Amroha: Sugarcane farmers from Western Uttar Pradesh are giving up cultivation of traditional crops and opting new crops like strawberry. The farmers are turning away from sugarcane cultivation due to delay in payment of cane bills from the sugar mills.
“We have stopped cane cultivation as we have to wait for years to get our returns and by that time we end up paying interest on the loans we borrowed for cane cultivation. Instead we are shifting to strawberry cultivation where we are getting payments immediately after we sell strawberry to traders,” said one of the farmers from the region.
“The strawberry cultivation has helped in doubling the income of one of my relatives who shifted from cane cultivation to strawberry farming,” said another farmer.
“We are facing a shortage of strawberry saplings. We can also grow strawberries along with sugarcane cultivation which will help in increasing income from the same agricultural land,” he said.
