An automated system for purchasing sugarcane and paying farmers has been introduced at Mobarakganj Sugar Mill. Among the country’s nine sugar mills, Mobarakganj is the first to launch this system. This is a pilot programme undertaken by the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation. Mobarakganj Sugar Mill started the 2025–26 crushing season on 12 December.
Farmers as well as mill officials and employees are happy with the digital method of sugarcane weighing and payment. The mill authorities hope that the new system will reduce costs.
In previous years, sugarcane cultivation declined sharply due to a delay in payment. However, the mill authorities expect that as there will be no hassles in weighing sugarcane and receiving payment under the new system, farmers will be encouraged to cultivate sugarcane as before.
After talking with the mill authorities and technicians, it was learnt that under the digital system, once a sugarcane-laden vehicle is placed on the weighing scale, scanning a QR code embedded in a token issued by the mill immediately displays all the farmer’s information on the screen.
The weight of the vehicle loaded with sugarcane is shown on a digital display, and an image of the weight is captured by a camera installed on the machine. The information is then processed through an app and printed.
After the farmer delivers the sugarcane to a designated location, the empty vehicle is weighed on another machine when leaving the mill. By scanning the QR code printed on the earlier slip, all related information again appears on the computer screen.
The weight of the empty vehicle shown on the digital display is captured by the installed camera and processed, and then deducted from the loaded weight. As a result, the actual weight of the sugarcane and the farmer’s details are automatically sent to the mill’s accounts department computer.
Once approved from there, payment for the sugarcane is sent to the farmer’s mobile phone via bKash. The entire payment process is completed within one to two minutes, and at most within 12 hours.
For purchasing sugarcane, a total of 42 digital weighing machines have been installed at the mill gate and at the central mill.
To carry out all these activities, a special app named “Smart Cane Procurement and Payment System” has been developed. The app and all mill-level operations have been implemented by an IT company called World Tech.
Habibur Rahman, Chief Executive Officer of World Tech, said that this is the first time an automated system for weighing and payment has been introduced at Mobarakganj Sugar Mill. Due to the introduction of this system, farmers can sell sugarcane and receive payments easily and conveniently with fewer staff and lower costs. Although the initial setup cost was high, the same equipment can be used for many years without damage, which will ultimately reduce the mill’s expenses, he added.
Mill’s General Manager (Agriculture), Gautam Kumar Mondal, said that for the first time, sugarcane weighing and farmer payments are being carried out through a fully digitalized system. He expressed the hope that from now on, farmers will no longer face any hassles regarding weighing or payment.
In the past, there were many complaints and dissatisfaction among farmers over weighing and payment issues, and payments often took a long time, which discouraged farmers from cultivating sugarcane. He hopes that from now on, farmers will once again return to sugarcane cultivation as before.
For the 2025–26 crushing season, the price of sugarcane has been fixed at Tk250 per maund. This year, the target has been set to crush 80,000 metric tons of sugarcane and produce 4,400 metric tons of sugar.
