Minister for Sugar Industry, Charan Jeath Singh says there is significant potential to boost production in the Rakiraki cane belt as it was in the good days until after 2016.
Speaking in Parliament, Singh highlighted that if we can increase the cultivation area to at least 60 per cent of the total available area, we could produce approximately 250,000 tons of cane.
He said this was achieved in the past years.
Minister Singh said to boost production, our initial focus should be on both the Ellington-1 and Ellington-2 Sectors, where less than 20% of the registered land is currently under active cultivation.
“We have introduced various incentives and programs aimed at encouraging existing farmers to expand their cane cultivation and attracting new farmers to the industry.”
“These incentives include grants for planting sugarcane, subsidies for fertilizers, a $5/ton incentive for improving production, manual labor support programs, provision of farming equipment, and improved cane varieties that promise higher yields.”
“Recognising that adequate infrastructure is vital for efficient farming, we are investing in improving access roads to cane farms and upgrading drainage systems to mitigate the impacts of adverse weather conditions.”
He said this infrastructure support will enable farmers to cultivate and harvest cane more effectively.
