Plight of sugarcane cultivators
Sugarcane is an important cash crop of Bangladesh. Once, like the golden fibre jute, sugarcane also played a pioneer role in keeping the agro-based economy vibrant. Because of widespread extension of sugarcane farming, the sugar industry gained ground in much of the country. But due to administrative callousness, failure to adopt and implement pro-agriculture policy and above all corruption and depravity this industry now faces so much of crisis that like jute easing of sugarcane cultivation too seems almost a matter of time.
But a million cultivator families in western and northern areas of the country are linked to sugarcane cultivation -- their life and livelihood mostly dependent on income from this crop. At least six lakh farmers are directly involved with sugarcane cultivation while about four lakh indirectly. But in absence of any pro-sugarcane farming policy, farmers are gradually losing interest in sugarcane cultivation. Sugarcane cultivation is being hampered specially because its production cost is increasing by the day but farmers are not getting comparative fair price from mill nor they have any adequate opportunity of getting government's easy term farm credit.
At the same time sugarcane farmers, specially the marginal ones are also facing loss due to despotic stance of mill administrations, wanton harassment and litigation and the Gur, Sugar & Sugar Products (Manufacture & Movement) Control Order. The small farmers are forced to abandon sugarcane cultivation. The extent of sugarcane cultivation is drastically coming down in the country rendering the directly linked marginal farmers total losers.
As stated in Bangladesh agricultural statistics annual number 2004, sugarcane is cultivated on total 4,04,360 acres in the country producing total 64,83,640m tons of sugarcane annually. At the same time two out of 17 sugar mills in the country have been shut down and one is being run under private management. The sugar mills use 60 percent of the sugarcane produced in the country and the rest is used in producing gur.
In the past the sugar mills could give optimum production, often even more than optimum production. But for the past few years they have been failing to give optimum production even for once. The main reason for this is that the lesser production of sugarcane by farmers provides lesser supply of sugarcane to the mills. Besides the farmers are also getting lesser yield from the traditional breed of sugarcane they cultivate. They seldom feel encouraged to go for any high yielding kind as they are not paid their dues by the mills in time. The mills themselves also need renovation, some of them have grown too old, their production capacity thus has also diminished.
But one of the main reasons of gradually lesser production of sugarcane and lesser land remaining under sugarcane cultivation is the conflict of sugarcane cultivators with government policy. This conflict, in fact, was initiated in 1956 with the promulgation of virtually an anti-sugarcane cultivator order titled Gur, Sugar & Sugar Products (Manufacture & Movement) Control Order 1956 under power of section 3(1) of Control of Essential Commodities Act 1956 (EP Act 1 of 1956). Because of this order the sugarcane cultivators, specially the marginal ones had been deprived from getting a fair price for their produce for decades. The order, however, was withdrawn and another order styled as Gur, Sugarcane, Sugar or Sugar Products (Manufacture & Movement Control) Control Order 2006 made effective from 22 May, 2006.
In accordance with the order, government can declare any area as sugarcane area through a govt gazette circular, and through the same circular can fix the names of sugar mills to crush the sugarcanes produced in the respective area. The sugarcane farmers or farm owners of respective area can manufacture gur by hand crushing only for family consumption during the prescribed crushing period subject to permission of the sugar mills authorities. Not only this, none during the prescribed sugarcane crushing period can move sugarcane or gur from one sugarcane area to any other area by rail, road, river or otherwise without written approval of any sugar mills authority of the respective sugarcane area. Nor can bring in or arrange for bringing in sugarcane or gur from outside the sugarcane area. Besides, if sugarcane, gur, sugar or sugar products are produced/manufactured by any means in any place or house in a sugarcane area, then the authorities may confiscate the respective sugarcane, gur, sugar or sugar products and sugarcane crushing machinery.
A review of the order can show that majority of its clauses are not pro-sugarcane cultivators. In a designated sugarcane area farmers are bound to sell their sugarcane to the respective sugar mills. And they are to sell their produce at the price fixed by the mill authorities. Buyers not the sellers are calling shots here and the advantage is taken by the middlemen. The cultivators get only Tk 51/- per maund of sugarcane at mill gate. But in the process of carrying it from field to mill, weighing, receiving payment, the actual price as well as the interest of farmers get diminished due to the overriding middlemen. Thus the sugarcane cultivators tend to manufacture and sell gur rather than taking their produce to the mills. This reportedly fetch them a better price without so much hassle.
The mandatory selling of sugarcane to the mills and its violation have often led to clashes between the sugarcane cultivators and law enforcement forces. For instance in the end part of 2005 reportedly three including two sugarcane cultivators were killed in police firming and 13 including the magistrate were injured.
The demand and supply gap of sugar is too wide to bridge with local manufacture alone. For instance, in 2004-2005 financial year the demand of sugar in the country was about 12 lakh M Tons while in the crushing season of the same year the annual capacity of 14 running sugar mills in the country was only 1,95,440m tons. This leads to import of considerable amount of sugar from abroad to meet the demand every year. But if we look at the neighbouring India, we see the sugarcane farmers there receive cooperation and encouragement from the administration in cultivation and ensuring fair price for their produce. About 450 sugar mills there tend to manufacture to their optimum capacity under better management. This not only allows them to meet their own demand but also export a considerable amount to earn valuable foreign currency.
In our country the annual demand of gur stands at about nine lakh M Tons, while only less than half of the quantity could be manufactured locally. However gur is not imported, but the demand-supply gap can be met by increased manufacture. And this can be done only by increasing and improving production in the field. There has, of course, been taken some initiative in this regard by the government. For instance, the Sugarcane Research Institute at Ishurdi is engaged in enchanting crop yield through innovating appropriate cropping pattern and deciding appropriate measure of fertilizer for respective farming zones; and non-mill zone sugarcane cultivation strengthening project undertaken by Agriculture Extension Directorate to meet the demand of gur through increased manufacture outside restricted mill zone.
But this much is not enough to encourage farmers to grow more to bridge the demand-supply gap and curb the forex expenditure on sugar import. Further and important measures to be taken must include ensuring fair price of sugarcane to its actual producer-- the cultivator. Amendment of the recently adopted Gur, Sugarcane, Sugar or Sugar Products (Manufacture & Movement Control) Control Order, 2006 appears to be an imperative in the interest of marginal sugarcane farmers. It is necessary to adopt a pro-sugarcane cultivation policy to encourage its production. Other measures must be extending interest-free credit to marginal farmers and making the process corruption free and transparent, ensuring correct measure and quick payment, as well as reducing cost of fertilizer.
On the other hand it is also equally important to enhance capacity of the existing mills. The marginal farmers may be provided capital facility on priority basis. And there is a need for adopting a National Sugar & Gur Policy for overall improvement in the sector.
Md Abdul Kader is Executive Director, Samata.
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