MARGAO
Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar on Friday said the Cabinet’s decision on Sanjivani sugar factory has put at rest speculations that the factory will be shut down and mentioned the only question that remains to be answered now is whether the government should run the factory, involve private players or use some other mechanism.
The Agriculture Minister said the ongoing protest by farmers and the Congress is not in the interest of the farmers, but will only benefit the ‘dalals’ and middleman. He further said the issue does not affect Goa much as the state has no agricultural mandis for the procurement of agricultural produce.
He also announced that the government has announced support price for cashew, which is nearly 25 per cent of the prevailing price.
Kavlekar pointed out that the transfer of the Sanjivani sugar factory from the Cooperation Ministry to the Agriculture Department has been done by taking the minister into confidence.
“The decision will send a clear signal that the sugar factory will not be shut down. The only question that is left to be decided is whether the government should run the factory or allow participation of private players or some other mechanism,” he said, adding that decision will help the sugarcane farmers to get their grievances addressed under one roof.
On the government’s failure to identify marketing avenues in the towns for farmers from the state’s hinterland to sell their produce, Kavlekar said the Horticulture Department has been told to open procurement centres in the villages so that the farmers get the price for their produce.
