Though Tamil Nadu has surpassed the national average in sugarcane productivity, cane productivity has stagnated in the last 30 years at around 100-106 tonnes/hectare. There is, therefore, an urgent need to enhance cane productivity, says B.J. Pandian, Professor (Agronomy), Water Technology Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

Conceding that cane productivity has been facing constraints such as increasing input and labour cost and lack of innovative technologies, the TNAU Professor said that Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI) could be yet another practical approach to cane production. “This is based on the principle of ‘more with less’ in agriculture like System of Rice Intensification,” he said.

The farm varsity, according to Pandian, has been promoting SSI from 2010. Nabard has supported a project with Water Technology Centre to enhance both — cane productivity and recovery rate

Sugarcane is cultivated in an area of 3.05 lakh hectares in the State. Presently, only around 7,000 acres out of the total area is under SSI. SSI adoption is high in Vizhupuram area at around 3,000 acres, he said.

“TN farmers are innovative; eager to take up new technologies. SSI therefore could have enormous impact on the State’s sugarcane sector as it would solve the problems of increasing seed and labour cost and other productivity related issues. Further SSI supports inter-cropping with crops such as wheat, potato and other vegetable crops.” “The State Government is all for intensification of SSI. The target is to bring 50,000 acres under SSI in 2013-14. The system improves productivity of water, land and labour and at the same time reduces the overall pressure on water resources,” Pandian said.

With adoption of SSI technique, cane productivity could touch a high of 175-200 tonnes/hecatre, he said.

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