Banning sugarcane power crushers unjust

Natore district administration and North Bengal Sugar Mills management have taken steps to stop use of power crushers to compel farmers to sell sugarcane to the mills, according to a September 02 report published in The Financial Express. Such step is taken as per a law which, however, stops farmers from exercising the right to sell their produce to anyone at competitive price. Mill authorities can try to convince farmers to sell sugarcane to them by offering competitive rates and making smooth payment, without delay or in advance. Forcing farmers to sell the produce to the mills for producing sugar is not a rational act. So, power crushers should not have been banned as they produce molasses that Bangladeshi consumers take and use it in preparing food items. Molasses is also better than chemically treated sugar. We call for repealing the law that makes sales of sugarcane to mills mandatory.
Md Ashraf Hossain
Central Bashabo, Dhaka