Vivek Kolhe, a young co-operator from the sugar cooperative sector and based in Maharashtra, has a novel idea of using the idle period of sugar co-op factories for profitable diversification.
Kolhe advocates converting sugar cooperatives into food-processing hubs during the lean period. Since the sugar season lasts for only 100 days, the remaining 265 days could be utilized for the benefits of sugar co-op, argues Kolhe.
“The sugar factory could diversify in other business such as making oil from Soyabean, starch from corn and others. We can run it 365 days in a year. It will become yearlong work”, said Kolhe who is the Chairman of Sahakar Maharshi Shankarrao Kolhe Cooperative Sugar factory.
He further added, in this regard the government should come forward to help sugar cooperatives as earlier there was a Sugarcane Development Fund for doing the modernization and other activities but now it is no longer active. The government should encourage sugar cooperatives in developing into food-processing hubs.
“We are also working together in attracting youth through cooperatives and we are forming a group of youths at the local level to form cooperatives. We are encouraging them to constitute Fish Farmers Producers Organizations (FFPO)”, said Kolhe who is also the Chairman of Sai Sanjeevani Cooperative Bank.
Earlier, we were doing the business of Prawn fish but due to government policies it was stopped. We are again restoring this, he informed.
“We have also applied to take the membership of the newly constituted three National Level- multi state cooperative societies. We are planning to form Sanjeevani Cooperative Organic Limited, Sanjeevani Seed Cooperative and Sanjeevani Export Cooperative at taluka level, which will work at taluka level and engage PACS for creating a cooperative ecosystem”, he asserted who is also on the board of National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Limited.
Kolhe said, in a bid to provide the smart harvesting solutions to the farmers, We have tied-up with the Mahindra & Mahindra to give the benefit to the farmers society for their sugarcane cropping & other needs. We are the first one in Ahmednagar district to start and use drone technology for On-field spraying.
“We have diversified our business in Sugar, ethanol, chemicals, dairy, poultry, energy, liquor and others. We are making ethanol from Sugar Cane juice and around 1.44 lakh MT cane juice has been diverted to Ethanol”, he added.