Farmers Movement Archive

NCP president Sharad Pawar asks sugar industry to do a rethink

MUMBAI: NCP president Sharad Pawar has urged the sugar industry to devote greater attention to its byproducts such as ethanol and molasses to generate sustainable energy. “It’s time we shifted from sugar to its byproducts. From sugar cane juice we can make ethanol and molasses, which can be used as CNG,” Pawar said on Wednesday. Stating that the country’s storehouses had a sufficiently good stock of sugar, Pawar said that it was necessary to think of a shift in the sugar sector. The NCP president was addressing a conclave, held at the Y B Chavan Centre, on agriculture to mark the birth centenary of Annasaheb Shinde, the Congress stalwart who had planned the Green Revolution in the 1970s with Babu Jagjivan Ram, C Subramanian and Dr M S Swaminathan. TimesViewThe need for sustainable and renewable energy cannot be overemphasized at a time when climate change is real. The suggestion to take a fresh look at sugar’s byproducts is a welcome one, and there must be a debate and discussion on the subject so that the best way forward is found. Hopefully it will also lead to a positive turnaround for the state’s politics.Observers said Pawar has indicated that the sugar cooperatives, which form the backbone of Maharashtra politics and which often come under fire for the emphasis on sugarcane, the water-guzzling crop in the state, should mend ways and accord priority to energy. Pawar said the Centre ought to handle the ongoing farmers’ stir in New Delhi with sensitivity. “Those in power should see that farmers, who are agitating against the agriculture laws braving punishing cold, do not take recourse to extreme measures out of frustration,” he added. Noted agriculture expert Gokul Patnaik said that the new farm laws put no check on big businesses forming cartels to dominate the markets. He questioned the Centre’s move to give unbridled permission to “anyone” to enter agricultural markets. Stating that Indian farmers were innovative and hardworking, Patnaik stressed the need for research and extension programmes to ensure better production and productivity in a sustainable manner, food security for the nation and farmers’ welfare. “Currently, India spends less than 0.5 % of its GDP on R&D. We need to at least double our current expenditure on R&D, and spend more on creation of public infrastructure,” said Patnaik.

The Times of India

2021-01-29

Mumbai