The Hindu Business Line : Karnataka to appoint sugarcane development officers

Mangalore, June 29 The Karnataka Government plans to post sugarcane development officers in relevant districts to look into the developments in the sector, said the Karnataka Minister for Sugar and Agriculture Produce Marketing, Mr Shivaraj S. Thangadagi.

Addressing presspersons on the sidelines of a review meeting at the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) here on Monday, he said though sugarcane is grown in 13 districts in the State, there is no district-level officer to look into the developments in the sector.

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The State-level officer in Bangalore will have to depend on deputy commissioners of these districts to get information on sugarcane sector. Considering this, the Government plans to post sugarcane development officers in the 13 sugarcane-growing districts of the State.

There is a decline of 40 per cent in sugar production in Karnataka during the year, Mr Thangadagi said.

He said APMCs earned cess of Rs 202 crore during 2008-09. The target for 2008-09, which was Rs 225 crore, could not be achieved due to the decline in the production of oilseeds. However, earnings in 2008-09 was one of the highest. Prior to 2008-09, the APMCs were earning around Rs 157 crore a year, he said.

Performance

Giving highlights of the performance of Mangalore APMC, he said it earned a market fee of Rs 3.35 crore during 2008-09 as against Rs 2.58 crore in the previous fiscal.

On cess from the arecanut sector, he said Rs 1.86 crore was collected at Mangalore APMC during 2008-09.