Commitment Towards Farmers
Serving the farming community
Farmer is the major link in the supply chain of a sugar unit. Farmers co-exist with sugar unit and vice versa. The interests of the sugar unit and the farmers are complementary to each other. The cost of sugarcane supplied by the farmers constitutes nearly 70% of the total cost of producing sugar. Special emphasis is laid by DSIL on the cane development and welfare of farmers. Cane developmental efforts are directed towards improvement in the quantity and quality of sugarcane produced. Efforts towards quantitative development:
- Prompt payment to farmers for sugarcane supplies
- Seminar and awareness programs to educate the farmers of the latest techniques to improve the yield per hectare.
- Free and subsidized distribution of pesticides and fertilizers.
- Watershed management with the help of assimilation of data through satellite and highly sophisticated equipments
- Land reclamation with the help of satellite data.
- Fiscal assistance in the form sponsoring function for distribution of credit cards to farmers under the aegis of banks
Timely payments:
The company has an excellent payment record, which ensures continuous and timely procurement of quality sugarcane, thereby ensuring excellent raw material management. This is because, at the core of Dwarikesh’s philosophy is that the company’s health and prosperity is positively and proportionately linked to the health and prosperity of our farmers.
- It is this Dwarikesh way of thinking that motivates us to make payments to farmers ahead of the stipulated time.
- It is this Dwarikesh way of doing business that ensured that in 2006-07, when many others in the industry contested the ₹ 125 SAP, Dwarikesh, though somewhat late, was still amongst the first to release the payments.
- And it is this Dwarikesh way of nurturing relationships that was behind our move to clear our cane dues for the last crushing season, 2014-15. The company has also paid the part SAP for crushing season 2015-16 following the directions of state government.
Run with time
- We have created a web site from where the farmers can know about their calendar, payment status, survey details, and loan position.
- SMS alert facility has been introduced for the grower by which a message is automatically sent to them regarding the information about their indent/payment.
- We have also started IVR facility for the growers to let them know about their cane status / payment on phone.
- We have introduced hand held machine at our centres to expedite the transfer of data with 100% accuracy.
Cane development measures
Keeping in mind the importance of quality sugarcane to boost recovery and excellence in production, we allocate adequate percentage of our revenue and our employees in promoting cane development activities at the grass root level.
Driving this excellence is our series of several proactive measures aimed at:
- Continuous research and development.
- Production of improved varieties of sugarcane.
- Increase in per acre yield to enable farmers to maximize their earnings and to ensure increased supply to us.
- Protection from diseases.
Seed development:
Maintenance of new improved seed nurseries under supervision of our trained and senior staff to help farmers achieve the results of low fibre, high sugar and high yield from their cane varieties.
Supply of ding seeds, fertilizers and pesticides to farmers covering our command area.
Procurement of cane seeds from Sugarcane Research Station, and distribution of seeds to growers for raising foundations and primary nurseries.
Supply of subsidized seeds (from research institutions, agricultural development institutions) and fertilizers to enable farmers to grow improvised variety of cane, improve yields, etc.
Provision of soil testing facility to the farmers of our reserve zone, free of cost, at reputed soil testing laboratories.
Digging of bore wells.
Installation of deep submersible pumps for facilitating irrigation.
Pest management:
Cane seed treatment of improved varieties through M.H.A.T. units to control seed-borne diseases like grassy shoot disease, ratoon stunting diseases, red leaf strip, leaf streak and leaf stripe diseases etc. Cane seed treatment also helps in controlling the spread of wilt, red-rot smut, etc.
Biological control of early shoot borer, top borer, gurdaspur borer, pyrilla insect pest etc. being done through Trichogramma Chilonis and Tricho Japonicum rearing in our bio-control laboratory. Eipipyrox rearing and shifting / tagging in sugarcane fields through our technically trained staff.
Kisan sewa kendras:
Provision of good quality agrochemicals at subsidized rates through the Kisan sewa kendras of our sugar mills.
Financial assistance: Funds for raising and maintenance of nurseries. Assist with loan arrangements to upgrade
Technology and cane growing processes.
Tie-up with various banks for arranging loans at attractive interest rates and provide guarantees on behalf of farmers to banks for timely recovery and payments.
Knowledge & training programs:
Conducting training seminars for farmers at the research station.
Our trained staff visits and educates villagers on modern farming techniques and implementation of modern agricultural practices.
Technology and cane growing processes.
Provide continuing education to the farmers regarding intercultural practices in sugarcane crop to achieve higher yield and quality of cane.
Road development:
Development, repair and maintenance of difference link roads in the respective command areas with a view to providing easy transportation facility to our cane suppliers.
Research & development:
Interact with sugarcane scientists/research stations to educate in-house staff and farmers about new technologies in sugarcane cultivation, innovation in sugarcane research and modern farming practices.
Educate farmers on adoption of crop rotation, use of bio-agents, and adoption of cultural practices for control of insects, pests and diseases.
Encourage farmers to do autumn planting on large scale for facilitating multiple cropping, which in turn, would maximize their returns.
Create awareness about improved cultural practices of sugarcane cultivation to obtain better yield, as well as better quality of cane – research to facilitate better vertical growth of cane, better girth, etc.
The way ahead
Our unique way of promoting and nurturing farmer relations and evolving progressive partnerships with our other vendors and customers has helped us in multiple ways. It has helped us build a reputation for credibility, integrity, loyalty and goodwill. And together, these values have helped drive our success story…a story of excellence that spans the entire gamut of our business.
Going ahead, we plan to introduce more labor efficient processes and also set up our own research farms with the objective of conducting demonstrations and trials frequently, so as to find better varieties of sugarcane and innovation in cultivation practices for obtaining quality cane production.
Continued farmer meetings and seminars on new technology and modern practices in cane development, alongwith development of new link roads for easy transportation of sugarcane at gate and out centers, are other initiatives that we propose to undertake in the coming year.
Infrastructure development:
Dwarikesh also takes care of the repair and maintenance of different link roads so that the farming community can easily transport their loads to the mill. The measure undertaken for cane development have had significant impact on the conditions of the farmers who have become more enlightened, prosperous and have developed a sense of belonging to the company. The sustained increase in the supply of sugarcane over the years bears testimony to the confidence they have reposed in us.
The officials of the company have established such rapport with the farmers that the officials of the company are regarded as their friends and well wishers. The joys and the sorrows of the farmers are shared by the company and the strong force of the farmers is considered an integral part of the company.
Raising the bar through innovative excellence
We have in place a strong Research & Development system that steers our journey of innovative excellence, promoting not just our own business interests but also those of the farmers whom we partner.
Agriculture technology, biotechnology and manufacturing technology are some of the key focus areas of our R&D, which also encompasses soil testing at our state-of-the-art soil-testing laboratory in Dwarikesh Nagar. Modern technologies are continuously evolved and developed at our centre to boost output and improve efficiencies, to the benefit of all stakeholders.
Hybrid seeds are development at the R&D facility and then distributed to the farmers to boost cane productivity. We also have a bio-pesticides laboratory to develop pesticides for seed and crop protection. We make extensive use of remote sensing for accurate geological surveys of the command area by using satellite images for enhancement of yield and sugarcane growth.
