Babhnan, Uttar Pradesh: Farmers in the Babhnan sugar mill area are facing a shortage of labourers for sugarcane peeling. This has created a crisis for the farmers, as they are unable to get their sugarcane harvested on time, reported Amar Ujala
Due to the large area under cultivation in the Babhnan region, external labourers come here for sugarcane harvesting from places like Bihar, Pilibhit, Khiri-Lakhimpur, Sitapur, Nepal, etc. In the current crushing season, external labourers have only come from scattered places. The farmers who are getting cane procurement slips are unable to harvest sugarcane due to the absence of labourers.
Farmers say that due to the non-arrival of external labourers, those farmers who solely depend on labourers, most of them are forced to harvest cane with local labourers. Local labourers are unable to harvest sugarcane as efficiently as external labourers. Due to the increase in temperature, the weight of sugarcane is decreasing during harvesting. This is also causing farmers to fear losses.
