Team Goemkarponn
CANACONA: Sweetened in Organic and Eco-friendly locally prepared Jaggery by traditional process has a huge potential demand/market as former sarpanch, social worker and himself a farmer Daya Gaonkar doing everything keep the Jaggery Unit running and though seasonal provide potential employment to the locals; Gaonkar appeals to the farmers who have stopped sugarcane cultivation to revive the same, assuring he is giving the market for their cultivation.
The ‘Cotiagro’, chemical free Organic jaggery brand has already made a name in Goa’s market produced locally by Prachi Gul, Utpadak Saustha (PGUS), operates the production unit by traditional method at Yeda in Khotigao (Canacona).
This unit is a organically produces Jaggery without any used of any sorts of chemicals or whatsoever, is run by Daya Gaonkar, a wellknown and most successful sarpanch of Khotigao village, presently busy in social endeavours not only limited to Khotigao but throughout Canacona.
According to Gaonkar, though the Jaggery production unit functions seasonally only for three months, processes over 280 Tons of Sugarcane and gives employment to over 30 people directly.
Between the three seasonal months of December, January and February, PGUS produces 650 Kgs of Organic Jaggery by crushing around 5.5 tons of Sugarcane on day-to-day basis. Each of the large Vessels are filled with the Sugarcane Juice between 420-430 litres out of which 105-110 kgs of Jaggery is produced, each time.
PGUS’s seasonal Jaggery production is over 30 tons, after crushing over 280 tons of sugarcane in the process. It is however, difficult to get sufficient sugarcane as not many farmers are cultivating sugarcane fearing lack of market after the only sugar-factory in the State is closed and in non-working condition.
Seasonally, I employ 20 workers for harvesting and 10 workers at the processing Unit, besides the lack of sugarcane farmers, I too have entered into sugarcane cultivation, and I also have begun to cultivate sugarcane-.
The PGUS jiggery processing unit at Yeda has a provision of two huge vessels, which are placed over the arrangements made with burning fire-wood. Each of the vessels are filled with sugarcane juice between 420-430 litres, earlier extracted by using Juice Extracting machines. And due to high-temperature litted firewood underneath, the juice starts to boil simultaneously beginning the process of vaporization with bubbles forming over the juice. The vaporization process is allowed to a certain extent, and when the juice is virtually thickened to a certain extent, four men with the help of wooden poles lift the huge and hot vessel and empty it into an especially prepared earthen ground vessel placed nearby.
Then depending upon the need one or two persons at a time keeps on stirring the hot contents till cools-down and hardens equally. After this process, the Kakum (Jaggery in juice form), is seperated and the Jaggery in Wet and hardened stages is packaged separately.
Daya Gaonkar said, ‘ While others are paying 800/ton for sugarcane, I pay 1000 rupees per ton of sugarcane, besides harvesting and transporting at my own costs. As the sugarcane cultivated in Canacona taluka at Khotigao and Gaondongrim (the two prime farming villages in Canacona taluka) is insufficient, we are buying sugarcane from Quepem taluka as well to keep the production unit running till end of February month. After February it is also difficult to get the workers, be it for harvesting or to work at the production unit as most gets occupied with Shigmo and also Cashew season begins.’
Stating there is a huge demand not only for organic jaggery, but sorts of eatables produced organically, which is equally good for health, Daya Gaonkar asked the farmers who have stopped to cultivate sugarcane cultivation to to re-start the farming as even though the Sugar-factory is closed down in the state, there is huge demand for sugarcane to produce organic jaggery.’