According to the Sugarcane & By-Products Development Co. PR report, by announcing this news on the margins of the beginning of sugarcane harvest operation of Hakim Farabi Agro-Industry Dr. Abd Alli Naseri stated: We predict that this year we will have 630,000 tons of sugar produced from the Sugarcane Development Agro-Industries Complex, which is about 40% of the country’s sugar production.
Sugarcane fields are located in Khorramshahr, Shadegan, Karun, Ahvaz, Bavi, Shush and Shushtar. The nominal capacity of each of the seven Sugarcane & By-Products Development Co. Units is 100,000 tons of sugar.
Every year, the sugarcane harvest operations start from the end of October and continue until the middle of April the following year.
This operation is the largest concentrated harvesting operation in the agricultural sector of the country, which is 100% mechanized and is carried out with sugarcane harvesting machines called “Harvesters”.
Crossing the drought pass
Referring to the consequences of this year’s drought on sugarcane, Naseri said: “With the management of the water issues, we were able to get through this difficult spring and summer with water shortage, even though the declining volume of rivers increased the salinity of the water needed for sugarcane cultivation.”
He added: “Due to the salinity and problems that existed in the water supply issue, in most sugarcane companies, especially in Dehkhoda Sugarcane, we faced a severe shortage and reduction of the crop.”
The Sugarcane & By-Products Development Co. CEO stating that this year we are facing a decrease of about 18% in production, mentioned: ” According to the plans, we were supposed to harvest the sugarcane plant with a growth of 240 cm, but due to severe water shortage conditions, we started harvesting with a growth of 208 cm.”
He stated: “Sugarcane Development Co. uses the best and most modern irrigation method with an efficiency of more than 50%, and with the irrigation system we use, it is low pressure surface irrigation.”
Referring to water resources management, Naseri emphasized: The irrigation method used in Sugarcane Development farms is The Hydroflume method and the irrigation efficiency in Sugarcane Development Co. is 55%. This method is the best and most modern method of agricultural irrigation in the world.
Sugarcane fields have faced two major crises in the recent years: floods and droughts, however, with the measures taken by this company, including the application of water recycling to reduce the consumption pattern, it was able to emerge proudly from these crises.
Naseri continued: “This year, we predict that about 5.5 million tons of sugarcane and about 600,000 tons of sugar will be produced in the seven Agro-industries of Khuzestan province.”
Haft Tappeh will be well managed
The CEO of the Sugarcane & By-Products Development Co. pointed out: Haft Tappeh Agro-Industry, which has recently joined us, is also overhauling and has been severely damaged by the drought.
He added: about 2,000 hectares of sugarcane lands in Haft Tappeh are dry and 5,000 hectares can be harvested with 300,000 tons of sugarcane and 30,000 tons of sugar.
According to this official, in total, we expect to have 630,000 tons of sugar produced this year, including Haft Tappeh Agro-Industry, which is about 40% of the total sugar production in the country.
Naseri added: “Sugarcane & By-Products Development Co. has lots of capabilities and handing over Haft Tappeh Sugarcane to us will not create a problem for Sugarcane Development.”
This year for the first time, the crop of Haft Tappeh sugarcane farms will be harvested under the management of the Sugarcane & By-Products Development Co.
Maximum green harvest
Naseri detailed: “We try to harvest sugarcane in a green way as much as we can, and at least 20% of sugarcane harvest can be done by using the green method, because the height of canes in 20% of sugarcane fields is short, but in the field where the cane is lodging, it is not possible to harvest sugarcane with the green method.
In the end, the CEO of Sugarcane & By-Products Development Co. specified: “We do not have a problem in places where the possibility of green harvest is between 20 and 30%.”
Increasing soil resistance, self-sufficiency of the country, supplying domestic markets, creating employment for the natives, improving the environmental conditions, increasing the green space per capita, are among the benefits of sugarcane projects.
Alcohol, yeast, chipboard, MDF, animal feed, paper, compost and… are other by-products of the Sugarcane Development Company.
In the last year alone, 34 million liters of Alcohol, 7,500,000 tons of yeast and 100,000 cubic meters of MDF boards have been produced by the Sugarcane & By-Products Development Co. and supplied to the domestic market.