Though the number of sugar mills in India has gone up nearly twenty times in the past eight decades, the country could do with more, according to Dr Swapan Kumar Datta, Deputy Director-General (Crop Science), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.
He also stressed the need for increasing the productivity of sugarcane farming.
Inaugurating an `International Symposium on New Paradigms in Sugarcane Research’ here on Monday, organised as part of the Coimbatore Sugarcane Breeding Institute’s centenary celebrations, he said there has been a quantum jump in the number of sugar mills in India in the past eight decades — from around 30 in 1930 to about 560 now. Still, there were no sugar mills in several parts of India. Considering the fact that sugarcane cultivation could improve the economic condition of the region where cane is grown, he suggested that efforts should be made to capitalise on this opportunity.
He suggested that the sugar industry should involve itself aggressively in R&D activity that would help increase production and improve profitability for all stakeholders. He lauded the role of sugarcane researchers, farmers and the sugar industry in propelling the country to the slot of the second largest producer of sugar globally.
He suggested use of molecular biology and genetic engineering for manipulating sucrose accumulation mechanism in sugarcane for enhancing sugar content.
N. Vijayan Nair, Director of the Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, said sugarcane has emerged as a multiproduct crop since apart from sugar, it contributed to the production of bio-fuel and bio-energy. He felt that in future these two would play a key role in ensuring the energy security of sugarcane growing nations.
He said the demand for sugar was likely to go up by 50 per cent by 2030. With expansion in the cane cultivation area for achieving higher production not being possible in traditional sugarcane growing countries such as India, increased production “has to be achieved only through a vertical increase in productivity” that required “appropriate technological interventions”.
K. Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University(TNAU), Coimbatore, stressing that development should not take place at the expense of the environment, wanted industries to support green technologies and research institutions should lend a helping hand to the industries in this regard.
The four-day symposium has attracted participants from India and abroad.