While sugarcane farmers are still bogged down by settlement of dues from cane factories, growers in around 10 villages around Rajapur in Chittapur taluk of Kalaburagi district have found alternative avenues to sell their produce. Skirting the factories, they are now going to a local jaggery unit which promises a hassle-free harvest and timely payment.
Sudhakar V. Patil, once a sugarcane farmer himself, set up a jaggery unit in Rajapur investing ₹25 lakh in 2017. The unit can crush 30 tonnes of cane a day. Last year, the unit crushed around 2,000 tonnes and is expected to get more business this season. Farm scientists believe that replicating such experiments could go a long way in solving the cane crisis.
Till last year, the cane growers of these villages were having a tough time. There was no sugar factory within a 100-km radius and mills would take their produce only by the end of the season. Many complained that they had to bribe factory agents to get their crop harvested and transported early. Then, there was inordinate delay in payment. The situation was so bad that some farmers chose to set their fields ablaze than wait endlessly for factories to take the crop.
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“I purchase cane from the farmers paying ₹100 less per tonne than what the sugar factories pay. Yet, farmers prefer to sell their crop to me as I am prompt in paying them. I clear the dues within 40 days. Sometimes, I pay in advance as well,” Mr. Patil said.
Raju Teggelli and Vasudev Naik, farm scientists attached to KVK (Krishi Vigyan Kendra), view it as an “effective model” to address the cane crisis.
They are open to offering guidance to those who come forward with similar initiatives. They have opened a small retail outlet on KVK premises in Kalaburagi for selling the jaggery produced in Mr. Patil’s unit.
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“Large problems can have local solutions. People with relatively better financial stability should come forward to establish small agro-processing units in rural areas. Such initiatives help both farmers and local entrepreneurs. It can generate job opportunities too,” said Mr. Teggelli.
Mr. Patil employs 25 persons at his unit of which 15 are skilled jaggery makers from Uttar Pradesh; the rest are locals. Jaggery makers are paid at ₹230 per each quintal of jaggery they produce. They together make around 20 quintals of jaggery a day.
Mr. Patil believes in minimising middlemen in the marketing chain. Nearly two-thirds of jaggery produced in the unit is sold directly to retailers and the rest to wholesalers.
He has also formed some teams to sell the product directly to consumers in the nearby villages. He now plans to create his own brand and make jaggery-based products soon.