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Area under sugarcane cultivation in Andhra Pradesh as well as Telangana should be increased and all efforts should be made to improve the cane yields and recovery and also to modernise the mills, according to N.Prabhakar, Vice-President of Nava Bharat Ventures Ltd, in-charge of the sugar division.
He was elected as President of the South Indian Sugarcane and Sugar Technologists' Association at the conclusion of the two-day annual convention of the association here on Saturday.
He said after his election that "realty boom in some parts of coastal districts triggered by bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh is causing concern, as it may eat into farm lands. Sugarcane and other crops may also suffer."
He said the mills should focus on increasing the area under cane cultivation and also mill efficiency. Right from ploughing to sowing, intercultural operation, water and fertiliser use efficiency, the field staff of the sugar mills should ensure constant monitoring.
"Though the per acre yield in AP and Telangana is better than in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana, there is scope for considerabe improvement. New technologies and farm-level mechanisation are necessary for achieving better productivity and quality," he said. There should be special focus on R&D in all the sugar factories.
There are 527 sugar plants in various parts of India, of which 24 are located in Andhra Pradesh and 10 in Telangana. Karnataka ranks third after Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh AP is the sixth largest. Both AP and Telangana produce one million tonnes as against 24.5 mt in the country.
Stating that there was huge potential to increase sugarcane cultivation, he said lack of mechanisation, employment guarantee scheme and less suitable agro climatic conditions were affecting the industry to a large extent.
On the pricing of sugarcane, he said the Rangarajan committee recommendations such as paying 70 per cent of sale price to the farmers should be adopted all over the country. A uniform, rational pricing policy should be formulated, he added.
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