Haryana farmers paid Rs 200 crore for sugarcane purchase

Chandigarh, May 20 (UNI) The Haryana Government had paid Rs 243.24 crore to the farmers of the state for the purchase of their sugarcane.

While giving this information here today, Minister of State for Cooperation, Mrs Meena Mandal said that the Kisan Sewa Kendra had already been set up at Panipat Shahbad, Jind and Karnal sugarmills to provide better quality seeds and pesticides on remunerative prices to the farmers besides. Besides these centers also provide diesel, petrol, sugar and urea to the farmers at reasonable rates.

Mrs Mandal said that Haryana Government had also chalked out a scheme to promote differnt varieties of sugarcane and a training centre had also been set up at Panchkula by Cooprative Sugarmill Federation to impart training about the new varieties of sugarcanes. She said that during the year 2005-06 Shahbad Cooperative Sugarmills got the first prize in sugarcane development while Palwal Cooperative Sugarmills secured the second prize for better financial management.

The Minister said that a sugarcane development scheme had been implemented by the sugarmills. Under the scheme the area under sugarcane had been increased to 2.14 lakh acres from 1.65 lakh acre and the production of sugarcane had been raised to 265 quintals per acre as against 220 quintals per acre.

She said that a tissue culture laboratory had been set up at Karnal at a cost of Rs 1.50 crore to provide latest and developed varieties of sugarcane to the farmers.

UNI