ROHTAK Haryana’s lucrative ₹ 415-per-quintal state advised price, just one rupee behind neighbouring Punjab, has done little to stem a decline in sugarcane acreage in the last five years, revealing farmers’ growing reluctance to plant the crop.
Official figures show that the area under sugarcane cultivation in Haryana, which stood at 1.07 lakh hectares in 2021-22 and 2022-23, fell to 88,220 hectares in 2023-24 and then to a five-year low of 71,640 hectares in 2024-25. The acreage has recovered to an estimated 93,780 hectares in 2025-26, but is still less than the 2021 figure, according to the first advance estimate.
The acreage decline has come despite efforts by the Haryana government to encourage farmers to continue with sugarcane cultivation. Further the decline in yield has added to the mills’ concerns. “Sugarcane is a labour-intensive crop with low mechanisation level in the state. The government should encourage mechanisation of sugarcane harvesting on patterns of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, where farmers cultivate and grow the sugarcane crop but harvesting, lifting and transportation from farmer’s field to mills is the responsibility of the sugarmills”, he added. There is a strong possibility that the state government is likely to increase sugarcane SAP for the crushing season this year as state agriculture minister Shyam Singh Rana has already hinted about it.But higher cane prices have not been sufficient to persuade more farmers to take up sugarcane cultivation.
About the reason behind falling sugarcane acreage in Haryana, cooperation minister Arvind Sharma had told Haryana state assembly’s budget session that Haryana’s average sugarcane yield had declined between 2020-21 and 2024-25, except in 2022-23. For the 2025-26 sugar season, the SAP has been fixed at ₹ 415 per quintal for early varieties and ₹ 408 per quintal for late varieties, against the Centre’s FRP of ₹ 355 per quintal. Moreover, the three crops cycle, due to higher earning possibilities in the summer, maize is also a reason the farmers left sugarcane cultivation, which they claim is no-more profitable.
Farmers in several traditional sugarcane-growing areas have shifted to alternative crops, which they say offer better returns with lower cultivation risks, according to the ground reports. When asked about the reason behind farmers shunning sugarcane cultivation Virender Singh Lather, former principal scientist at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute New Delhi, said, “One of the biggest reasons behind the falling sugarcane cultivation in the state is the unavailability of labour and undue delay in the payments by sugarmills. “Sugarcane crop is a better option for farmers and the Haryana government led by chief minister Nayab Singh Saini government is making efforts to ensure that the farmers return to the cane cultivation”, said Shyam Singh Rana.
