Sugarcane farmers in Andhra Pradesh are a dejected lot. They are in no mood to go for fresh plantings when the new season begins. A good number of them are shifting to maize, sunflower or blackgram. That's what Mr P. Appi Reddy, a sugarcane farmer in Nizamabad, is going to do.
‘Becoming unviable'
“I grow sugarcane on 20 acres every year. But, this year, I am going to shift to blackgram as sugarcane has become unviable,” he told Business Line .
While sugarcane farmers from coastal areas are in favour of crop holiday, those in Telangana are shifting to maize, sunflower and blackgram.
“We have already lost 25 per cent area this season. We are going to lose 25 per cent for next crushing season,” Mr Reddy, who is also the Convener of Telangana Sugarcane Farmers' Unions.
In all, the State might lose 25-30 per cent of sugarcane area next season. This year, sugarcane has been planted on 1.30 lakh hectares against the normal area of 2.19 lakh ha and 1.92 lakh ha in 2010.
Despair is uniform across the State. Representatives of several sugarcane farmers' associations met at Challapally recently to discuss the situation. “The mood is more or less uniform in favour of a crop holiday,” Mr N.S.V. Sharma, Secretary of the Federation of Sugarcane Growers' Associations, said.
Last year, factories paid Rs 2,100 a tonne. But farmers allege that this is Rs 300-400 below the cost of production. “It is not viable if we do not get Rs 3,000-3,500 a tonne,” Mr Sharma said.
Unlike in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, sugarcane farmers in Andhra Pradesh do not get financial support for harvesting and transport. “They still get Rs 2,500 a tonne. Farmers in UP are protesting even after the recent hike because it still does not make it remunerative,” Mr Appi Reddy said.
Price to go up
Mr Ashok Mittal, Chief Executive Officer of Emkay Commotrade Ltd, feels that sugar would remain ‘bullish in the next one year' till present plantations start yielding.
“Acreage would be down next year that will have an impact in the following year. We expect sugar price to increase to Rs 3,000 plus for a quintal as against Rs 2,700,” he said.