Raipur: Sunday turned out to be a historic day for 4,691 sugarcane farmers associated with the Bhoramdev Cooperative Sugar Production Factory. Deputy Chief Minister Shri Vijay Sharma distributed share certificates to these farmers, who had been waiting to become shareholder members for years, while making them new shareholder members. While handing over the certificates to the farmers at the farmers' seminar and certificate distribution ceremony held at the PG College Dome in Kawardha, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Vijay Sharma said that this initiative is an important step towards increasing the income of the farmers by connecting them with the strong partnership of cooperatives and giving a new impetus to sugarcane production in the region.

Share certificates were distributed to 4,691 sugarcane farmers today.

Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sharma said that today share certificates were given to 4 thousand 691 farmers who sold sugarcane in Bhoramdev Sugar Factory, who were not shareholder members till now. He said that these farmers have made a significant contribution in taking the factory forward even without becoming shareholders. Respecting this contribution, they have been made shareholder members of the factory today. He told that in the last crushing season, 2 lakh 55 thousand 818 metric tonnes of sugarcane was crushed in the factory. Currently, the factory has about 23 thousand shareholders. At the same time, 4,691 non-shareholder farmers had also sold sugarcane. These same farmers have now been granted membership of the factory by giving them share certificates.

*Positive efforts also to increase sugarcane bonus*

The Deputy Chief Minister stated that this factory is the farmers' own factory, and the responsibility to grow it lies with the farmers. He added that if farmers pledge to supply 4.5 lakh metric tons of sugarcane this year, the factory will become even stronger. This will increase farmers' chances of receiving timely FRP payments, better recovery, and higher dividends in the future. He also called for positive efforts to increase the sugarcane bonus.

*Shareholder members will be able to avail other facilities by selling sugarcane*

The Deputy Chief Minister urged farmers to produce more sugarcane, encourage new farmers to sign contracts, and actively participate in strengthening the factory. He said that by becoming new shareholder members, farmers will now be able to regularly sell sugarcane to the Bhoramdev Cooperative Sugar Factory, as well as benefit from other facilities available to shareholder members. This will also help the factory in providing sufficient sugarcane to meet its crushing targets, further strengthening its production capacity and operations in the future.

*Farmers urged to move towards natural and organic farming*

Emphasizing natural farming, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the three main forms of farming are chemical, organic, and natural. He explained that natural farming does not require chemical fertilizers and is being successfully practiced in many areas of Chhattisgarh. He urged farmers to move towards natural and organic farming so that their products can reach national and international markets.

Mr. Sharma stated that experts will provide guidance to farmers on the NPOP certification required for the export of organic products at the Kawardha MLA's office on July 17, 18, and 19. Urging farmers to take advantage of this opportunity, he said everyone must work together to gain recognition for Kabirdham's  agricultural products in the national and international markets.

*Decision to make non-shareholder farmers new shareholder members in the crushing season 2025-26*

Sugarcane farmers in the region had long demanded the addition of new shareholder members. Addressing this demand, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Vijay Sharma directed the factory management to develop a plan. Following this, the district administration, factory management, local public representatives, and representatives from both farmers' unions in the district jointly developed an action plan. Under this plan, sugarcane was purchased from non-shareholder farmers in the 2025-26 crushing season, and a decision was made to enroll them as new shareholder members.

Chhattisgarh Farmers Welfare Board Chairman Mr. Suresh Chandravanshi, District Panchayat Chairman Mr. Ishwari Sahu, Vice Chairman Mr. Kailash Chandravanshi, Factory Managing Director Mr. G.S. Sharma, General Manager Mr. Ankit Markam, representatives of farmers' associations, factory shareholder members, farmers, officers and employees were present in the program.