Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI) manual - SRI - India
Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI) manual - SRI - India
Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI) manual - SRI - India
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Summary<br />
<strong>Sugarcane</strong> is one of the most important industry based crops in the world. <strong>India</strong> is the second<br />
largest sugarcane producer and the highest sugar consumer in the world. Apart from sugar,<br />
sugarcane is grown for many other uses like fodder, paper and bio-fuel. In spite of its growing<br />
demand, there are a number of problems which affect the sugarcane farmers in sustaining<br />
their production and increasing their profit. On the ecological front also sugarcane cultivation<br />
is becoming a difficult task, due to its water-guzzling nature and depleting water table. So,<br />
it’s high time we amend our usual, high inputs intensive method of sugarcane cultivation and<br />
lookout for some innovative, resource concerned method of producing sugarcanes. <strong>Sustainable</strong><br />
<strong>Sugarcane</strong> <strong>Initiative</strong> (<strong>SSI</strong>) is one such method of sugarcane cultivation which uses less inputs<br />
in a sustainable manner.<br />
By practicing <strong>SSI</strong><br />
farmers can very<br />
well increase their<br />
productivity by<br />
reducing the inputs<br />
and saving the water.<br />
<strong>SSI</strong> involves use of less seeds, less water and optimum land utilization to achieve more yields.<br />
It is governed by some principles like using single budded chips, raising nursery, wider spacing,<br />
sufficient irrigation and intercropping. By practicing these measures, the following benefits can<br />
be realized:<br />
• Better germination percentage<br />
• High number of millable canes<br />
• Reduction in the duration of crop to some extent<br />
• Increased water use efficiency<br />
• Improvement in accessibility to nutrients with optimum use of fertilizers<br />
• More accessibility to air and sunlight<br />
• Reduction in cost of cultivation and<br />
• Extra income from intercrops<br />
On the whole, by practicing <strong>SSI</strong> farmers can very well increase their productivity by reducing the<br />
use of inputs like fertilizers and saving the vital resources like water simultaneously. Hence, it is<br />
very much possible for sugarcane farmers to reap greater economical benefits by maintaining<br />
ecological sustainability.<br />
Improving <strong>Sugarcane</strong> Cultivation in <strong>India</strong> 29
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