Farmers urged to expand sugarcane cultivation

GAIBANDHA, Aug 31: Speakers in a function here Sunday urged the farmers to expand the sugarcane farming in larger scale at mill zone areas of Rangpur Sugar Mills Limited (RSML) to run it smoothly.

Due to lack of sufficient supply of sugarcane it is not possible to operate the mill causing the mill incurring losses economically year after year, they said.

They came up with the comments while addressing a view exchange meeting on expansion of sugarcane farming organised by RSML at its main gate at Mohimaganj under Gobindaganj upazila in the district on Sunday afternoon.

Chairman of Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) M. Dilwar Hossain addressed the meeting as the chief guest.

The director (Cane Development Research) of BSFIC agriculturist Azizur Rahman was present as the special guest.

With Managing Director of RSML Abdul Khaleque in the chair, the meeting was also addressed, among others, by general manager (Agri) Abu Taher Bhuiyan, president of sugarcane farmers welfare group, RSML unit, Zinnat Ali Prodhan, local union parishad chairman Abdul Latif and sugarcane farmer Anwarul Islam.

BSFIC chairman M. Dilwar Hossain said the government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had already taken pragmatic measures to expand the farming of sugarcane at the mill zone areas across the country to save the sugar industries.

As part of the initiatives, at least 500 acres of land of Sahebganj Cane Farm of the mill would be brought under sugarcane farming in 2015-16 season so that the mill could be operated for more days than previous year, he said.

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