Karnataka: Farmers seek permission to produce ethanol at jaggery units amid sugar price surge
Mysuru sugarcane growers have urged the government to allow farmers to produce ethanol at local jaggery units, arguing that ethanol profits should benefit growers. The association also sought scientific FRP revision, profit-sharing from by-products, and flexible cane diversion between sugar and ethanol based on availability.
Mysuru: The State Sugarcane Growers’ Association has urged the government to allow farmers to produce ethanol at local jaggery-making units, arguing that rising sugar prices and growing ethanol profits should benefit cane growers as well as large sugar mills, The Hindu reported.
Association president Kurubur Shanthakumar said sugar mills were earning “substantial profits” from ethanol production while farmers continued to struggle to secure a fair return for their sugarcane.
“The benefits of ethanol production should not be restricted to large sugar factories. The government should formulate simple rules and a policy enabling farmers to produce ethanol at their own local jaggery-making units,” Shanthakumar said in a statement on Sunday.
He proposed that farmers be allowed to use the ethanol produced at such units as an eco-friendly household cooking fuel and for their own vehicles and tractors. Surplus ethanol could be sold to the government at a fixed price, with the government purchasing the remaining production, he said.
Such a system would lower farmers’ fuel costs and strengthen their incomes, Shanthakumar said.
He also called for urgent measures to support cane growers in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, where rainfall shortages and drought-like conditions have affected sugarcane yields. Crop losses and higher production costs have added to farmers’ financial pressure, he said.
Citing Brazil’s sugar and ethanol model, Shanthakumar said surplus sugarcane should be diverted towards ethanol rather than sugar when cane output is high. This could support the fuel sector while preventing a sharp decline in sugar prices, he said.
During droughts or periods of poor rainfall, however, ethanol production should be regulated and more cane should be directed towards meeting domestic sugar demand, he said. Advance planning would help prevent sugar shortages and protect consumers from higher prices.
Shanthakumar said the government should raise the Fair and Remunerative Price for drought-hit farmers on a scientific basis, ensure growers receive a fair share of profits from sugar mills’ by-products and give farmers the right to produce and use ethanol independently at local jaggery units.
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Source : ChiniMandi
