Making the sugar industry great again
NITYA Reddy, chair of the Fiji Sugar Cooperation (FSC) took umbrage against a February 24 article by Shailesh Naidu. In his own opinion column FT Saturday March 2, Reddy responded to Naidu’s assertions that the FSC, Sugar Cane Growers Council (SCGC), and the Ministry of Sugar (MoS) were complacent and lacked transparency in budget allocation.
Reddy said “our sugar industry despite its financial, production, milling and transportation issues remains the cornerstone of the national economy, and an invaluable source of livelihood for at least a quarter of our population, particularly the rural sector”.
“The industry is hungry for some positive support, confidence and patience as we try and rebuild, and not the constant undermining and negativity of a few ill-informed keyboard warriors purporting to be the new spokesperson for the farmers,” said Mr Reddy.
Sugar industry can expect intense scrutiny
As consultations and planning for the reinvigoration of the sugar industry gathers momentum Mr Reddy, the FSC, SCGC, and MoS can expect increasing scrutiny over what their strategies and shortterm tactics are going to be for the sugar industry. It seems a marketing strategy and communication plan not only to our sugar markets, local stakeholders and cane farmers but to all of Fiji is needed.
And if I can suggest just one area where the industry may have significant impact. It would be filling the yawning gap between our women and younger generations’ reluctance to turn to a livelihood, let alone a career in farming, and the reportedly aging base and rapidly dwindling numbers of sugarcane farmers.
Women and youth canefarmers
How do we get the younger generations, those born in the latter years of Generation X (1965-1980), millennials (1981 – 1996), Generation Z (1997-2012), and the future which is Generation Alpha born between 2013 and 2025 develop an interest and look for careers in the sugar industry. Technology beyond automated harvesters.
Millennials also known as GenY are digital natives who experienced the rapid growth of technology. They value experiences, sustainability, and social responsibility. Gen Z grew up entirely in the digital age, and are tech savvy, are the conscience of social responsibility, and have high value for diversity, equity and inclusivity.
How are we ever going to get this lot to pick up a cane knife, hitch a guava branch land-raft “ghazeeta” to cattle and whip them forward, drag themselves in and out of old, sooty sugar mills, emerge smelling of molasses, with black mill dirt inside their fingernails? It ain’t happening, is it?
Reinvigorating the sugar industry
Of course, there is appreciation for the complexity of the profitable reinvigoration of the sugar industry. To attract women who can bring new thinking, the young who can change paradigms, we must look to innovation.
Let’s not continue to look through the lens of traditional practices and processes. Let’s not just think outside the box, let’s not even get into the box in the first place.
If there’s any survey or study worth doing it is one of our youth, including women and girls, both in urban, rural and village settings to gauge how many would want to build a career in the sugar industry as it stands today, or a new improved version of it. OK, we’d concede that may be a waste of time and money, because we already know the answer to that question.
But ask them another set of questions. How would you like the opportunity to qualify to fly a sophisticated drone that surveys sugarcane farms all over the country, collects data, integrates and reports from your MoS, and FSC offices or while working from home? Dropping targeted “bombs” of insecticide to affected areas. Survey crop damage immediately after a cyclone. Send images and report back in true realtime?
Women and youth not attracted to sugar industry
In getting the youth ready and making informed decisions on how to make the industry attractive, the need for data integration and collaboration across the ministries of sugar, education, and employment as well as poverty alleviation and finance cannot be overstated. A difficult proposition because typically data is more of an afterthought, if at all, is considered a necessary evil in many instances. Yet we already have “tonnes” of raw data that can be leveraged.
But would all that be worth the while and money? I guess that’s a question for the FSC, MoS, SCGC and government as a whole, but a 2023 Fortune Business Insights report stated that the “global industrial sugar market is projected to grow from $US38.58billion ($F86.71b) in 2022 to $US46.56b ($F104.65b) by 2029, exhibiting a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.72 per cent”. How that translates to Fiji’s coffers is something MoS and the others can determine, but at a glance it looks like the global sugar industry is not going anywhere but up.
Is the drone consideration far-fetched?
Drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, have been in use across the sugarcane producing nations of Australia, India, the US and Brazil for several years now.
The advantage of drones includes their relatively low cost vs crop dusting aircraft, their lightweight design, vertical take-off and landing, accurate data collection ability and remote pilot capabilities. Drones are becoming common tools in agriculture.
Leading-edge cane growing governments and sugar corporations are using drones to bring about unprecedented value to their industries and is increasingly being viewed as one of the most efficient tools in agriculture. Drones with the right software can prevent or identify pest problems, reduce pesticide and nutrient spray losses, and provide spatial data for precision application of nutrients and other purposes.
You’d be right in thinking these drones may be for major farms over hundreds of acres. But many of these farmers have their own farm management capabilities without the need to share resources, except for some cooperatives whose members are not large enough to warrant the investment.
The Fijian context
As an industry, or shared across agricultural, pastoral and other applications it is a very real proposition in the Fijian context. The data gathered is subjected to analytics and artificial intelligence providing instant actionable information including mill scheduling and harvest and yield forecasting allowing for frequent recalibration and fine tuning.
Leaving aside land rights issues, one of the big issues in Fiji’s Sugar Industry is the rugged terrain where sugarcane is farmed. Accessing these areas on a regular basis is a challenge and probably not as well served as those on flat land. A Gen Y millennial or Gen Z would thrive in this situation – controlling drones over one or more farms collecting data, spraying crops, or delivering manure and other necessities.
Drone surveys allow high-resolution images to show differences in cane crop conditions. Uneven growth or patches of poor crop health can have their location pinpoint referenced allowing accurate on-ground analysis such as soil sampling. So cane is managed in separate manageable areas referred to as zones. The right fertilizer type can be applied to specifically targeted crop conditions, rather than a blanket application across the entire farm, farms, or region. And this is great for risk reduction of chemical run off into our waterways.
Sugar cane growers can increase yield, find cost savings in the use of pesticides, better target fertiliser application, reduce time and effort.
Data analysis and artificial intelligence
Integrating data from several sources allows the analysis of several factors, to help identify areas and regions with ideal sugar cane growing conditions and to optimise production strategies to maximize yield and sugar quality.
Some key data sources and variables to use for analysis include historical climate data, including temperature, rainfall, humidity, to help identify regions with suitable climatic conditions for sugar cane cultivation. Soil data to help understand soil characteristics to determine soil suitability and fertility. Analysis of features such as elevation, slope, and aspect factors that influence water drainage, soil erosion, and which can affect sugar cane growth. These features can change quickly in adverse weather, rain and flooding, fires, cyclones so need a reasonably frequent update. Analyse historical yield data for sugar cane in different regions. Identify patterns and trends in yield variability and correlate them with climate and soil conditions to understand the relationship between environmental factors and crop performance.
Complexity of sugar cane processing
This stuff is not easy. The sugar cane process is probably one of the more complex as far as the value and supply chains go. From planting and managing the crop, harvesting, and transfer points including transporting, weighing, sampling, storage, shredding, crushing, clarifying, crystalizing, through to raw sugar production.
Upstream processes are reasonably similar until the production of end products of raw sugar requiring crystallization and ethanol needing fermentation and distillation. These processes described here probably cover around eighty percent of the value chain and the opportunity for data analysis to help analyse for process cost-reduction and improving cane quality along that value chain is immense. At each data point in the process there is opportunity for answering questions such as what the weight of cane at each transfer point was, did sugar cane meet forecasted yields – broken down by farm, area, region, soil type and so on. Was supply commensurate with sugar mill capacity?
The Brazilian experience
In addition to the use of drones, Brazil leverages datadriven approaches to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of its sugar industry. Data analytics and precision agriculture techniques have been widely adopted by sugar cane producers to optimize farming practices, improve crop yields, and to reduce production costs.
Remote sensing technology, IoT, drone-based mapping, satellite imagery, and geographic information systems (GIS) are used to monitor sugar cane fields, assess crop health, and identify areas for targeted interventions.
The Brazilians have embraced data-driven decision-making in areas such as supply chain management, logistics optimization, and market analysis to capitalize on global market growth trends and maximize their export opportunities.
Data analytics platforms and farm management software are utilized by several sugar cane growers to analyse historical data, monitor crop performance in real-time, and make informed decisions to enhance productivity and sustainability.
This Brazil case is only one of a drone-collected data-driven approach to revitalize their sugar industry and position themselves for long-term success in the global sugar market. ■ NALEEN NAGESHWAR is a data and digital strategy consultant. A Fijian citizen based in Sydney, he runs his own consulting practice Data4Digital and is managing partner Australia, NZ, and Pacific for AlphaZetta Data Science and Analytics Consulting. For feedback, email: naleen@data4digital.com. The views are his and not of this newspaper.