PANAJI
With the closure of the Sanjivani Sugar factory and its much-touted 'revival' in limbo, most sugarcane farmers have turned away from the cash crop and are now cultivating the more lucrative vegetables and fruits.
Further, among those who do cultivate sugarcane still, many have moved to producing traditional local (ganvti) jaggery through cottage units in their homes, according to a senior official of the agriculture department.
The future of the revival of the sole sugar factory in the State is seemingly bleak as multiple attempts by the State government to seek bidders for setting up a modern ethanol plant there have yielded no results.
The number of farmers continuing to cultivate sugarcane in this scenario has therefore drastically declined. Yield per hectare has also fallen to just 3,500 kilograms in 2024-25, the official said.
In 2022-23, sugarcane was cultivated on approximately 491 hectares of land and a year later in 2023-2024 it declined by 45 hectares to 446 hectares. In 2024-25, sugarcane coverage further declined by another 48 hectares to 398 hectares.
Interestingly, the per-hectare yield is also on a downslide. While in 2022-23, the sugarcane yield was 62. tonnes per hectare, in 2023-24 it dropped to 57 tonnes per hectare recording a decline of approximately 5.48 tonnes per hectare. This year (2024-25) sugarcane yield fell to 54 tonnes per hectare recording a further decline of 3.53 tonnes per hectare.
Sugarcane is grown in Pernem, some parts of Bardez and in Sattari in North Goa. In South Goa, the cultivation of sugarcane is more widespread in Sanguem, Dharbandora, Quepem and Canacona.
Many farmers meanwhile have stopped growing sugarcane in these areas and have instead switched to growing vegetables and fruits. In Pernem the practice of converting sugarcane fields into banana plantations is visibly rampant.
Also, those farmers who are still into sugarcane cultivation in Pernem and Sanguem, have begun the business of manufacturing jaggery (Ganvti Godd) from sugarcane juice in their own fields or through cottage units.
