UP PCS Mains-2024

Approach Give general stats on sugarcane production in Uttar Pradesh. Discuss what are the major challenges of the sugar industry in UP. Write a suitable conclusion

Introduction

Uttar Pradesh is one of the largest producers of sugarcane in the country, accounting for almost 46% of the total sugarcane production. As per the Sugar Industry and Cane Development Department of Uttar Pradesh, a total of 120 sugar mills operated in the state during the crushing season 2021-22, the total sugarcane area of the state is 27.60 lakh hectares and sugarcane productivity is 82.3 tonne per hectare.

Body

Challenges of the sugarcane industry in Uttar Pradesh:

• Low yield of sugarcane: Although Uttar Pradesh has the largest area under sugarcane cultivation, the yield per hectare is extremely low as compared to some major sugarcane producing states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra.

States	Productivity (tonnes/ha)
Uttar Pradesh	82.3
Maharashtra	89.75
Tamil Nadu	92

• Fluctuation of price: The fluctuation in sugarcane prices affects the profitability of sugar mills. The government sets the price of sugarcane, which varies depending on the season and market demand.
• Short crushing season: The crushing season is of nearly four months only in Uttar Pradesh from November to February, whereas it is of nearly 7-8 months in the south where it starts in October and continues till June.
• High cost of production: Sugarcane is one of the most water, chemical, and labour-intensive crop. The maintenance of optimum soil moisture during all stages of crop growth is essential for obtaining a high yield.
  • Inefficient technology, uneconomic process of production, non-utilization of bagasse as raw material result in a high cost of production.
  • Production costs can also be reduced through proper utilization of byproducts of the industry.
    • For example, bagasse can be used for manufacturing paper pulp, insulating board, plastic, carbon cortex, etc.
• Small and uneconomic size of mills: Most of the sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh are of small size, old and obsolete with low crushing capacity per day. This makes large-scale production uneconomic.
• Unchanged prices and delays in payment: Although state governments are expected to revise the State Advisory Price (SAP) periodically to reflect rising input costs and inflation, the SAP may remain unchanged for a prolonged period. This, combined with consistent delays in payments from sugar mills, may further deepen the financial distress faced by farmers.

Conclusion

The UP Government launched a mobile application called e-Ganna in 2019 for sugarcane farmers of the state. The farmers can get all the information related to their sale of sugarcane, previous year’s sales, arrears and sugarcane slips on this application.

Considering the importance of the sugar industry, the crisis faced by sugarcane farmers needs to be resolved promptly by focusing on freeing-up cane pricing (as suggested by the Rangarajan Committee), supporting biofuel production, sugarcane mapping to make the sugar industry profitable and sustainable.