Maharashtra sugar industry faces major challenge of raising cane productivity, says Sugar Commissioner
Pune: Maharashtra Sugar Commissioner Dr. Sanjay Kolte said rising sugar mill capacities and limited cane supply have reduced crushing days below 100 in many mills. He stressed improving sugarcane productivity through new varieties, micro-irrigation, water conservation and AI-based farming technologies to ensure sustainable cane availability.
Pune: Maharashtra Sugar Commissioner Dr. Sanjay Kolte has said that increasing sugarcane productivity has become a major challenge for the state’s sugar industry as crushing capacities of sugar mills continue to rise while cane availability remains limited.
He said the number of crushing days in many sugar mills has dropped to below 100 due to inadequate cane supply despite higher daily crushing capacities. To ensure a steady increase in cane availability, the industry will need to focus on new sugarcane varieties, replacement of cane seed material, water conservation, efficient water use through micro-irrigation and wider adoption of artificial intelligence-based modern farming technologies.
Dr. Kolte made these remarks while accepting the Rajiv Gandhi Krishiratna Award on behalf of the Maharashtra Cooperative Development Corporation during a programme held in Pune.
The award was presented by the Rajiv Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Pratishthan under its Outstanding Agricultural Institution Award category. The honour included a shawl, memento and citation and was presented by the organisation’s president Prakash Sable.
During the event, outstanding sericulture farmer Adv. Vivek Lagad Patil from Ahilyanagar and outstanding young farmer Vishal Pradeep Patil from Tasgaon in Sangli district were also honoured.
Among those present at the programme were MCDC Managing Director Sonali Rawal Thakur, former Managing Director Mangesh Titkare, and several members and officials including Pournima Sawai, Dr. Dilip Kale, Rahul Tayde-Patil, Jaysingrao Deshmukh, Dr. Bhaskar Patil and Hemant Jagtap.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Kolte said MCDC had gone through a difficult phase in the past but had now brought positive change through better planning and teamwork. He said the corporation was reaching more farmers through training programmes and working directly at farm level to improve their incomes.
Prakash Sable said the officers of the cooperative development corporation were working beyond official hours and remained continuously engaged with farmers, which was the reason for honouring the institution.
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Source : ChiniMandi
