This is the story of a cane variety that has transformed the fortunes of UP sugar industry. It is about a cane variety, Co 0238, that has made a huge difference to UP’s 115-odd sugar mills and its 25 lakh-plus cane growers.
Till the 2012-13 season (October-September), UP farmers hardly cultivated this high-yielding cane variety that also gives higher sugar recovery for mills. In 2013-14, an area of 72,623 hectares was covered under it, rising to 1,76,763 hectares and 4,02,719 hectares in the next two seasons. The result: average sugar recovery, which was only 9.18 per cent of cane crushed in 2012-13, went up to 9.26, 9.54 and 10.62 per cent in the seasons that followed. In the current 2016-17 season, Co 0238 would account for 7,28,604 hectares or 35.5 per cent of UP’s total sugarcane area.
Mills haven’t been the sole beneficiaries from Co 0238. Farmers have also gained because of the higher yields from this variety.
Read details in this report by Harish Damodaran in IE......
