With moves to revive the ailing Brahmavar Cooperative Sugar Factory gathering pace, farm groups have set a target to take up sowing of sugarcane in 300-500 acres of land in Udupi district from December onwards. The factory, started in 1985, closed down due to mounting losses in 2004.
The general body meeting of the Brahmavar Sugar Factory recently decided to consider three options for its revival. The first option being the State government agreeing to finance the revival and the second, the government arranging loans from nationalised banks or the District Credit Cooperative Bank and standing as guarantor.
“If the first two options do not materialise, we have, as third option, decided to sell 15-20 acres of land out of a total of 110 acres belonging to the factory to raise money for its revival. According to a detailed report prepared by a private agency, ₹ 30 crore is required for starting the factory,” said Molahalli Jayasheela Shetty, chairman of the factory.
Nearly 400 farmers who attended the meeting agreed to the proposal for revival of the factory and also to grow sugarcane.
This included representatives of farm groups part of which are the Udupi Zilla Krishik Sangha, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and the Zilla Raitha Sangha.
Japti Satyanarayana Udupa, general secretary of the district unit of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangha, said that it had been decided to cultivate sugarcane within a 25-km radius of the factory as this would help reduce transportation and other costs.
The sangha would organise a contact programme with farmers in villages to encourage them to grow sugarcane in November. “Our aim is to grow cane in 300-500 acres from December onwards and increase it next year,” he said.
A contingency plan too has been thought of in case the factory is not revived in the next year or its revival got delayed. “Then, we will use the sugarcane grown to manufacture jaggery on the factory premises and make arrangements for marketing it,” Mr. Udupa said.
Already, the first phase of Varahi Irrigation Project, launched in 2015, was providing irrigation to 3,000 hectares. The work on the Varahi Lift Irrigation Project is expected to start in about a month, and end in 18 months. “The Lift Irrigation Project would provide irrigation to about 8,000 acres benefiting farmers,” said Mr. Shetty.
