INDIA’S SUGAR PRODUCTION

INDIA’S SUGAR PRODUCTION

WHY IN NEWS ?

• Recently, India became the world’s top sugar producer in 2021­2022, surpassing Brazil with a record of 359 lakh tonnes.

ABOUT SUGARCANE PRODUCTION IN INDIA:

• Sugarcane family Gramineae (Poaceae) is widely grown crop in India.
• It provides employment to over a million people directly or indirectly besides contributing significantly to the national exchequer.
• Cultivation of sugarcane in India dates back to the Vedic period. The earliest mention of sugarcane cultivation is found in Indian writings of the period 1400 to 1000 B.C.
• Sugar cane originated in New Guinea where it has been known for thousands of years.

Important regions/ zones for sugarcane cultivation in India

• Broadly there are two distinct agro-climatic regions of sugarcane cultivation in India, viz., tropical and subtropical.
• However, five agro-climatic zones have been identified mainly for the purpose of varietal development.

They are

(i)North Western Zone

(ii) North Central Zone

(iii) North Eastern Zone

(iv) Peninsular Zone

(v) Coastal Zone.

• Tropical region Shared about 45% and 55% of the total sugarcane area and production in the country, respectively along with the average productivity of 77 t/ha (2011-12).
• Sub-tropical region accounted for about 55% and 45% of total area and production of sugarcane with an average productivity about 63 t/ha (2011-12).

Tropical Sugarcane region

• The tropical sugarcane region consists of sugarcane agro climatic zone 4 (peninsular zone) and 5(Coastal zone) which includes the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Pondicherry and Kerala.

Sub-tropical sugarcane region:

• Around 55 per cent of total cane area in the country is in the sub-tropics. U.P, Bihar, Haryana and Punjab comes under this region.

CAUSES OF EXCESS SUGAR PRODUCTION:

• India is the world’s largest consumer of sugar, and thus has to produce enough to meet its huge domestic demand.
• The excess production stems from policies and measures that make farmers favour sugarcane cultivation.
• The Central government offers a fair and remunerative price (FRP) scheme, which mandates a minimum price that sugar mills have to pay to sugarcane farmers.
• State governments also offer heavy subsidies to incentivise sugarcane cultivation.
• Some have argued that this is done to win farmers’ votes in politically important rural areas.
• The resulting sugar surplus has led to higher exports, with a record of 110 lakh tonnes exported in 2021­-2022.

IMPACTS OF EXCESS PRODUCTION:

• The extensive use of resources in sugar production is depleting rapidly, leading to a potential crisis in the future.
• Over­cultivation of sugarcane has caused a sugar surplus and high exports, impacting groundwater negatively.
• Sugarcane requires 3,000 mm of rainfall, but top ­growing States get 1,000-­1,200 mm, relying heavily on groundwater from confined aquifers, a limited resource.
• 100 kg of sugar needs two lakh litres of groundwater for irrigation, raising concerns as these States are already drought­prone and groundwater ­stressed.
• Brazil, Australia, and Guatemala filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against India for violating international trade rules by offering excessive export subsidies and domestic support to farmers to outcompete other countries in the global sugar market.
• The WTO ruled against India and India also lost its appeal.

EFFORTS MADE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE:

• The Indian government considered diverting excess sugar to the production of ethanol.
• Ethanol is the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages and is also used in the chemicals and cosmetics industries.
• In the transport sector, the use of ethanol­ blended petrol (EBP) significantly reduces harmful emissions, such as carbon monoxide and various hydrocarbons, from vehicles.
• The government also reduced the Goods and Services Tax on ethanol from 18% to 5% in 2021.
• In the same year, of the 394 lakh tonnes of total sugar produced, about 350 lakh tonnes were diverted to produce ethanol.

SOLUTIONS TO THIS PROBLEM:

• As the environmental implications of excess sugar production should be clear, surplus production and export have enormous financial gain, amounting to lakhs or crores of rupees a year.

• Better and more sustainable way would be to assess and then correct incentives that skew in favour of sugarcane over other crops.
• Introducing fair and comprehensive subsidy schemes for a variety of crops can help farmers diversify as well as distribute cultivation evenly, prevent monocultures, and ensure an equitable income.
• The availability of a wider range of profitable and less resource­intensive crops can lower the strain on vital natural resources.
• It must also be complemented by environmentally responsible sugarcane cultivation practices that prioritise groundwater, such as drip irrigation, to tackle the issue in the long run.
• Concerted efforts to adopt cleaner practices such as rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment, and canal irrigation networks, will help minimise stress on groundwater reservoir

WAY FORWARD:

• As India continues to become more of a global frontrunner in the agricultural sector, it must put sustainability at the centre.
• India needs to invest in overall water ­saving and management systems. Investment in groundwater research, therefore, needs to be considered seriously.

SYLLABUS: MAINS,GS-3,AGRICULTURE

SOURCE: THE HINDU