2015年12月6日星期日

Sugar industry, monsoon, and water management

The sugar industry in India is heavily dependent on sugarcane. As a
rough estimate, almost 80% of sugar is manufactured from sugarcane; for
the rest, the industry uses sugar beet.
  For the sugar industry, a good sugarcane crop is like winning half the battle. This ensures the sugar plants in the country do not have to worry

about the sugarcane supply, and need to focus only on increasing their capacity. But a good sugarcane crop is a distant dream in the absence of a good

monsoon. So, there is quite a direct relationship between sugar industry and monsoon. However, this element – monsoon – isn’t really in the hands of the

industry players, right? So, is there anything the industry can do in this situation?
Well, there is definitely a way out. First things first, the industry can reach out to the farmers, and educate them on the latest farming techniques,

which ensure good crop, that too by reducing the water requirements of the crop. Some sugar companies have started doing this thing. They go to the

grower community, and help them grow high yielding varieties of sugarcane, which require lesser water. This is a simple yet very effective way to

reduce dependency on monsoon.
A typical  uses a massive amount of water every day. Now the sugar industry in India needs to work on it. This means they need to adopt ‘water

management and recycling’ practices in their daily operations. For example, the effluent water after the treatment can be recycled, and put to other

uses. Similarly, waste water from boilers can be used to run other critical plant operations. Rain water harvesting is another brilliant idea to reduce

the consumption of fresh water, as well as recharge the ground water.
Last, but not the least, the staff at the plants should be educated on water management and recycling practices. The equipment and the processes can be

checked at regular intervals to see if there is anything that is resulting in water wastage. These are some of the points that the sugar industry in

India should consider, and implement in their daily routines. The mere application of these small yet significant practices will ensure that the supply

of water to the sugar plants never ceases. The good thing is some sugar companies in the country have begun practicing water management and recycling;

and we hope that others, too, join the drive in the coming days.

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