Maharashtra drought warning collides with sugarcane’s grip on farm incomes
Maharashtra is urging farmers to move away from water-intensive crops before the kharif season. But sugarcane remains deeply entrenched because it offers more reliable income than most alternatives.
Maharashtra has stepped up its drought warnings ahead of the kharif season, urging farmers to avoid early sowing and reduce their dependence on water-intensive crops. The agriculture department is pushing crop diversification as part of its pre-monsoon response in drought-prone regions. Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne said the kharif sown area could fall to 145 lakh hectares this season from 157 lakh hectares last year.
In practice, however, the diversification message is colliding with the economics of sugarcane. Harshvardhan Patil, president of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories, said the sugar sector has become a pillar of the rural economy and generates Rs 8,000 crore in revenue for the state. He argued that farmers across regions including Vidarbha and Marathwada are turning to sugarcane because it offers financial sustainability and an assured livelihood.
Even in drought-prone zones, sugarcane remains dominant wherever water is available. Solapur, one of the state’s hardest-hit dry regions, has 48 sugar mills. In the current season those mills crushed 219 lakh metric tonnes of cane and produced 18.87 lakh metric tonnes of sugar. By the end of April, 207 mills across Maharashtra had crushed 1036.29 lakh metric tonnes of sugarcane to produce 98.31 lakh metric tonnes of sugar.
Long-term data helps explain why the state is struggling to shift planting patterns. According to the state economic survey, land under sugarcane rose from 1.50 lakh hectares in 1960-61 to 13.73 lakh hectares in 2024-25, and after four consecutive good monsoons it reached a record 16.06 lakh hectares in 2025-26. Over the same period, less water-intensive crops lost ground sharply: jowar fell from 62 lakh hectares to 17 lakh hectares, while bajra dropped from 16.35 lakh hectares to 4.4 lakh hectares.
Farmer leaders say administrative advice alone will not change those choices. Raju Shetti of the Swabhiman Shetkari Sanghatana said growers are sticking with sugarcane because it comes with a guaranteed income under the fair remuneration price system. Unless other crops receive a dependable minimum support price and stronger protection from distress sales, he argued, farmers have little reason to diversify.
Officials say past efforts to push pulses and oilseeds produced only limited gains. The area under pulses had increased to 49.87 lakh hectares in 2024-25, but then fell sharply to 18.85 lakh hectares in 2025-26. That reversal underlines the core issue for Maharashtra agriculture: drought policy can warn against water-heavy crops, but changing farm practice will require a durable income model strong enough to compete with sugarcane.