Manual harvesting by labourers yields a large amount of sugar cane tops (green fodder) and trash. This can serve as crucial, life-saving fodder for cattle in rural areas
Around 30 sugar mills in Solapur district have commenced the crushing season. Since Oct 15, these mills have crushed 25 lakh tonnes of cane to produce 19 lakh quintals of sugar at a 7.59% recovery rate. All 11 talukas in Solapur district have been declared drought-hit under Trigger 1 of drought management manual due to deficient monsoon rainfall.
With the kharif crop already lost, farmers have run out of money to purchase fodder and are demanding that the govt set up fodder depots. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolhapur | Silver Rate in Kolhapur | Bank Holidays in Kolhapur | Public Holidays in Kolhapur Stay updated with the latest Kolhapur news. Kolhapur : Solapur district collector S. Karthikeyan, in his capacity as chairman of District Disaster Management Authority, has issued an order directing all sugar mills in Solapur district to avoid using mechanical harvesters, mandating manual harvesting to address severe fodder shortage. “Generally, when sugar cane is harvested using a machine, the trash and top parts of the cane are destroyed in the field or left unusable as animal fodder. On the other hand, manual harvesting by labourers yields a large amount of sugar cane tops (green fodder) and trash. This can serve as crucial, life-saving fodder for cattle in rural areas. Saving the district’s livestock and overcoming the potential fodder shortage is a shared social and administrative responsibility,” the order states. The collector has instructed the mills to direct their sugar cane development officers and contractors to ensure that the green fodder generated from manual cutting is made available to local cattle owners. However, millers have been resorting to mechanical harvesters to help drought-stricken farmers quickly clear their fields for rabi sowing. Download the TOI App.