Adoption of new technology and sowing of new varieties of seeds have been identified as need of the hour to improve sugarcane production in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts.
Although many farmers have been depending on sugarcane production, they are unable to get decent returns on their investment with the yielding confining to 50 tonnes per hectare as against the 75-150 tonnes in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab.
Vizianagaram Collector Vivek Yadav, who is also person in-charge of Bhimasingi Sugar Factory, and other senior officials, agriculture scientists have recently visited Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research-Lucknow and studied the techniques being adopted. The institute trained them for three days to replicate the ideas in Vizianagaram district which has many sugar factories. According to officials, UP farmers depends on CO-0238 seed to get maximum production.
They also cut the crop only three times but in Vizianagaram it is being done more than eight times. Interestingly, the expenditure is also very less in Bihar and UP where farmers spend only ₹50,000 per hectare but in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam it is up to ₹80,000. “The farmers of UP are depending on inter-crops such as pulses and potatoes along with sugarcane to earn more income. We need to adopt those techniques to improve production in Vizianagaram district too,” said Mr. Yadav while speaking to The Hindu . “As many as 116 sugar factories in UP are in profits with the adoption of new technology,” he added. The Vizianagaram administration planned to conduct training programmes for selected farmers to improve the production in the district. The Agriculture Department has been directed to prepare an action plan to implement new ideas from the next rabi and kharif seasons.
Revival of factory
AITAM College professor and president of Parivartan Trust Chintada Ravikumar said that one lakh signatures were being collected to step up pressure on the government for revival of co-operative sugar factory of Amadalavalasa in Srikakulam district. “Sugarcane growing and production can be made profitable activity if the government looks into the issue seriously. The sugarcane growing will go up in Srikakulam district if steps are taken to reopen the factory which was closed two decades ago,” he added.
