Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Aug 1 (PTI) The area under sugarcane cultivation in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region is expected to go down this year, going by a report submitted by the agriculture department, a top official said on Thursday.
The Maharashtra Sugar Commissioner’s office has gathered data on sugarcane plantations from the agriculture department’s report, based on the rainfall received till July 31.
In the two divisions under the commissioner’s office (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nanded) covering eight districts of Marathwada, the area under sugarcane cultivation could go down, he said.
“Generally, around 2 lakh hectares go under sugarcane cultivation in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division. But as of now, the area that can go under sugarcane cultivation is around 1.42 lakh hectares,” Maharashtra Sugar Commissioner Kunal Khemnar told PTI.
The cultivation area for sugarcane in the Nanded division is around 1.41 lakh hectares, but it could come down to 1.25 lakh hectares this year, he said.
“We can anticipate (growth or drop in) sugarcane cultivation, depending on the rainfall," he added.
He said Maharashtra had an area of 14.02 lakh hectares under sugarcane cultivation last year, but now it has come down to 11.67 lakh hectares. “If rainfall continues, we can expect more growth in the area,” he added.