Sugar industry seeks Centre of Excellence for advanced sugarcane breeding

ISMA and NFCSF have proposed a ₹87.94-crore Centre of Excellence at ICAR-SBI, Coimbatore, to accelerate development of climate-resilient and disease-resistant sugarcane varieties

Two of the biggest sugar industry bodies, the Indian Sugar and Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (Isma) and the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) have jointly urged the Centre to establish a dedicated Centre of Excellence (CoE) for advanced sugarcane research at the Icar-Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI) in Coimbatore. They have sought an estimated outlay of ~87.94 crore for such a centre over the next five years, starting from financial year 2027 (FY27).

 

Sources said the associations wrote a joint letter to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, which proposed that the facility would focus on next generation sugarcane breeding technologies. This would include genome editing, climate-resilient varieties and modern seed systems to address mounting challenges facing the sector.

   

“For example, red rot disease is the most widely prevalent problem in sugarcane crops today, leading to declining or stagnant yields. It is here that unlike conventional breeding technologies we could use genome editing to make the crop inherently resistant to red rot,” a senior scientist associated with the project said.

 

The move comes against the backdrop of increasing climate variability, erratic rainfall, rising cultivation costs, pest and disease pressures, and stagnant yields, all of which have affected cane productivity and farmer profitability.

 

India’s sugarcane yields have stagnated around 80-83 tonnes per hectare, while demand has been growing due to diversion towards ethanol.

 

Both Isma and NFCSF noted in their representations that dependence on a limited number of sugarcane varieties has also heightened vulnerability to diseases and reduced resilience across major cane-growing regions.

 

The proposed Centre of Excellence is envisaged as a national platform to accelerate the development and dissemination of high-yielding, water-efficient and disease-tolerant sugarcane varieties, the letter stated.

 

It would leverage advanced technologies such as genome sequencing and editing, phenomics, high-throughput breeding, bioinformatics and precision seed systems.

 

According to the proposal, the initiative is expected to directly benefit around 55 million sugarcane farmers by improving productivity, reducing climate and disease-related production risks, enhancing resource-use efficiency and stabilising farm incomes.

 

The industry believes the intervention would strengthen the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of India’s sugar and bio-energy ecosystem, while contributing to broader national goals of agricultural resilience and rural development.