Sustainable sugar cane cultivation

As part of the sustainable sugar cane cultivation project in India, a number of innovations are being introduced together with the farmers that make it possible to save large amounts of water. Instead of sugar cane seeds, the project farmers plant seedlings that have already germinated on their fields. Background: Large amounts of water are required to stimulate germination in the field. By growing the seedlings in the greenhouse, the amount of water required for irrigation can be reduced by around 90 percent. In addition, the farmers in the project are also starting to spread the seedlings in a regular pattern and at a significantly greater distance from one another. As a result, the plants have more strength, are healthier and deliver significantly higher yields. In addition, the new cultivation method also enables To set up systems for drip irrigation, with the help of which the amount of water required for cultivation can be further reduced. Farmers who implement some or all of the proposed farming methods will benefit from better crop yields and higher incomes.

The project developer, AgSri, produces seedlings at low cost for smallholders and, as a developer of SSI techniques, also offers training for farmers. After the pilot phase has proven to be successful, AgSri plans to use the income from the sale of Water Benefit certificates to expand the sustainable sugar cane cultivation project from around 1,500 to 20,000 participants over the next five years.