The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Indian Sugar Exim Corporation (ISEC), a joint representative body of the Indian Sugar & Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) and the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Limited (NFCSF), entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in sugarcane research, breeding and varietal development.
The MoU was signed by Dr D. K. Yadava, Deputy Director General (Crop Science), ICAR, on behalf of ICAR, and Shri Deepak Ballani, Director General, ISMA, on behalf of ISEC, in the presence of Dr M. L. Jat, Secretary, DARE & Director General, ICAR. Dr Prasanta K. Dash, Assistant Director General (Commercial Crops) along with other senior officials.
The MoU envisages the holistic development of the sugarcane sector with a focus on enhancing cane productivity, profitability and farmers’ prosperity. A key outcome of the collaboration will be the establishment of a Global Centre of Excellence for Sugarcane Breeding at ICAR–Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore. The Centre will serve as a collaborative platform for integrating scientific expertise, technical capabilities and industry experience for the development, validation, technology transfer, commercialisation and adoption of improved sugarcane varieties with enhanced yield, sugar recovery, disease resistance and climate resilience.
The Centre will facilitate and promote the establishment and strengthening of laboratories, research facilities and field stations for sugarcane research and varietal improvement. It will also support the adoption of advanced breeding technologies, including genomics, genome editing, marker-assisted selection, phenomics and tissue culture.
The collaboration will further promote innovation in mechanisation, precision agriculture and digital technologies for sugarcane production; strengthen disease surveillance, pest management and climate-resilience strategies; and support the development of sustainable production systems integrating resource-use efficiency, bio-energy and environmental safeguards.
The partnership will also focus on capacity building of scientists, researchers and technical personnel in advanced breeding and cultivation practices, along with the organisation of awareness programmes, workshops and training programmes for farmers, industry stakeholders and extension workers. Industry partnerships will be encouraged for technology transfer, commercialisation and adoption of improved sugarcane varieties, with farmer-centric programmes facilitating their dissemination and adoption at the field level.
Acknowledging the significant contribution of ICAR’s sugarcane scientists, Dr M. L. Jat, described the collaboration as a significant step towards advancing the sugarcane sector and promoting the welfare of sugarcane farmers in the country. He appreciated ISMA for its close collaboration in fast-tracking varietal evaluation, seed production and upscaling. He also acknowledged ISMA’s support for the project on “Advanced Centre for Quality Sugarcane Seed Production for Sugar Mills in Uttar Pradesh” at ICAR–Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow, with a total outlay of ₹6 crore.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Deepak Ballani, Director General, ISMA, stated that the collaboration would bring together scientific excellence, industry experience and farmer-centric objectives, with a shared vision of making Indian sugarcane more productive, climate-resilient, sustainable and profitable. He emphasised that the partnership would contribute to higher and more sustainable farmer incomes while strengthening the competitiveness of the sugar sector.
The partnership marks an important step towards strengthening research–industry collaboration in sugarcane, accelerating varietal development and technology adoption, and advancing a more productive, sustainable and climate-resilient sugarcane sector in India.
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