Growing change in India’s sugarcane fields
Read time: 4.5 minutes
The Pehel project in Uttar Pradesh, India, has trained nine hundred sugarcane harvester operators and shows how mechanization and technologies enable higher yields with fewer resources.
India is the world’s biggest consumer and second-biggest producer of sugar, behind Brazil. Recent seasons have highlighted the pressure on India’s sugar sector, with lower cane yields and weather-related disruption affecting supply and increasing the need for more productive and resilient farming models.
Sugarcane is also more water-intensive than many other field crops, making resource efficiency especially important in a water-stressed country. At the same time, only about 6% of the crop is harvested mechanically, while rural labor is becoming scarcer and more costly as workers seek better-paid jobs in cities. Higher yields, more efficient resource use and a more sustainable production model are urgently needed.
The government of Uttar Pradesh, the country’s largest sugarcane-producing state, sees mechanization as the best way to modernize farming and reduce harvest-time labor shortages for this economically vital crop. It approached CNH to support pilot projects for mechanized cane cultivation, recognizing the proven quality and reliability of Case IH sugar-harvesting machinery in India. This strong reputation is reflected in Case IH’s 60% market share in the country. The Case IH Austoft 4010 harvesters are manufactured at the Company’s plant in Pune, Maharashtra, and are well known across India for their performance in the field.
Farmers have a lot of trust in the sugar mills. That’s where they go and sell their produce, and we knew that the project would have greater credibility if we collaborated
Three strands to support sustainability
CNH’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) team in India, led by Kavita Sah, kicked off the initiative by talking to representatives of the two largest sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh — DCM Shriram in Shahjahanpur and Dhampur Bio Organics in Asmoli. “Farmers have a lot of trust in the sugar mills. That’s where they go and sell their produce, and we knew that the project would have greater credibility if we collaborated,” she says. The CSR program, called Pehel (meaning: The Initiative), has been developed over the past three years and has three strands. The first established a model farm of around eight hectares (twenty acres) at each sugar mill to demonstrate the process of successful mechanization, from planting to harvesting, over a series of growing seasons. The second was to establish a skills development training center, where nine hundred sugarcane harvester operators have been trained throughout the three-year program, which ends in 2026. The third element of Pehel is being carried out in partnership with Plaksha University in Mohali, in the north-western Indian state of Punjab. Researchers there have set up a model smart farm where drones fly over the crops, gathering the data needed to grow sugarcane using precision technologies. “Drones are being used to detect pest infection or water stress in the early stages, providing timely advice to the sugar mill or farmers,” says Barjinder Jit Singh, CNH’s product manager for crop solutions, including harvesters.
Participants during the Pehel Project.
Building a sustainable ecosystem
Mechanizing sugarcane farming starts at the planting stage, explains Sandeep Gupta, Director of Sales for CNH India, so the Company has worked closely with farmers and sugar mills since it first brought harvesting machinery to India in the late 1990s. “Our first task is to have the plantation in a format where the machines can enter the cane fields,” he says. “That starts with making the rows four feet apart rather than two feet apart, a pre-requisite for mechanical harvesting. Then we build a whole ecosystem for irrigation, and then harvesting, post-harvest and liaising with the mills. It is not just selling machines; it is mechanizing all stages of the crop cycle.” As a result of the wider spacing and better water and nutrient management, CNH estimates that, under the right agronomic conditions, mechanization increases cane yields by 10-15% while using 30% less water and needing 25% fewer chemical inputs.
Secondly, the implementation of complete mechanization and crop residue recovery solutions across 16 hectares at both mills is estimated to prevent up to 240 tons of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) emissions annually, averaging a reduction of 15 tons per hectare. This comprehensive approach spans the entire agricultural lifecycle, seamlessly integrating field preparation, planting, crop care, mechanized harvesting, and post-harvest operations such as the baling of sugarcane residue.
The small farms challenge
As Gupta and Singh explain, in India manual labor is still the main rival to CNH’s harvesting machinery. But the machines are starting to win the economic argument. It takes eighty people to do the job of one harvester and with the rural workforce increasingly attracted to the infrastructure development sector, less manpower is available for agriculture-related jobs. Mills increasingly struggle to find enough harvesting labor at an affordable price when demand surges at harvest time. In India, 80% to 85% of farmers have fewer than two hectares (five acres), says Gupta, so they cannot afford to purchase harvesting machines. Rather, mechanical harvesting is done by custom hiring — an entrepreneur who owns or leases a machine will harvest the sugarcane crop for many small farms, which may only be one to two hectares (two and a half to five acres) in size, for a fee. “If he does five hundred acres of work in a season, that means a good return on investment,” says Singh.
As Gupta and Singh explain, in India manual labor is still the main rival to CNH’s harvesting machinery. But the machines are starting to win the economic argument.
Participants during the Pehel Project in the classroom (left) and in the field next to a Case IH sugarcane harvester (right).
Dual benefits of skills training
The skills training offered as part of the Pehel project by CNH and its NGO partner, the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP), has improved the employability and earnings potential of the workers who have taken part. It has also been essential to ensure there are enough skilled workers to expand mechanization.
“You need an operator who can use the machine properly to bring the productivity gain. In the past, we had a challenge because we were selling machines, but harvester operators were not available,” says Gupta. “Now, thanks to the operator training schools, we have a pool of qualified people.”
CNH is a world-class equipment, technology and services company that sustainably advances the noble work of agriculture and construction workers.
CNH Industrial N.V.
Corporate Office: Cranes Farm Road, Basildon, Essex, SS14 3AD
United Kingdom