ROLE OF SUGAR INDUSTRY IN SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT: AN OVERVIEW

This study was carried out to assess the role of sugar industry in sustainable agricultural development in Punjab. The results revealed that the area and yield of sugarcane has been declining considerably over the last decades. This was largely due to shifting of cropping pattern to rice and wheat from sugarcane cultivation. The results further revealed that the quantity of cane crushed and sugar production was relatively high for private sugar mills as compared to co-operative sugar mills. The same results were showed by percentage recovery and technical efficiency that most of the co-operative sugar mills was having less than eight percent of sugar recovery and none of them was fully efficient. The employment generation in the sugar industry was highest in the year 2000-01 which was estimated to be 14206 workers. After this, the employment generation was declined continuously mainly due to the decline in the number of sugar mills in the state. The findings conclusively established that the sugar industry can play a pivotal in sustaining the agriculture in Punjab.