Farmers in Bara hurry to cut sugarcane (Seven photos)

Kathmandu. With the beginning of the sugarcane season, farmers are eager to harvest sugarcane. Farmers are busy in the fields from morning till evening to harvest sugarcane and take it to sugar mills. They say that sugarcane farming has become a means of employment for farmers at their doorstep and has improved the standard of living of many.

Farmers are busy selling sugarcane at Reliance Sugar Mills, the only sugar mill in Bara. The government has fixed the minimum price of sugarcane at Rs 620 per quintal for the fiscal year 2082/83 and the farmers will get Rs 690 with an additional subsidy of Rs 70. However, farmers have complained that the price is insufficient due to the increase in the cost of production. The farmers’ representatives had demanded Rs 750 per quintal. Like every year, there has been a tussle between the farmers’ representatives and the representatives of the sugar mills.

Sugarcane farming is still the main cash crop for the farmers of Bara. Farmers hope that sugarcane farming will further strengthen the rural economy if they get fair price and timely payment. In Nepal, the best time to sow sugarcane is from February to April and about 10 to 12 months after planting, i.e. from November to March. This is the reason that with the onset of winter, the work of cutting sugarcane and sending it to sugar mills intensifies.