Thailand: OCSB aims to raise non-burning harvest ratio of sugar cane to 90%
The Office of the Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB) in Thailand aims to reduce burnt sugar cane harvesting to 10% this season, cutting PM2.5 emissions and improving air quality. The goal is to prevent the burning of 2.2 million rai of land and lower emissions by 5,500 tonnes. Currently, 22 of 58 sugar mills have reduced their purchases of burnt cane to below 10%.
The Office of the Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB) aims to slash burnt sugar cane harvesting to 10% this season, improving air quality and cutting PM2.5 emissions across Thailand.
The Office of the Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB) has set an ambitious target to reduce the burning of sugar cane plantations prior to harvest by up to 90% during the current harvest season, with the aim of significantly lowering harmful PM2.5 fine particle emissions.
OCSB Secretary-General Bainoi Suwanchatree stated on Monday that the office is urging sugar milling factories to limit their purchases of sugar cane from burnt plantations to less than 10% of total purchases this harvest season, which commenced in December and will conclude in March.
Bainoi explained that if sugar milling factories successfully cooperate by refraining from buying sugar cane from farmers who burn their plantations to facilitate harvesting, it would result in improved air quality in central, eastern, and northeastern provinces, including Bangkok.
He further noted that achieving the 10% target would be equivalent to preventing the burning of 2.2 million rai of land and reducing 5,500 tonnes of PM2.5 fine particle emissions.
As of 11 January, sugar millers had purchased sugar cane from burnt plantations at a ratio of 19.57% of total purchases, indicating increasing support for the initiative, Bainoi reported.
Out of 58 sugar milling factories nationwide, 22 have already reduced their purchases of burnt sugar cane to below 10%, while 32 factories have restricted such purchases to between 10% and 25%. However, four factories in Udon Thani and nearby areas have exceeded the 25% threshold.
The OCSB has issued warnings to the management of these four factories, urging them to comply with the policy of limiting purchases from burnt plantations to less than 10%. Such compliance is regarded as essential to achieving the nationwide goal of reducing burnt sugar cane harvesting.
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Source : The Nation
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