Lucknow: Farmers’ welfare has been a top priority under Yogi government. Continuous efforts have been made over the past nine years to benefit farmers. By promoting various technologies, farmers’ incomes are being enhanced.
In this direction, the Sugarcane Development and Sugar Industry Department has promoted drip irrigation (micro-irrigation). Farmers adopting this method have seen up to a 25% increase in sugarcane yield.
According to the Sugarcane Department, drip irrigation systems have been installed across 73,078 hectares of sugarcane area over the past nine years. Farmers using this system have recorded a 25% increase in production. Drip irrigation uses water drop by drop for irrigation, resulting in up to 50% water savings.
A similar amount of fertilizer is also saved, as it is mixed with water and delivered directly to the plants. This reduces wastage of both water and fertilizers, lowering farmers’ input costs and significantly contributing to increased income.
The department further noted that drip irrigation has made sugarcane cultivation possible even in alkaline and low-rainfall regions. Over the years, the number of farmers adopting this method has steadily increased after witnessing its benefits.
According to the department, until 2017, only 37 sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh had ethanol plants, with a total capacity of about 88 crore liters annually, while actual production was just 42 crore liters.
At present, ethanol production capacity across 53 sugar mills has increased to around 2.58 billion liters annually. Ethanol production in the sugar sector has now reached approximately 1.37 billion liters.
