Yamunanagar sugarcane farmer writes success story with wide row spacing technique, earns Rs 15 lakh annually

In Haryana, the state government has declared the current maximum State Advised Price (SAP) for sugarcane at Rs 415 per quintal.

Nirmal explains the wide spacing reduces the number of rows per acre from 90 to 50, but the crop grows healthier, stronger and more resilient than traditional farming. “There is no need for labourers, almost all work, including harvesting, is done mechanically,” Nirmal adds.

The technique also slashes the input cost. Only 18-20 quintals of cane are needed for sowing per acre, compared to 35 quintals in the conventional method. Water use is cut nearly in half.

According to Agriculture Department officials, wide row sugarcane cultivation reduces water use by nearly half, requiring an estimated 9-10 lakh litres per acre compared to 18-20 lakh liters under the conventional method.

“In wide row cultivation, an acre can be irrigated in just 50 minutes, compared to over two hours in traditional ways. Considering the sugarcane crops require about 20 irrigation cycles in a season, the water conservation is immense. If all sugarcane farmers adopt this method, it will help conserve water to a greater extent,” Nirmal points out.

Haryana Additional Cane Commissioner Mahavir Singh says, “The state government has increased the incentive to sugarcane farmers for adopting the wide row spacing technique from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 per acre this year. The technique not only boosts profits and saves water, but also improves the quality of juice extracted from the cane, besides addressing the problem of chronic agricultural labour shortage.”

Yet, despite promising results and government announced incentive, the wide row spacing technique adoption is limited. Singh estimates only about 10 per cent of farmers use this method.

On March 7, Haryana Cooperation Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma stated that the average yield of sugarcane in the state has shown a continuous decline from 2020-21 to 2024-25, with the sole exception of 2022-23.

The minister explained that the total production of sugarcane during 2025-26 is estimated at 536.24 lakh quintals, which is 37.55 per cent (322.54 lakh quintals) lower than the 858.78 lakh quintals produced in 2020-21. He further informed that in 2020-21, the area under sugarcane cultivation stood at 246,357 acres, which rose to 263,499 acres in 2021-22 and further to 266,142 acres in 2022-23. However, after 2022-23, the cultivated area has been continuously declining. “Due to the reduction in the area under sugarcane cultivation, the availability of sugarcane for crushing in sugar mills has declined. For the current year, it is estimated at 509.47 lakh quintals. As a result, the working days of sugar mills are expected to be limited to 108 days,” said Sharma.

He emphasised that sugarcane is a highly labour-intensive crop, requiring substantial manpower from sowing to harvesting.