Farmer from Saoner set record for maximum production of 110 metric tonnes of sugarcane per acre
He has made a handsome profit of about Rs 1.75 lakh after selling his own produce. He said that it was unbelievable when Union Minister Nitin Gadkari advised farmers to plant sugarcane early.
Nagpur: In an area infamous for farmer suicides, a farmer from Sauner has set a record for maximum sugarcane production of 110 metric tonnes per acre. Rajesh Baghel is the first person to do this from the Vidarbha region.
He has made a handsome profit of about Rs 1.75 lakh after selling his own produce. He said that it was unbelievable when Union Minister Nitin Gadkari advised farmers to plant sugarcane early.
He said of course technology played its part because I have used advanced techniques like drip irrigation, coupled with fertilizer and crop management.
At the inauguration of the first app-based radio for farmers at the Press Club on Saturday, Gadkari honored Baghel for his efforts. In his speech, this minister has also praised him a lot, describing him as an inspiration for other farmers.
Achieved production over 100MT
Baghel has about 40 acres of ancestral land and he is also doing farming since the last 2 decades. He has also said that I have experimented with different crops, but never got so much success. For the last few years, I have cultivated sugarcane which has become a cash crop. And I also visited western Maharashtra to study the cropping pattern and its requirements. This would not have been possible at all if Gadkari had not persuaded the farmers to do so.
The time he started using sugarcane, no one in the village made him believe at all. Baghel has said that even at the time when I have said that I have achieved more than 100MT production, still, no one believes at all. I would appeal to all the farmers to leave their traditional approach and adopt technology for progress.
The Minister also said that in the last three years, three factories of Manas Group have also been closed due to lack of production of sugarcane and they have suffered a lot.
He has also said that he has started once again from last year and this year we have reached break even. Around Rs 300-400 crore, we are targeting for next year’s exports. That’s because soft drink manufacturers are producing sulfate- and drug-free sugar to be used.
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