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Yonkers is known for many things.It was the home for Otis Elevator, one of the pioneers in elevator manufacturing. Domino Sugar was housed there, churning out tons of all types of sugars. There is a Kawasaki plant there as well.It was home base for Son of Sam, David Berkowitz, who, as a serial killer, terrorized the metro NYC region. It was the birthplace or home to a slew of other famous people in many fields, from Jon Voight, to Mary J Blige, to Steven Tyler, Gene Krupa, WC Handy, Sid Caesar, Ella Fitzgerald to Tom Carvel. And, is was home to many fictional characters as well, one of the most known is Dolly Levi, from Hello Dolly.Its wildly varying neighborhoods, ranging from gritty slum/ghetto, to stately mansions have been used as locales for many TV shows as well as movies. Its miles long riverfront has been featured as well. It was a bit of a homecoming when scenes from the Showtime series Ray Donavan filmed many scenes there, including one memorable one with Jon Voight out on the Hudson, with the half demolished Tappan Zee Bridge in the background, as the spot where he was dumping another one of his victims.It is also infamous for a decades long Federal desegregation case that was memorialized in an HBO miniseries. The grand irony of it all was the Federal government approved the location of each and every building that they later deemed as creating segregation. It is also infamous for varying degrees of corruption, giving rise to a twist on its nickname of The City of Hills to the city of hills, where nothing is on the level.It is home to the first Stew Leonard's outside of Connecticut, the home of one of the oldest shopping malls in the state, Cross County Shopping Center, the birthplace of Carvel Ice Cream, all types of shopping from high end to dollar stores. There are many types of ethnic enclaves, from mini Irelands, to mini Philipino, mini Dominivan,, mini Italy, etc. You can dine from food trucks to fine dining like Xaviers on the Hudson, with spectacular Hudson River views of both upstream and downstream.It is less famously known as where I lived as a toddler too!

I live in Conway, Arkansas.My town isn’t quite what we’d call a “city”, but it’s over 65,000 people. Twenty years ago, when I moved here, it was half that size, and my senior colleagues could remember when it was less than 10,000. It used to be a fairly sleepy Southern town with a railroad depot and a cotton gin. Now the trains don’t stop here, and the gin doesn’t gin cotton any more, but the town has three colleges—the “City of Colleges”, it proudly calls itself—a fair amount of light industry, and a big data mining and marketing company known as Acxiom, plus some other computer/Internet-related businesses. I’ve been known to refer to it jokingly as Silicon Holler. (Note to non-natives: “holler” is the local pronunciation of “hollow”, which in this context means a valley.)Downtown looks like this:The big painted thing in the middle of the street is the emblem of Toad Suck Daze , which is the annual festival the town celebrates, where we eat fried blunt objects on sticks and listen to aging ‘80s rock legends. (Last year’s headliner was Dokken.) The name comes from the now-vanished Toad Suck ferry across the nearby Arkansas River. The story goes that there was once an inn at the ferry crossing where people would wait for the ferry; the clientele of teamsters and carters were allegedly a rather rough bunch, and locals complained that “they sucked on their [liquor] bottles till they swelled up like toads”. This has the whiff of dubious folk etymology about it, but I don’t have any better ideas. Anyway, the ferry, and the tiny settlement of Toad Suck, are now gone, but the name lives on in Toad Suck Ferry Lock and Dam, just across the Arkansas River, with a rather pleasant park and campground nearby (TOAD SUCK, AR) .If sucking toads isn’t weird enough for you, the high school mascot is the Wampus Cats (pronounced /wɔmpəs/, not /wæmpəs/—rhymes with “stomp us”, not “campus”). The wampus cat is a mythical six-legged felid—“four legs to run at the speed of light, two legs to fight with all its might”, as the saying goes around here.The landscape around my town is mostly low hills, with a nearby artificial lake where my across-the-street neighbor likes to fish for crappie. (Note to non-natives: the crappie is a fish, Pomoxis annularis, and it’s pronounced with an /ɑ/, not /æ/—it rhymes with “choppy”, not “happy”, in American pronunciation.)The colleges in my town contribute to a relatively young, hip, and educated populace by Arkansas standards, although we’re not quite yet a classic “college town” on par with places like Amherst, Massachusetts or Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In addition to the usual run of strip malls and shopping centers, we have a pretty good symphony orchestra, some decent restaurants, good coffee that isn’t Starbuck’s, and a fair lineup of touring shows, concerts, and other cultural stuff. College sports are popular; my university’s women’s basketball team came within four heartbreaking points of winning the 2018 Women’s Basketball Invitational national tournament (SUGAR BEARS' SEASON COMES TO CLOSE WITH LOSS TO YALE IN WBI CHAMPIONSHIP). And I like taking my son to watch college baseball games; it feels like a very wholesome, all-American father-son bonding experience, and the home team wins more often than not.Drive due south for thirty minutes, and you can be in the state capital, Little Rock, Arkansas—not a really big city by US standards, with about 200,000 people in the city itself (117th in the USA) and 720,000 people in the metro area, but still the place for major concerts, nightlife, and historic sites like Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site and the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum.Drive an hour north, on the other hand, and you’re up in the Ozark Mountains. In some states and countries these wouldn’t even count as mountains—the highest elevations are a bit over 2500 feet (760 meters) above sea level. But the scenery is pretty; my favorite part is the Buffalo River, which is preserved by the National Park System and is a great place for canoeing, hiking, camping, exploring old towns, studying geology, or just relaxing.Southwest of us, about the same distance, you get into the Ouachita Mountains, which are also fairly small by “mountain” standards, but with their own quiet beauty:As for myself, I live about five miles outside of town, on about an acre of hillside land, mostly covered in mixed oak and pine forest. It’s not really deep in the rural countryside, but I sometimes spot barred owls and red-shouldered hawks, and sometimes hear coyotes howling at night.

In India, the sugarcane policy of the government affects both Agriculture and Industry as:1. Sugarcane is mostly cultivated for the production of sugar.2. The sugar economy in India, like many other countries, is highly regulated, starting from sugarcane to the end-product sugar. Even the by-products are subject to government control. Both 'sugar' and 'sugarcane' are included as Essential Commodities per the 1955 Act.The Sugar policies of the Indian government are nowhere near being perfect and the sector as a whole demands a lot of reforms.Having said that, the recent decisions of the governments to provide bigger interest free loans to sugar mills is in the simplest of words 'criminal' even though they seem necessary for farmers. Not only is this 'unfair to the tax payer' but also 'damaging to the economy' in the long run. To understand why the second-last section of this answer is a must read but to get an understanding of how and why the system functions as it does, the basic principles along which the policies were formed, etc., I recommend reading all sections:- Objectives of India's National Sugar Policies- India's place in the world's Sugar economy- Sugar economy in India- Production and Consumption pattern of Sugarcane- Nature of the Agro-industry- Policies of the government- The scenario today (ground realities and common problems)- Why poor sugarcane farmers should not be our focusObjectives of India's National Sugar PoliciesThe main objectives of the national policies have been to ensure:1. a fair price to cane growers,2. adequate returns to industry and3. a supply of sugar to consumers at reasonable prices.India's place in the world's Sugar economyIndia is the second largest producer of sugarcane in the world with sugarcane accounting for the largest production value among all the commercial crops in India. It is thus the first choice of the farmers, wherever geographical conditions favor its growth.India is also the largest consumer of Sugar in the world. Sugar being an essential item of mass consumption and the cheapest source of energy for the poor.There is no country where sugar is not being used. Most nations produce sufficient amounts of sugar for their need but some countries import sugarcane to meet their needs. A recent report revealed that about 120 countries are producing it either on large-scale or only a small-scale just to meet their own needs and India is one of them.As far as exports are concerned, India despite being the second largest producer, does not have any consistent system of exporting sugar and only exports sugar when stocks are in excess. But lately, since late 2013 India introduced new interest free loans to sugar mills, and in February 2014, India also announced subsidies to promote sugar exports in order to inflate domestic prices, all from India’s Sugar Development Fund (SDF).Now sugar has rightly been called the most politically charged raw materials in the global economy. Six countries controlled over 60% of sugar exported globally (per 2014 stats)—Brazil, Thailand, India, Guatemala, Mexico and France. And sugar is highly subsidized in all these markets (Sugar Exports by Country - World's Top Exports).Dominating the global sugar market is clearly a policy of the government of Brazil, which alone controlled more than 35% of all global sugar exports in 2014. Brazil spends at least $2.5 billion on sugar programs ranging from preferential loan schemes and debt forgiveness to input subsidies and usage mandates (Brazil sugar industry receives massive government subsidies).The Thai government also maintains total control over its sugar production, and mandates that the 70 - 80 percent of its production be exported as a way to prop up domestic prices. In addition to price supports for its sugar farmers, Thailand provides direct subsidies to farmers and preferential loan programs to help its sugar farmers improve their efficiency.Under such conditions, exports in sugar will always be a loss-making proposition for India.Sugar economy in IndiaAgro-based industries have been playing a crucial role in Indian economy.About 7.5% of the rural population, covering about 60 million cane farmers, their dependents and a large number of agricultural labor are involved in sugarcane cultivation, harvesting and ancillary activities.Additionally, the country is said to have had 527 sugar factories / mills that generate employment for over 50 million people as of 2011-12.Sugar industry had initially brought socio-economic changes in rural India by way of facilitating entrepreneurial activities such as dairies, poultries, fruits and vegetable processing, and providing educational, health, and credit facilities. However, today the industry bleeds due to state-level policies and lack of proper planning.Also, unlike many western or major sugarcane growing countries, sugarcane is the only source of sugar in our country and therefore, any mismatch between demand and supply of sugar in the country assumes significance at the national level and influences the economics of sugarcane cultivation to a great extent. Often, the initiatives by the state governments in the form of fixing a remunerative sugarcane price on one end and pressurising mills to make payments within a reasonable time on the other end encouraged farmers to put in more area under the sugarcane crop.Production and Consumption pattern of SugarcaneIn India, sugarcane is used to make Sugar (63.4%), Gud (21.8%) and Khandsari (3.2%) while 11.7% of the cane production is used for seeds.The traditional sweeteners of India like Gur & Khandsari are consumed mostly by the rural population and both are mostly consumed within the same year of production. Centrifuged sugar, on the hand, can be stored for longer periods of time and has domestic as well as commercial use. 30% of the sugar produced in the country goes for domestic consumption while the remaining 70% is used by food processors such as bakeries, confectioners and soft drink manufacturers.Now, as can be observed in above graph, while the demand for cane to make gur and khandsari is stable year-on-year, the demand for cane to make centrifuged sugar has a higher coefficient of variance year on year, i.e., it fluctuates more every year and most of this fluctuation is due to acreage allocation rather than yield which has been stagnant at around 65 tonnes/hectare (t/ha) for the past two decades.Nature of the Agro-industrySugarcane farming is mostly labor intensive, requiring ample human hands at every stage i.e. sowing, hoeing, weeding, irrigating, cutting and carrying sugarcane to the factories. Therefore, cheap abundant labor is a prerequisite for its successful cultivation.Once harvested, it is important that the canes are loaded on to trucks or tractors or by any other fast means of transportation to take them quickly to the mill for the processing as early as possible to preserve the high quality of sugar.The sugar mills are generally located near producing areas. Because firstly, the sugar deteriorates if it is not quickly processed and secondly, sugar accounts for only between 10 to 20 per cent of the bulky sugarcane and thus it would be prohibitively expensive to transport cane over long distances in its original form.Now, sugar Industry is regarded second after the Textile Industry in India as per the agro-processing industry in the country and has two sectors:Organized - Centrifugal Sugar factories / mills usually belong to the organized sector.Unorganized sector. Those producers who produce traditional sweeteners (Gur and Khandsari) fall into unorganized sector.The Government regulates major aspects of the centrifugal sugar industry.Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) is the oldest industrial association in the country which was established in 1932 when tariff protection was granted to the industry.It is recognized by the Central and State Governments as the central apex organization to voice the cause of the sugar industry. Sugar mills established in the private sector as well as the public sector are eligible to become members of ISMA.Policies of the governmentIn 1952 the Government of India took over from the states, the regulation of the sugar industry, under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act 1951. The 138 factories which were then operating were registered under the provisions of the Act. Thereafter, all new sugar factories and expansion program have required licensing by the Central Government.A major step to liberate the sugar sector from controls was later taken in 1998 when the licensing requirement for new sugar mills was abolished.However following 3 factors caused the government to retain some regulations:(1) the highly perishable nature of sugarcane;(2) the small land holdings of sugarcane farmers; and(3) the need to keep the price of sugar at reasonably affordable levels while making it available through the Public Distribution System (PDS).The policies which were introduced or retained after the 1998 delisencing are:(i) Minimum distance criterion:- Under the Sugarcane Control Order, the central government has prescribed a minimum radial distance of 15 km between any two sugar mills. This regulation is expected to ensure a minimum availability of cane for all mills.(ii) Cane reservation area and bonding:- Every designated mill is obligated to purchase from cane farmers within the cane reservation area, and conversely, farmers are bound to sell to the mill. This ensures a minimum supply of cane to a mill, while committing the mill to procure at a minimum price.(iii) Price of sugarcane:- The central government fixes a minimum price, the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) that is paid by mills to farmers. States can also intervene in sugarcane pricing with a State Advised Price (SAP) to strengthen farmer’s interests. Typically, SAP is higher than FRP. There have been divergent views on which is a fair price to both farmers and millers.(iv) Levy sugar obligation:- Every sugar mill mandatorily surrenders 10% of its production to the central government at a price lower than the market price – this is known as levy sugar. This enables the central government to get access to low cost sugar stocks for distribution through PDS. At present prices, the centre saves about Rs 3,000 crore on account of this policy, the burden of which is borne by the sugar sector.(v) Regulated release of non-levy sugar:- The central government allows the release of non-levy sugar into the market on a periodic basis. Currently, release orders are on a quarterly basis. Thus, sugar produced over the four-to-six month sugar season is sold throughout the year by distributing the release of stock evenly across the year.(vi) Trade policy for sugar:- The government has set controls on both exports and imports. These controls are imposed after taking into account the domestic availability, demand and price of sugarcane. A number of cascading import controls and export permits are used to achieve this. As a result, India’s trade in the world trade of sugar is small. Even though India contributes 17% to global sugar production (second largest producer in the world), its share in exports is only 4%. This has been at the cost of considerable instability for the sugar cane industry and its production.(vii) Regulations relating to by-products:- Certain restrictions have been placed on by-products of sugarcane such as molasses and bagasse. State governments fix quotas for different end uses of molasses and restrict their movement, particularly across state boundaries. Some states have also imposed restrictions on the mills that can sell power generated from bagasse to users other than the local power utility. Mills are also restricted from selling power generated from bagasse to other states. Such restrictions impede the revenue realization from cogeneration and reduce economic efficiency.(viii) JPMA:- The Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987 mandates that sugar be packed only in jute bags. The sugar industry estimates that this leads to an increase in cost by about 40 paise per kg of sugar besides adversely impacting quality.Despite the problems associated with above policies, delicensing caused the installed capacity in the sugar sector to grow at almost 7% annually between 1998-99 to 2011-12 compared to 3.3% annually between 1990-91 to 1997-98.Delicensing also contributed significantly to a structural transformation in the sugar industry. Till 1997-98, sugar cooperatives dominated the sugar industry but by 2011-12 this changed significantly with the private sector contributing the largest share of total installed capacity.The scenario today (ground realities and common problems):It is common to assume that Indian farmers in general are poor and helpless and often enough they are so but a complex web of politics surrounds the sugar economy in each state that puts many other sections of the sugar industry at a disadvantage, sometimes because of farmer appeasement.Some problems include:1. Since early 1970s, State Advised Price (SAP) came into existence. The common norm since then is for the Central government to fix a Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) for cane but state governments often advice sugar factories to pay higher prices to farmers than what is fixed by the Central government. SAP can be seen as a markup over SMP. The SAP often reflects the power of the sugarcane growers lobby in each state.2. Since 2009-10 sugar season, the concept of Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) was replaced by Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP), and there has been a gradual effort to align FRP more closely to the value of sugar and its byproducts from one quintal of cane. But due to different costs of production in different states, states continue to advice Sugar Mills to pay higher prices than FRPs to farmers.3. Sugarcane growers in India are mainly centered in growing the crop and not improvement in quality of sugarcane. A lot of sugarcane is also grown in areas where soil and climatic conditions do not support the crop but with cane support price covering more than the high input cost and other support mechanism to farmers, cultivation is made possible. And often enough, the ability to produce more sugar from available supply of sugarcane relies on the efficiency of the factory. So, tensions often arise because it is a statutory obligation on sugar factories to pay 'minimum price' as fixed by the central government for sugarcane. The industry also debates issues such as excess sugarcane production and export curbs on sugar.4. Policy and Prices both differ state-wise. In Maharashtra, the government advices different cane prices for different factories. While in Gujarat, cane prices are fixed by sugar factories even when all sugar factories belong to co-operative sector. In Tamil Nadu, prices may be fixed in consultation with growers' associations belonging to each sugar factory. Likewise each state follows its own norm.5. It was also often noticed in some states like Karnataka that elected state representatives used the sugarcane pricing issue to fuel anger among the farmers (to keep the vote bank intact). So, as a populist demand, prices often got fixed at state level to benefit the cane farmers, not the sugar mills as there are many more cane farmers than there are sugar mills in India.For example the case of Karnataka is the most complex:Sugarcane is one of the important cash crops grown in Karnataka. The State produces approximately 3 Crore tons of sugarcane every year and there are around 60 sugar factories.The Karnataka state government in 2007, directed all co-operative sugar mills to pay farmers Rs 1,200 for a ton of sugarcane (1ton = 10 quintals = 1,000kg). The Central governments' SMP was fixed at Rs. 81.18/quintal, so the price for 1ton is a little over Rs.800. Except two or three mills, others paid only between Rs 600 and Rs 800 a ton. No action was initiated by the state against mills which did not follow the state government directions and dues owed to farmers went up to 160 Crores.It is now common for farmers to take on to the streets to demand higher MSP for their sugarcane crops, which is often enough, approved by the governments. But influential mills do not honor the price fixed by the government. What is interesting to note is that several sugar factories in Karnataka are also owned by politicians belonging to the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party.Another interesting example is the case of Maharashtra:Those who demand reform in the sugar sector in Uttar Pradesh often cite the example of Maharashtra, the country's largest sugar producing state.While Uttar Pradesh has been criticized roundly for fixing the sugarcane prices so high that mills have run up arrears of thousands of crores, Maharashtra has been admired for linking sugarcane prices to sugar prices.However, Maharashtra's politically influential cooperative sugar industry is somewhat lacking in discipline. (Apart from 99 cooperative mills, there are also 79 private mills in the state.) The accumulated loss of 65 (functional) cooperative mills in 2013-14 was a whopping Rs 2,547.06 crore and they had a negative net worth of Rs 2,347.54 crore.The story of growth of these co-operatives starts since after the formation of Maharashtra in 1960, the successive governments encouraged the development of cooperative sugar mills and provided part of the capital, loans, subsidies and export incentives for sustaining the financial health of the sector. However, over the years, the sugar mills turned power centers and training ground for aspiring politicians. Cooperatives also became family enterprises.Today, the Indian Sugar Mills Association, the sole representative of the private sugar industry in the country is claiming:"The reason for surplus sugar is because surplus sugarcane is getting produced and the mills are under legal compulsion to crush all the sugarcane, resulting in surplus sugar. So, either the Government pays the cane price arrears to the farmers directly or assists the industry by buying out 3 million tons of sugar at the FRP based cost of production."The state of Maharashtra, top sugar producer of the country, alone is expected to register an increase of 35% in sugar production over previous year (besides many other states).The governments of the Center as well as State have responded by providing export subsidies and interest-free loans to the industry as is explained in the question details. The subsidies are only important so that companies can afford to sell at lower international prices. And interest-free loans help cash strapped industries who are unable to pay their dues to farmers.Meanwhile the MD of 'Federation of Cooperative Sugar Mills' in Maharashtra notes:Major challenges include lack of marketing management and adequate training. Hope that timely steps will help the state retain its supremacy on the sugar map.Although the state government has offered Rs 2,000 crore interest free loan to sugar factories, it is not viable. So, our demand to the central government is to give a complete financial help to the sugar industry of Maharashtra.What is also interesting to note here is that of the total 205 sugar mills in the state, 40 per cent are in eight drought-prone districts that are more suited to growing pulses and oilseeds. All this while the state today is reeling under acute shortage of pulses and oilseeds that have to be imported in large quantity on one hand, while on the other hand, the state is providing subsidies for export of sugar due to excess cultivation of sugarcane while providing interest-free loans for the further-development of the industry. In the last 20 years, the state government had sustained the sugar industry with massive financial subsidies and loan waivers.Under such circumstances, the decision to provide 'interest-free loans' to sugar factories without sufficient measures to restrict MSPs can only be described as a criminal act. While it puts the government in the good books of farmers, it provides no solution to the long-term problems. In the words of Abinash Verma, DG, Isma:In Maharashtra, in the last five years, sugarcane prices have gone up drastically as compared to other crops like wheat, soybean, cotton or paddy. Hence, farmers are again growing cane despite sugar prices having fallen.An interesting example is the case of Solapur (in Maharastra)Solapur has the highest number of sugar factories in Maharashtra. During 2012-13 126.25 Lakh tonnes cane was crushed in Solapur district alone in its 28 sugar factories. The district accounts for the maximum 18.25% of the cane crushed in the state during 2012-13. In 2012-13, a year that was called as a ‘drought year, worse than 1972 drought’, Solapur added 4 new sugar factories to its empire. While in 2013-14, at least 19 new sugar factories were being planned in Solapur, many of which are private sugar factories owned by politicians.The new planned sugar factories will bring total area under sugarcane in Solapur to 2.685 lakh ha and the annual water consumption by sugarcane and sugar mills over 7400 MCM. This is way above the full planned allocation of water for Solapur as per the MWIC report. MWIC assessment is exhaustive including all possible planned water schemes, so there is no possibility for Solapur to get water over and above the ultimate planned schemes in Solapur. This means that by going for these new sugar factories, Solapur would possibly taking water of other regions or accelerating towards rapid exhaustion of its available groundwater.Read more at Why Solapur, Sugarcane and Sustainability do not rhyme?Sugarcane: engineering scarcitySugarcane, one of the most water-intensive crops grown in the state, requires 10 times more water than jowar or nut and around 80% is ironically grown in regions that have a history of water scarcity.Yet in Maharashtra, it it is unlikely that politicians in the state will cajole farmers, a very important vote bank (nearly 3 million farmers grow sugarcane), to shift to other remunerative crops such as oilseeds and pulses that are currently imported.A question to consider here is Should Maharashtra and other tropical regions, which face acute land and water shortages for crop cultivation be spending more resources for cultivation of more Sugarcane at higher prices?Consider also the case of UP in comparison to Maharashtra:In Uttar Pradesh, UP farmers demand hike in cane price by 25% to Rs 350/quintal during 2014.Interestingly, the year before, the private mills in UP had claimed that their paying capacity was about Rs 240/quintal and any price above it would result in losses and subsequent arrears. The matter was resolved when the state announced sops to mills and promised to constitute a committee to evolve a permanent cane price formula.At the start of season, UP had retained cane price at Rs 280 per quintal, while allowing mills to pay at Rs 240 per quintal upfront and deferring payment of the remaining Rs 40 per quintal to end of season.According to a report by rating agency Care:The State’s sugar sector has been in state of perpetual crisis for the past few years. The mills have been bleeding for high sugarcane prices and 'low sale realizations' leading to recurring losses and mounting cane arrears.Historically, the cane prices have been, year after year, among the highest, in Uttar Pradesh as compared with other major sugar producing States.Also note that in Uttar Pradesh, sugarcane fields are irrigated by large rivers such as the Ganga and Yamuna and it has a much higher assured rainfall compared to Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, sugarcane is irrigated mainly through a canal network of dams, which are mostly constructed in the high rainfall areas of Sahyandri mountain range.Despite the total cost of cultivation being comparatively lower in UP, UP faces major price issues due to variance in cost of cultivation across different regions. According to NBARD survey:In all the selected districts, the cost of production per acre of planted sugarcane was higher in the case of small farmers, when compared with that of large farmers and was attributed mainly to higher imputed value of family labor, higher depreciation and higher interest on fixed capital. However, higher cost of production of ratoon sugarcane per acre was observed in the case of large farmers and was attributed mainly to higher expenditure incurred towards fertilisers, interculture operation, irrigation, earthing up and transportation of sugarcane after its harvest from the farm to the place of sale.Maharashtra, of course avoids such problems as government advices different cane prices for different factories.6. There is thus no commonly accepted scientific basis for arriving at the minimum support price for Sugarcane at the central and state level, nor is there a stable policy to limit production as per demand, nor an effective land-use plan to ensure environmental and economic efficiency in agricultural production. Oversupply of sugarcane, inconsistencies in short-term supply and loss making industries is thus a common problem nationwide.7. Early in 2009, the Government had followed a 'consumer-oriented trade policy for sugar' as imports were allowed at zero import duty since August 2009 (till July, 2012) while exports of sugar were tightly controlled and were subject to release orders from the Directorate of Sugar until recently. This was despite the surplus production during the years of 2010-11 and 2011-12. Since mid-2012, the international prices are settling to their trend level after reaching higher levels in 2010-2011 but the domestic prices of sugar are still higher. This is due to the higher cost of the raw material of sugarcane in some states, which is not linked with the prevailing prices of sugar. The Government has raised the import duty recently to protect the domestic industry against cheaper imports. A higher import duty may just be a short term reprieve for the industry as higher costs of domestic production are hitting the international competitiveness of Indian sugar.So, due to a national oversupply, this year the sugar harvest in India is forecast to climb to the highest level since 2012, increasing pressure on the government to 'subsidize exports in order trim stockpiles'.Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd., India’s biggest producer, made six straight quarterly losses through Sept. 30 2014 while Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd., the second-largest, failed to make profit in five of the last six quarters. Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd., the biggest refiner, also reported six straight losses through Sept. 30 2014.Now, India needs to ship 1.5 million tons to 2 million tons of sugar supported by export subsidies and incentives to help producers pay farmers on time and repay loans to the banks.Why poor sugarcane farmers should not be our focusYears of populism is what has ruined the country's economy. While one political wing creates populist policies for farmers, the other tries to benefit industrialists at the cost of the tax payer and the country's politics has become more about farmers vs. industrialists, congress vs. bjp, state vs. center, etc. Shelling out money to remain in the good books of farmers has costed the economy dearly and we are faced with problems that have no obvious long-term solutions.Farmers, in the long run will also benefit if they realized the commercial importance other crops besides sugarcane and our government should encourage farmers to move away from sugarcane towards more economically efficient and profitable crops rather than providing more incentives for cultivation of expensive sugarcane.Rather than focusing on the so called 'poor sugarcane farmers' we must try to focus on what is better for the country's economy and environment.With a growth cycle of 11-17 months, sugarcane cultivation locks up the farmers, the state and the system in a vicious cycle of irrigation at any cost. On an average, sugarcane requires irrigation twice a month. Once planted, the farmers have no choice but to look for all options to irrigate it. And the sugar mills have no options but to crush the sugarcane and the downstream water consumption lock in only grows.Note that large number of small farmers and agricultural laborers, including dalits and other backward classes are also benefiting from sugar boom in drought affected districts of Maharashtra but the bigger beneficiaries are the industrialists who continue to open shop in a loss making industry while the governments continues to lose money by having to protect farmers, industrialists and consumers, all of who are benefiting at the cost of the tax-payer, the environment and economic efficiency of the country.Sources and Further Reading:Indian Sugar Industry, Sugar Industry in India, Sugar Industry, Sugar Industrieshttp://www.in.kpmg.com/pdf/indian_sugar_industry.pdfSugarcane Cultivation: Methods for Cultivation and Processing of SugarcanePage on inflibnet.ac.in:8080Improving sugarcane cultivation in IndiaRegulation of Sugar Sector in IndiaA STUDY OF INDIAN SUGAR INDUSTRY IN POST REFORMS ERAINDIAPage on www.whichcountry.coPage on usda.govSeeking a Global Solution in Sugar Trade PolicyToo Much Sugar in India Has Mills Banking on Export SubsidyNot A Good Idea; Maharashtra Approves Sugar Export SubsidyBountiful crop proves bitterKarnataka fix Rs 2,500 minimum support price for sugarcane - The Times of IndiaMSP and ownership rightsSugarcane Pricing: Policy, Procedure, and Operations - By V. B. JugalePage on indianexpress.comSugarcane price arrears cross Rs 21,000 crore in 2014-15 seasonCan Maharashtra's sugar mills bounce back?Thanks for the A2A Ravindra BhandariEdits:18th June - Information added to sections:- India's place in the world's Sugar economy- Sugar economy in India- The scenario today (ground realities and common problems)