Puducherry: Secretary to Department of Agriculture of Puducherry government A Anbarasu has said the Administration would sanction funds for research and development to enhance productivity and for augmented sugar recovery.

Inaugurating the two-day 38th meeting of Sugarcane Research and Development Workers (Tamilnadu and Pondicherry), organised jointly by the Sugarcane Breeding Institute and the Tamilnadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, here on Wednesday, Mr. Anbarasu said Agricultural Research and Development workers had crucial role to play in sustained and profitable output in sugarcane cultivation.

They should also develop drought resistant crops. The Puducherry Government would sanction incubation funds as was available in the IT sector.

He appealed to the participants to come out with recommendations and suggestions to the Puducherry Government for immediate follow up steps.

Pondicherry Cooperative Sugar Mills administrator G. Theva Needhi Dhas, who presided, said sugarcane growers should get a fair and reasonable price for the crop.

The recovery percentage of the cane here was around 6.8 percent in 1999 and because of strenuous efforts and intensive concentration it rose to around 10 percent in the next six years.

Sugarcane Breeding Institute director N. Vijayan Nair said such meetings would have a positive impact on the sugarcane scenario in Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory. Sugarcane cultivation was taken up on four percent of the total cultivable land in the State and it was fifteen percent in Puducherry.

With nine more sugar industries to be set up in the private sector in Tamil Nadu, the area under sugarcane cultivation would go up further.

The deliberations would come out with suggestions both to the sugar industries and for augmentation in productivity of cane.

Long term and short term problems would be dealt with and the challenges farmers faced to achieve higher productivity, sustainability and productivity should also be given close attention.

There was also the possibility of recording a yield of 225 tons per hectare and improving the recovery level to 11 percent at the earliest in the State.

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