UP sugarcane yield averages 825 quintals per hectare; Kushinagar records 793.68 quintals
Uttar Pradesh’s average sugarcane yield stands at 825 quintals per hectare, with western districts leading productivity. Shamli records the highest yield at 969 quintals. Experts urge scientific farming, improved irrigation, ratoon management and intercropping to raise yields, while labour shortages remain a key challenge in Kushinagar.
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh’s average sugarcane yield is around 825 quintals per hectare, with western districts continuing to record higher productivity than major sugarcane-growing areas in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Kushinagar, one of the state’s major sugarcane-growing districts, recorded an average yield of 793.68 quintals per hectare, according to Om Prakash Gupta, former assistant director at the Sugarcane Farmers Institute Training Centre in Pipraich, Gorakhpur, Gaon Junction reported.
Uttar Pradesh has sugarcane cultivation across 45 districts. Among them, Shamli has the highest average yield at 969 quintals per hectare, followed by Baghpat at 914 quintals and Muzaffarnagar at 900 quintals per hectare.
The figures highlight a significant productivity gap between western and eastern Uttar Pradesh, with experts attributing the higher yields in the western region to better irrigation facilities, greater use of farm machinery and farmers’ direct involvement in cultivation.
Gupta, who has around 40 years of experience in the sugarcane sector, said farmers need to focus on scientific cultivation practices to improve productivity and profitability.
He said a farmer producing only about 200 quintals per acre could struggle to earn a good return because cultivation and transportation costs can reach Rs 70,000-80,000 per acre. Farmers should instead target yields of around 400 quintals per acre, along with intercropping and better ratoon crop management.
Kushinagar’s productivity, although below the state average, remains higher than that of several districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh. During the 2025-26 season, around 214,815 farmers in the district supplied cane to sugar mills and received about Rs 1,081 crore in cane payments.
However, labour shortages are emerging as a major constraint on productivity in Kushinagar. Farmers are facing difficulties finding workers for harvesting, stripping and loading sugarcane, particularly during the peak season.
Gupta said the state could narrow the productivity gap by promoting scientific farming, balanced irrigation, improved ratoon management and intercropping.
Higher yields, he said, would be essential for farmers to improve returns as cultivation costs continue to rise.
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Source: ChiniMandi
