Goa: Sugarcane farmers to hold back protest for 15 days

PONDA: After getting assuarance of an amicable solution in the next ten days, the sugarcane farmers have decided to hold back their protest for another 15 days.
Vice-chairman of the Goa Sugarcane Cultivators’ Association Harshad Prabhudesai said that chief minister Pramod Sawant has assured them that he will find a solution to the payment of canes and also starting crushing at Sanjivani Cooperative Sugar Factory.
Prabhudesai further said, “The chief minister has said that their payments have been delayed as the Laila Sugar Factory in Khanapur in Karnataka has failed to make payments on time.”
The farmers are demanding that their canes be crushed at Sanjivani plant either with modernisation or by setting up a new plant.
Presently, Sanjivani factory is shut for production, so the canes are sent to Laila Sugar Factory.
“The chief minister, during his visit to the factory on January 8, had promised to pay 70% of the cane price within 15 days of the supply, however, only 30% payment has been done,” Prabhudesai said.
“Since the payments are not on time, the farmers could not muster capital to cultivate new seedlings as it needs a sizeable amount to begin with land preparation and sowing the seeds,” the association vice president said.
Stating that late payments discourage farmers, he said, “Some years ago, there were over 1,500 farmers cultivating canes, but now the number has declined to around 940 farmers and if the situation continues, the number of farmers would decline further,” Prabhudesai said.