Sugar Cooperatives in India and Gujarat:Current and Coming Challenges

Abstract

The sugar industry is one of the largest agro-based industries in India, next to textiles. This industry plays an important role in the national economy. Indian sugar industry has always been a focal point for socio-economic development in the rural areas. It plays a major role in rural development and its importance for India stretches far beyond the role of a sweetener supplier. Sugar industry plays an important role in national economy even though it has to face some challenges regarding supply of sugarcane and production of sugar in times to come.
The challenges which need to be addressed in order to enhance sugarcane/sugar productivity and sustaining soil health include: continuously decreasing size of land holdings with time and increasing population shortage of labour, sugar recovery, decline in sugarcane acreage in times to come, declining factor productivity, cultivation of denotified sugarcane varieties and tendency of the farmers to quit farming. In order to improve sugarcane and sugar production and increase factor productivity in India, utmost attention is needed for the profitable sugarcane cultivation in the small and marginal land holdings. The paper attempts to analyse current scenario of India’s cooperative sugar industry and crucially examines the coming challenges against this industry