Teams From Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, Nigeria In Bijnor To Study High Sugarcane Production

Bijnor: Several teams comprising agricultural scientists from Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam and Nigeria have landed in Bijnor to study 'very good recovery rate' of sugar from sugarcane. Apart from visiting the fields and studying soil samples, they will also visit sugar mills of the region.

According to OP Singh, district cane officer, "Representatives from four countries -- Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam and Naigeria -- have come here to know the working condition of our factories and to talk to the farmers about the cultivation of sugarcane in these areas. The 19-member is divided into four parts. Teams from Brazil and Nigeria have four members each, while Indonesia had three and Vietnam eight members."

Talking about the high rate of sugar recovery from cane in Bijnor, Singh said, "The area under sugarcane cultivation in Bijnor district is 2.09 lakh hectare, which is the second largest in Utter Pradesh. Two years ago, sugar recovery from cane here was 9%. It rose to around 11.5-12% this year.

Some sugar factories even have a recovery of 13%."
In comparison, Indonesia and Vietnam have a sugar recovery of 8-9%, Nigeria 11% and Brazil 12-13%. "Brazil has a high sugar recovery rate, but the crop takes 17-18 months to be ready to be harvested. In Bijnor, it takes the cop just 10 months to be ready," Singh explained.

Dr Ashok Kumar, a soil scientist at Meerut-based Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Agricultural University, said, "More than science, it is environmental reason that leads to higher recovery rate in the local cane crop. Last year, it was a drought-like situation and whenever such a situation arises, not only farmers get enough time for inter-cultural operations but the crop also is saved from excess moisture owing to lack of rain. No wonder then that the sugar recovery this year is exceptionally high."

Talking about the prospects of local sugarcane in the international market, the cane officer said, "Due to slump in the international sugar market in the last few years, there is a stiff competition now. Bijnor can stand on its own in the world market since the high surag recovery rate here, the production cost would come down."

Narpat Singh, the unit head of Barkatpur sugar mill, said, "The teams visited our mill to study the variety of sugarcane, soil condition, farming technology, irrigation methods and planting of sugarcane among other things."

Khoa Le

Source: Times of India