The Navnirman Krushak Sangathan (NKS) here fumed against Shakati Sugar Mill and its anti-farmer policy affecting hundreds of sugarcane growers in Jagatsinghpur district.
The NKS leaders addressing a Press conference held at the district headquarters on Tuesday described that the Jagatsinghpur sugarcane farmers were in a crisis due to monopoly and defiant attitude of Shakati Sugar Mill which has been assigned to help farmers at all levels for sugarcane cultivation, including cane procurement in Jagatsinghpur district.
Both the State and Union Governments have been supplying subsidy, free seed, fertilizer and logistic support to grassroots sugarcane farmers, but these benefits are not available to farmers in Jagatsinghpur. Ironically, the incentive money of Rs50 to Rs100 for each ton of procurement, a mandatory financial assistance to sugarcane farmers, has been stopped this year.
NKS district coordinator Rashmi Ranjan Swain said sugar mill authority says that since the mill has been bearing loss, it is not possible to provide any incentives to the farmers.
Swain argued that sugar production is not sole business of sugar mills. They usually have a few ancillary businesses such as fertilizer production and running distilleries. As such they are making huge profits.
NKS State coordinator Akshaya Kumar said that about one lakh tons of sugar cane are procured in Jagatsinghpur district. As such he demanded establishment of a sugar mill in the district which would be beneficial not only for Jagatsinghpur farmers but also for sugar cane cultivators from neighbouring Kendrapada, Puri and Khurda districts. Shakti Sugar Mill is located in Dhenkanal district.
On the contrary, the Shakti Sugar authority pleaded that the factory has faced overall loss to the tune of Rs30 crore last fiscal due to reduction in sugar price in country and proposed to shut down the Dhenkanal factory. Company chairman K Manikum had visited Odisha in November and had threatened to shut the mill down. But the farmers defended continuance of the mill without incentive money and subsidy for sugarcane cultivation. Acting on the assurance, the chairman had agreed to continue the mill and pledged that farmer’s incentive would be provided after factory’s financial condition was improved.
Shakti Sugar cane officer Dhirendra Nath Parida said about 900 farmers are cultivating sugar cane around in 2,700 acres and procurement is about 76,000 tons this year in Jagatsinghpur district. Shakti Sugar is giving Rs2,123 per ton of sugar cane to the farmers, excluding the incentive money Rs100 per ton.
