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Cheema bats for task force to supplement income of cane growers
He said representatives of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Punjab Sugarfed and experts from all over the country will be included in the task force for increasing per acre yield of sugarcane.
Finance and cooperation minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday announced a task force to chalk out a plan for improving sugarcane productivity with an aim to supplement farmers’ income.
He said representatives of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, Punjab Sugarfed and experts from all over the country will be included in the task force for increasing per acre yield of sugarcane.
The committee according to Cheema will have PAU VC, director, ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, MD, Sugarfed, and representatives of sugar industry from the country. The task force will submit a report within three months.
Cheema said that the target is to increase the sugarcane yield by at least 100 quintals per acre in the next two years, which will further increase the income per acre up to ₹36,000.
“Under this scheme, seeds of high-yielding varieties will be provided to sugarcane farmers, besides imparting them knowledge in modern techniques in crop cultivation and mechanisation,” he said.
Cheema said the state government will also draft a plan to modernise cooperative sugar mills to make them self-reliant.
The minister directed officials to prepare a training session in consultation with the PAU, ICAR, Sugarcane Breeding Institute and Vasantdada Institute to impart modern techniques of sugarcane cultivation and supply 30 lakh saplings of high-yielding varieties for the upcoming sowing season.
