2.84 lakh hectare during 2018-19, while the total acreage in Maharashtra stood at 11.62 lakh hectare.

Kendrakar’s over 100-page draft report pointed out that cane yield in the Marathwada region is extremely poor at 15-20 tonne per hectare. In the eight districts of Marathwada, on an average, one tonne sugarcane crop requires about 70,000 litre of water.

 

The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), in its earlier reports, observed that Maharashtra sugarcane cultivation, which takes place in less than 4% of the total cropped area, takes away almost 70% of the state’s irrigation water. CACP chairman Pasha Patel said farmers have switched to cane because of income guarantee due to the presence of a large number of factories in the region. If MSP of other crops is made more attractive than cane, farmers will lose interest in it, he said.