Mysuru: The problems of sugarcane cultivators continue to rise during the coronavirus pandemic. As the migrant labourers are returning to their homes, the cane growers are finding difficult to get cane harvesters to cut their grown crop lying in the fields. Therefore, farmers are destroying the sugarcane crop.
According to the news report published in The Times Of India, sugarcane farmer C B Chandan of Chikkabyadarahalli village in Mandya district used his tractor to plough 50 tonnes of standing crop on his 1-acre land.
The situation has aggravated due to the closure of the Mysore Sugar mill in Mandya and Pandavapura Sahakari Sakkare Karkhane in Pandavapura.
The farmers used to sell their cane to the private sugar mills or the jaggery units.
“The shortage of cane harvesters and the closure of the sugar mills due to lockdown have forced us to destroy crops,” said a farmer who destroyed his 50-tonnes of standing crop.
Kruburu Shanthakumar, state president of Sugarcane Growers’ Association said, “The government should link agriculture activities to MGNREGA to enable farmers get labourers for harvesting. The farmers should not destroy their crops. The private sugar mills have stopped procuring cane due to fear of coronavirus. The migrant labourers are returning to their homes. At the same time, the labourers from Mandya and Mysuru have returned home and farmers can use them for harvesting cane.”
