Co-operative Sugar Factories and change in the Methods of Farming: A Special Reference to Solapur District in Maharashtra

In the Solapur district some land is brought under irrigation with the help of left and right bank canals of the Bhima river. However, most of the land was un-irrigated and depended on the vagaries of monsoon. The Sugar factories are trying to increase the total acreage under irrigation. Water, an important input for sugarcane cultivation, was not in ample supply due to the inadequate irrigation facilities. Sugarcane crop requires relatively larger capital for seed, fertilizers, labourers, etc., as compared to other crops. The farmers in the region were not getting loans easily from banks. This state of affairs changed after the factories came into existence.