Q.Why did the co-operative sugar factory movement take deep root in Maharashtra? Explain with reference to the nature of sugarcane and the working of a sugar processing co-operative.

Sugarcane's own physical nature — bulky, perishable, needing to be crushed within hours — made grower-owned factories the natural solution, and Maharashtra pioneered them.

The nature of sugarcane. Sugarcane is a bulky, heavy and highly perishable crop: once cut, its sugar content begins to fall within hours, so it must be crushed very quickly and cannot be transported over long distances without loss. An individual grower therefore has little bargaining power — he cannot hold the cane back to wait for a better price, nor carry it to a distant mill, so a private mill can dictate terms.

How a sugar processing co-operative solves this. A co-operative sugar factory owned by the growers themselves, sited among their own fields, changes the picture completely:

• Member cane-growers supply their cane to their own factory, which is bound to accept it — giving them an assured, nearby outlet.
• The factory crushes the cane into sugar (with molasses and bagasse as by-products) and markets the sugar.
• The proceeds return to members as a fair cane price plus a share of any surplus, so the value added by processing stays with the growers instead of a private mill-owner.
• Management is democratic ('one member, one vote'), so the factory is run in the members' interest. …