‘Urgent need to enhance sugarcane yield to meet future demands’

LUCKNOW: The Sugar Technologists Association of India (STAI), an apex body of sugar industry professionals, organised a seminar on ‘Diminishing sugarcane productivity and sugar recovery in northern India: Opportunities and challenges’ on Friday.

Inaugurating the seminar, agriculture production commissioner VN Garg said the state was facing numerous challenges as well as opportunities in the field. “It is important that the three premier sugar institutes in UP work in tandem with the millers and farmers for sustainable development of the industry,” he said.

Meanwhile, president of Sugar Technologists Association of India GSC Rao said: “With diverse challenges and constraints as growing population, increasing food, feed and fodder needs, degradation of natural resources and climate change, there is an urgent need to enhance sugarcane yield and productivity to meet future sugar requirements.”

Sugarcane is a leading cash crop and is a source of livelihood for an estimated 50 million farmers and their dependents in the country. As compared to an average yield of 100 tonnes per hectare in states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka, average yield in UP has averaged close to 59 tonnes per hectare. This is despite the fact that UP is the largest sugarcane producing state in the country.

“Reduction in cost of production of sugar is a vital factor towards achieving the sustainability. Latest technologies in

DESPITE BEING THE LARGEST SUGAR PRODUCING STATE, UTTAR PRADESH’S AVERAGE YIELD IS 59 TONNES PER HECTARE

sugarcane processing, energy conservation devices to enhance the power export and having options to produce ethanol along with raw/white sugar are few measures to reduce the cost of production,” said Narendra Mohan, director of National Sugar Institute, Kanpur and vice president of STAI.

Director of Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research S Solomon said that the productivity of sugarcane is significantly higher in tropical region in comparison to subtropics, leaving an adverse impact on the overall national productivity. In such a scenario, he said, enhancing sugarcane productivity has become important in the view of rising internal consumption of sugarcane and for ensuring the adequate exports.

The major constraints encountered by the crop during the growth cycle involve several physiological and biochemical issues beginning from the germination till harvesting of the crop, Solomon said.

In his address UP Council of Sugarcane Research director Bakshi Ram said: “Possibility of increasing the sugarcane productivity mainly depends on utilising the high sugared varieties. The overall scenario in the state indicated prevalence of a few varieties that were released more than 20 years ago.” He added that it was time that the industry looked for high sugared varieties.