Lucknow : In a directive issued by Cane Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, department officials have been tasked with conducting extensive surveys and inspecting sugar mills to ensure the timely payment of dues to sugarcane farmers, as communicated by a state government spokesperson on Friday, according to timesofindia.indiatimes.
This development follows the recent revision of the cane state advisory price (SAP) by the state government, increasing it by Rs 20 per quintal. During a comprehensive review meeting held on Friday, officials were instructed to address the issue of alleged illegal sugarcane procurement. They were further directed to carry out surprise inspections at mill gates and sugarcane purchasing centers.
According to a statement released by the department, a significant payment of Rs. 2, 35,073 crore has been disbursed to the state’s farmers over the past six-and-a-half years. In the ongoing cane crushing season, payments totaling Rs 14,200 crore have been made, representing approximately 82% of the total dues.
To date, 120 operational sugar mills have produced around 58 lakh tonnes of sugar by crushing 574 lakh tonnes of sugarcane. The sugarcane cultivation area, which stood at 20.54 lakh hectares during the 2016-17 crushing season, has witnessed a substantial increase to 29.66 lakh hectares – marking a growth of 44.4%. Additionally, sugarcane productivity has risen from 72.38 tonnes per hectare in 2016-17 to 83.95 tonnes per hectare in the current season, reflecting an increase of 11.57 tonnes per hectare.
Simultaneously, the state government has directed officials to encourage the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in issuing pest attack alerts and monitoring overall crop health. Officials emphasized that farmers can achieve improved results through technical assistance in various tasks, including weather forecasting, paddy management, proper water supply, automation technology in irrigation, drones, soil sampling, data analysis, and crop planting.
