A national consultation on the Sustainable Sugarcane Economy is being organized today at NASC Complex, New Delhi. The conference is organized by Rural Voice, a media organization dedicated to agriculture and rural sector and the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) Ltd in association with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development will be the Chief Guest.
India’s sugar economy, one of the largest globally, supports over 500 mills and nearly five crore cane-farming families. Once valued only for sugar, sugarcane has emerged as a strategic crop powering ethanol, green energy, and sustainable by-products such as potash and organic manure. Yet, the sector faces serious challenges—declining yields, low recovery rates, and frequent pest outbreaks—impacting both farmers and industry. A national consultation is urgently needed to ensure sustainable growth in this vital sector.
Key issues to be discussed in the national consultation are: Development of new sugarcane varieties with better yield and sugar recovery, Inflexible and often non-remunerative sugarcane and sugar pricing policies & it's inter connection, Over-regulation by multiple ministries and authorities, with poor inter departmental coordination, Dual regulation by both the Centre and the States, often with overlapping jurisdictions, Urgent need for adoption of new technologies in sugarcane farming & sugar processing.
The consultation will bring together sugarcane farmers, industry representatives, national and state-level cooperative federations, agricultural scientists (ICAR and allied institutions), policymakers, experts, and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs.
The consultation will provide a detailed discussion on present challenges and the way forward for a sustainable Sugarcane economy. Based on the deliberations, a future roadmap and action plan will be prepared for the sector.