Odisha's sugarcane farmers just got a concrete financial lifeline — and the state's long-dormant cooperative sugar mills got a revival signal. The Chief Minister's Office of Odisha announced on Friday, September 25, 2026 that Chief Minister has launched a new scheme offering Rs 15,000 per acre in input subsidies to farmers cultivating sugarcane in notified mill command zones.

What the 'Samabaya Chini Shilpa' scheme promises farmers

The scheme — formally titled 'Samabaya Chini Shilpa Anchalare Akhu Utpadan Protsahan Yojana' (Sugarcane Production Promotion Scheme in Cooperative Sugar Industry Zones) — targets farmers within the officially notified areas around cooperative sugar mills. Each eligible farmer will receive Rs 15,000 per acre as direct input support, covering costs tied to seeds, fertilisers, and cultivation inputs. The CMO's post states the twin goals plainly: protect the interests of the state's sugarcane farmers, and revive the cooperative sugar industry.

The per-acre subsidy design is deliberate. By tying the benefit directly to cultivation within mill command zones, the government is effectively trying to solve both sides of the sugar mill problem at once — low farmer income discourages cane growing, and low cane supply keeps mills idle. One intervention targets both.

Why Odisha's cooperative sugar mills needed this push

Odisha's cooperative sugar mills have struggled for years with thin cane supply, making economically viable operations difficult to sustain. When farmers shift to other crops because sugarcane returns are uncertain, mills lose their feedstock. When mills go dormant, farmers lose a reliable buyer. It is a classic agro-industrial trap, and input subsidies linked to mill catchment areas are a well-established tool to break it.

This approach mirrors patterns seen in other sugar-producing states, where area-specific incentives tied to mill command zones have helped revive both cultivation and processing capacity. The critical next steps — detailed operational guidelines, the precise list of notified mill areas, and confirmed budget provisions — are expected through subsequent government orders from the agriculture department.

The bigger picture for Odisha's farm economy

Sugarcane is not among Odisha's dominant crops the way paddy is, which is precisely what makes this move significant. It signals a deliberate push to diversify the state's agricultural base while simultaneously leveraging existing cooperative infrastructure. For farmers in mill-adjacent districts, Rs 15,000 per acre represents a meaningful reduction in input risk — the factor that most often deters switching to or expanding a cash crop with a longer cultivation cycle.

The scheme now awaits its operational details. When the notified zones are published and the first subsidy disbursements begin, the true reach of this announcement will come into focus — but the direction is set.