Sucre Ethique - India : Sugar mills to go for mechanised harvesting

Espress India - dimanche 23 mai 2010

CANE-CUTTING Labour unions see red, factories say move aimed at offsetting worker shortage

For the first time, cooperative sugar mills in the state are planning to introduce mechanised harvesting of sugarcane for around 20 per cent of cane the next crushing season. The factories plan to eventually cover the entire cultivated area in a few years.

However, labour union leaders feel the move would affect the large number of labourers from drought-prone Marathwada and tribal regions engaged in sugarcane harvesting.

“This year, we will go in for mechanised harvesting. We expect about 20 per cent cane to be cut by machines ; Manual cutting is not going to be possible in future as the number of skilled labourers is getting reduced every year. In future, you may not have sufficient labour,” said Prakash Naiknavare, managing director, Maharashtra State Co-operative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd.

He said only 5.50 lakh skilled labourers were available against a requirement of seven lakh, adding the number could go down by another 1.5 lakh next year. “We are looking to fill this gap with mechanised harvesting,” said Naiknavare, adding that the younger generation among labourers did not want to get into the trade owing to better opportunities elsewhere. He said they had plans to harvest another 30 per cent of the cultivated area by harvesters during 2011-’12 season and the remaining 50 per cent in the next two-three years.

Naiknavare said five companies supplying harvesters had come forward for presentations and field demonstrations. Six co-operative sugar mills had placed orders for 84 machines and at least 100 of them were expected to be used in the coming crushing season. He said such harvesters were being used in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for a couple of years.

However, the main constraint lies in the distance between two rows of sugarcane — with it at 2.5-3 ft now while the machines need a minimum of 4 ft to operate. The mills had asked farmers to keep the required space in the new harvesting.

The sugar factories are seeking 45 per cent of the cost of harvesters as loans from the sugar development fund (SDF) at four per cent interest rate. The mills will foot 10 per cent of the margin money while 45 per cent of the amount will be raised from financial institutions.

The sugar mills could choose to buy the harvesters themselves or the members could come forward for the purchase with the factory standing guarantee for the bank to release loans.

“The situation is being precipitated by the fact that the labour force is unavailable¿ and expensive,” said Dr Indrajeet Mohite, chairman of Yashwantrao Mohite Krishna Co-operative Sugar Factory in Satara and vice-president of the federation. This has led to mills running under capacity.

Mohite, whose factory has already purchased two small harvesters, said the sub-soil recovery of cane would increase and quick harvesting would also lead to a change in crop rotation patterns.

However, the move has invited criticism from trade unionists. “The contention of sugar factories that they are not getting skilled labourers is not true,” said Dr DL Karad of the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) who heads the Maharashtra Sugarcane Cutting Workers and Transporters Union. He said over one lakh of these workers migrated from North Maharashtra to Gujarat and from Marathwada to Karnataka to work as sugarcane cutting labour as the two states paid higher wages than Maharashtra.

Karad said the use of harvesters would create a severe employment crunch in rural areas.

He pointed to failed attempts at using harvesters in the state in the past and alleged that the mills wanted to skip paying higher wages considering the sugarcane production glut.

Karad also cited the recommendations of Dadasaheb Rupwate and Panditrao Daund panels regarding the setting up of a welfare board for labourers on the lines of the one formed for head-load (mathadi) workers.