Sugar becomes Sour to Mills, Survival only with Byproducts: SV Naik Kochari

Gone are the good old days when Sugarcane factories were wholly dependent on crushing cane and selling sugar. Earlier, some well-to-do ones also ventured to set up distillery units to dispose of spirits for liquor companies in order to register profits. But all such practices have been dumped into the pages of history. SV Naik Kochari, twice former Chairman and currently Director of Shri Hiranyakeshi Sahakari Sakkare Karkhane Niyamit, Sankeshwar in Belagavi district opines-“These days, sugarcane factories can survive and continue to remain only if a thrust is given to market byproducts rather than selling sugar alone”. In a freewheeling interaction at the factory premises sometime back SV Naik Kochari was candid enough in expressing his viewpoints on the challenges facing the sugar industry.

Third largest producer in India: According to official sources Karnataka is the third largest producer of sugarcane in the country after Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The climatic conditions of the sugar belt in the state favour the best quality of sugarcane. The crushing season of 2019-20 recorded production of 38 Lakh Metric Tons of Sugarcane. Earlier only Belagavi, Mandya, Shivamogga, parts of Chitradurga, Mysuru and Chamarajnagar districts boasted of sugarcane growing areas. However, over a period of time, the year-long commercial crop spread its base across Bagalkot, Vijayapura and parts of Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, North Canara, Davanagere, Hassan, Ballari and Bidar districts. But, Belagavi is referred to as the sugar district for being the largest sugarcane producer and also called as sugar bowl of the state.

Belagavi boasts of 24 sugar factories: Belagavi district bordering Maharashtra is well-known for sugarcane and Tobacco crops, apart from several other crops and vegetables. Thanks to a variety of awareness initiatives and package projects the Tobacco growers are being dissuaded against growing the commercial crop. However, there has been no dearth of sugar factories mushrooming all over the district thus depriving the fertile land of growing food grains once and for all! As of now, SV Naik Kochari explains-“There are 24 sugar factories functioning in Belagavi district alone while two more are underway for commissioning”.

Significance of Hira Sugar: “Shri Hiranyakeshi Sakkare Karkhane Niyamit, Sankeshwar also known as Hira Sugar is one of the pioneers in the Cooperative sugar industries sector. It was the brainchild of the late Appanagouda Patil, the chief promoter and late MP Patil, the then Minister for Cooperation, Bombay state in establishing the factory. It obtained an industrial license from the Government of India in 1955, registration of the society in 1956 and the first trial crushing season commenced in the year 1961”, recalls SV Naik Kochari.

Goal to uplift rural economy: He also informs-“The pioneers of the factory Appanagouda Patil and MP Patil had their own vision in setting up the sugar factory which included upliftment of rural economy, facilitate credit facilities, facilitate thrift among rural people, arrange and supply agricultural implements, to liaison between the factory and the cane growers and act as a link between the rural masses and the Banks. In fact, it was one of the five pilot sugarcane factory projects in the whole country”.

Sweet Sugar District: SV Naik Kochari says-“The area of operation of the factory extends to 233 villages in Karnataka and 77 villages in Maharashtra within a radius of 22 miles. As the factory has its members in two states it comes under the purview of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act. The above-mentioned villages hitherto had remained underdeveloped prior to the establishment of the factory. Thanks to the factory a lot of progress has been accomplished thus enabling Sankeshwar town visible on the state map. It has also helped recognize Belagavi as the Sweet Sugar District of the state”.

Eight TCD capacities: He elaborates-“Ever since its inception the factory has been incessantly increasing its sugarcane crushing capacity in accordance with the need and demand. Although, at present the factory is able to handle Eight Thousand Tons of Cane per day (TCD) it is proposed to expand the proportion up to 11 Thousand Tons of Cane (TCD) per day. The factory management has also drawn up ambitious plans to triple the present 54 Kilo Liters per day (KLPD) capacity of the distillery unit to 150 Kilo Liters’ per day (KLPD). Likewise, even the present Ethanol capacity of 50 KLPD is being proposed to triple to 150 KPLD while the industry has a cogeneration unit manufacturing 52 Megawatts of electricity”.

-Manohar Yadavatti