MANDYA: Sugarcane growers, who were demanding good prices for their cane from the sugar factories, are badly hit with the crash in prices of jaggery.The jaggery units, which generated employment and produced quality jaggery that is of great demand in Gujarat, West Bengal, Rajasthan and the domestic market in north Karnataka region, have stopped crushing at their units.The 3,000 odd jaggery units in Mandya district alone, which contributed to more than 10 to 15 per cent of the sugarcane production and produced jaggery cakes weighing between 100 grams and 12 kilos, has come to halt, with many becoming jobless.However, less than 20 per cent of the units are operating with their own sugarcane and making local arrangements for the cane.The farmers diverted tonnes of sugarcane to jaggery units when prices of sugarcane collapsed in the previous years and when jaggery prices per tonne was between Rs 3,200 and Rs 4,000.With the prices of jaggery crashing to Rs 2,000 per tonne and sugar factories offering Rs 2,000 per tonne for sugarcane, the farmers have diverted sugarcane to factories in Mandya and Mysore districts, which have started crushing cane for the past couple of weeks.Traders in Mandya had supplied more than 700 tonnes of jaggery between June and November and the market was flooded with jaggery when the prices touched between Rs 3,500 and Rs 3,800 per tonne in the previous years.The Ganesh festival, Diwali and other festivals in West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharastra also turned out to be a boon to the farmers and unit owners.But, the jaggery unit owners and farmers are left in a lurch as they cannot run the unit by purchasing sugarcane for Rs 2,100 per tonne, crush it, produce jaggery, pack it and transport it before it is marketed in APMC as it would cost more than Rs 2,700 per tonne.Nanjunde Gowda, a jaggery unit owner, said that the scarcity of labourers has put them in more trouble, thus forcing them to close down the unit. Sreenath, a farmer, said that the government has not considered funding them to modernise their units so that they can compete with the open market, which produces high-quality jaggery.State Sugarcane Growers Association president Kurbur Shanthakumar said that there are more than 7,000 agro-based jaggery units in the state that has generated employment in rural areas.He said that the authorities should exhibit will to educate public on the Union Government programmes for agrobased industries, help set up 4 to 5 units in each village in sugarcane growing areas to reduce dependency of farmers on sugar factories.He said that there are a few farmers who have even produced organic jaggery, which is of great demand in countries like Malaysia.
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