Ponda: The Goa farmers have breathed a sigh of relief as the state government has started cane harvesting through Sanjivani sugar mill and the cane is being transported to Laila Sugars Ltd at Khanapur in Belgavi district of Karnataka, 74 km away from here, Dharbandora.
The harvesting began on November 25, and cane transportation started from the next day. Around 200 tonnes of cane has been transported since last week. The state is expecting production of 32,000 tonnes of sugarcane this season.
The Goa government has signed an agreement with Khanapur-based factory for supplying cane. The farmers are likely to get Rs 3,200 per tonne for sugarcane this year.
The factory is facing financial trouble due to a lack of adequate supply of cane. The mill has registered a loss of Rs 101.22 crore due to unavailability of sugarcane and various reason. The government made sure that sugarcane produced by farmers will be bought at the market price. State chief minister Pramod Sawant had assured farmers that those who produce sugarcane this season would not incur any loss. The government will purchase their sugarcane and supply it to the sugar mills in other states, besides providing support price to these farmers.
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