Dindigul farmers doubtful of cane procurement for gift hamper

DINDIGUL

With hardly a week left for Pongal, sugarcane farmers of Dindigul district demand clarity on the procurement process for the gift hamper to be issued through the Public Distribution System.

R. Ganesan, 59, of Chettinaickenpatti near here is one among the many farmers guarding their fields with tall sugarcanes, ready for harvest, from pests and animals.

“I have been continuously cultivating sengarumbu or panneer sugarcane as the seasonal sale assures profit unlike paddy which I used to cultivate years ago,” he said, adding usually around this time of the year traders would approach them and make arrangements to take away the produce.

“But there is no sign of them this time around. And even after the State announced supply of sugarcane in Pongal gift hamper, the procurement has not begun here. As per Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s announcement, the distribution of gift hampers [to family ration card holders and those living in Sri Lankan Tamils’ Rehabilitation Camp] will begin on January 9, but we are still left in the dark,” said M. Lakshmanan, 63, another farmer.

Cane farmers are spread across the district in Gopalpatti, Sanarpatti, Palani block, Maravupatti, Pakkampattil and a few areas near Thadikombu and Natham.

The farmers said a few private traders had wanted to procure a cane for ₹28, which would not suffice. “The prices of fertilisers have gone up and so has the salary for labourers who have become hard to find nowadays. Selling a cane for at least ₹35 would help us as we have invested around ₹1.5 lakh on less than an acre of farmland,” said Mr. Ganesan.

He said these canes would serve no purpose after Pongal since they were exclusively grown for the festival. “We cannot even make byproducts out of them,” said Mr. Lakshmanan, underlining the need for the authorities to speed up the procurement process.