Lucknow, June 10 (FN Bureau) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said that Uttar Pradesh leads not only leads in production of sugarcane and sugar, but also in ethanol production and in setting up of Khandsari units in the country. Speaking at the certificate distribution ceremony for the winners of the State Sugarcane Production Competitions, Yogi said, “Prior to 2017, sugarcane farmers in the state used to face difficulties in obtaining receipts because of discrepancies in the weighing of sugarcane as well as theft of their receipts, which often led to protests by the farmers.” He said that the untimely closure of sugar mills also caused inconvenience to the farmers. “For years, payment of sugarcane price to the farmers was pending,” he said. Describing the current situation, the CM said that steps were taken on a mission mode to settle the pending payments for sugarcane from 2010 to 2017 when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government took over in the state in 2017.
He said that the owners of sugar mills requested permission to produce ethanol in order to regulate the pending payments to farmers on time. He said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s implementation of various reforms for the farmers has brought about a significant change in the state. With the approval of PM Modi, sugar mills in the state are now producing ethanol along with sugar. As a result, UP is number one in the country in sugarcane, sugar and ethanol production as well as in setting up of Khandsari units.” Yogi also inaugurated the newly constructed buildings of 25 cooperative sugarcane and sugar mill committees at Lok Bhawan on the occasion. He said that the buildings of cooperative committees can also prove to be useful for fertilisers and warehouses. He said that there are farmers in the state who are achieving the impossible by yielding 2,640 quintal of sugarcane per hectare.
“There are 3,171 cooperative women self-help groups in the state, with over 59,000 women working who are contributing to strengthening the state’s economy by collaborating with 60 lakhs sugarcane farmers,” he said. The CM said that sugarcane payments that totalled roughly around Rs 1 lakh crore between 2007-2017, increased to Rs 2,134,00 crore between 2017-2023 and the amount was paid to the farmers through DBT. “Cash has been paid for the additional 500 tons of sugarcane crushed at the Khandsari units and separate payments are also being made for ethanol,” he said. He said that hopefully all 118 sugar mills in the state will adopt the practice wherein 100 sugar mills are paying the sugarcane price to the farmers within 1 to 10 days. Highlighting the achievements of the Sugarcane Department, Yogi said that it restarted four previously closed sugar mills in the state and two new sugar mills have been established. He said, “Chaudhary Charan Singh was called the ‘messiah’ of farmers. He had spoken about the revival of the Chhaprauli sugar mill in the 1980s, but successive governments came and went without thinking about the farmers. Our government has initiated the establishment of a new sugar mill in Chhaprauli.” The CM said that previous governments used to fire bullets at sugarcane farmers, whereas today the government is establishing new sugar mills that are functioning at full capacity.
“No one will be allowed to mess with the food providers (farmers) and become an obstacle in their development. The double-engine government is working sincerely in this direction,” he said. He asserted that UP is the only state in the entire country where sugar mills continued to operate during the prolonged lock down following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. “Moreover, when there was a shortage of sanitizers during the pandemic, sugar mills took charge and provided free sanitizers to every hospital, municipality and gram panchayat in the state. Besides, sanitizers from UP were also sent to 27 other states,” he said. Yogi said that the women’s cooperative self-help groups, sugar mill owners and cane farmers have made a significant contribution to the progress of UP. “Your contribution accounts for nearly 9 per cent of UP’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Your contribution will play a vital role in making the state’s economy a trillion-dollar economy,” he said.
He also emphasized the importance of organic farming. He said that organic farming will ensure the health of Mother Earth and the well-being of sugarcane farmers. It will also contribute to the protection of cows. Farmers need to gradually advance organic farming. Emphasising on the need of advancing technology, the CM said that the department has provided farmers with freedom from paper-based transactions by using technology. “In the last 6 years, the double-engine government has provided additional irrigation facilities to nearly 2,300,000 hectares of land. As a result, 45 to 60 lakh sugarcane farmers are supplying sugarcane to sugar mills, which indicates that the scope of sugarcane cultivation in the state has significantly expanded,” he said. Sugar Industry and Development Minister Lakshmi Narayan Chaudhary, Minister of State Sanjay Singh Gangwar, Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra and Additional Chief Secretary of Sugar Industry Sanjay Bhoosreddy were also present on the occasion.