BERHAMPUR: The Ganjam District Sugarcane Growers Association (GDSGA) on Wednesday urged the district administration to begin crushing process by first week of January.
At a meeting with Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange, the association urged him to enhance the minimum support price of sugarcane to Rs 3,500 per tonne. President of GDSGA Samir Pradhan said, sugarcane farmers of the district braved the odds to cultivate the crop on 8,000 acre land across 16 blocks.
The farmers are expecting a bumper yield but they can make profit only if the MSP is increased because prices of fertiliser, seeds and other input costs have gone up. Sugarcane growers have spent around
Rs 3,200 to Rs 3,300 per tonne, he said.
The association also requested Kulange that farmers must be paid for the sugarcane supplied to Aska Cooperative Sugar Industries Limited (ASCIL). The amount must be credited in the farmers’ bank accounts within a fortnight. Kulange is also the president of ASCIL.