SUSTAINABILITY IN SUGARCANE PROCESSING IN BRAZIL

By JAIME FINGUERUT
CTC- Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira Cx. Postal 162 Piracicaba SP Brazil 13400-970
jaime@ctc.com.br

Abstract 

SUSTAINABILITY involves the three ‘Ps’: People, Planet and Profit.
Brazilian sugarcane is a sustainable industry that has made significant gains in its
sustainability over the past 30 years.
A typical mill today can process twice as much sugarcane with the same equipment
and with approximately the same energy, maintenance, labour, water, etc., so that twice as
much product can be produced.
All residues are recycled back to sugarcane fields.
The use of energy and chemicals in processing is also considerably reduced.
The use of sugarcane bagasse, other carbohydrates from sugarcane, production of
bioplastics and second and third generation biofuels represent new avenues for increased
sustainability.
The entire Brazilian sugarcane production chain has to be very well prepared for a
more intense scrutiny of sustainability.


KEYWORDS: Sustainability, Biofuels,
Bioplastics, Residues, Productivity.

www.issct.org

 Plenary - Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010
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REPORT ON PROFIT, PEOPLE AND PLANET. HOW DOES THE SOUTH AFRICAN SUGAR INDUSTRY REACT?

By  G.W. MAHER
South African Sugarcane Research Institute
Geoff.maher@sugar.org.za


Abstract

THE ISSCT Executive Committee has initiated a study to assist affiliates to deal with the
increasing calls for sustainable production systems.
Sustainability refers to the triple bottom line or the people, planet and profit
philosophy. Most of the ISSCT’s endeavours ofrecent history have been directed at
improving the profit component of that philosophy in both field and factory. The people and
planet have not enjoyed as much attention.
The Executive Committee decided to appoint a Task Force to report on sustainability
and this report provides the results of the study in the South African sugar industry.
Field and factory activities, which identified the Industry’s actions in respect of the
stewardship of both people and the planet, were established after dialogue with both the
miller and grower fraternities in South Africa.
Views on the successes and shortcomings are highlighted and research needs
identified. In the context of the profit component, a report on the macro economics of issues
such as total production, total revenue earned, grower’s total income and total numbers of
employees is given.


KEYWORDS: Sustainability, Protection,
Environment, Social, Research.


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Plenary        Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010
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SUSTAINABILITY AND THE AUSTRALIAN SUGAR INDUSTRY

By MATTHEW KEALLEY and BERNARD MILFORD
CANEGROWERS Australia
matt_kealley@canegrowers.com.au

Abstract

THIS PAPERreviews the legislative, environmental and social requirements faced by the
Australian sugar industry.
It concludes that the Australian industry probably operates under more environmental
scrutiny and control than most, has less government protection than most but suffers less
interference in its commercial arrangements than most.


KEYWORDS: Australia,
Sustainability, Legislation.

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Plenary        Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010

EVALUATING SUGARCANE R&D PERFORMANCE: EVALUATION OF THREE BREEDING PROGRAMS

By  W.L. BURNQUIST (1), K. REDSHAW(2) and R.F. GILMOUR (3, 4)

1 Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira, Piracicaba, Brazil
2 South African Sugarcane Research Institute, Mt Edgecombe, South Africa
3 Formerly BSES Limited, Indooroopilly, Australia
4 Currently E.I. DuPont, Wilmington, USA

william@ctc.com.br

Abstract

RESOURCESfor sugarcane R&D are scarce, as theyare for most agricultural R&D, and
investors in R&D want a return on their investment in the form of productivity and
profitability gains that arise from the adoption of new technologies.
These realities motivate productive and efficient R&D programs that are a key driver
of ongoing productivity improvement in sugarcane industries. Sound technical programs
deliver ongoing industry benefits sustaining industry profitability and underpinning industry
growth.
In the context of these R&D programs, strategic and tactical decisions made during
the management of R&D projects are vitally important with respect to the outcomes delivered
by R&D, and their subsequent uptake by industry.
We illustrate these principles using variety performance data from Australia, Brazil
and South Africa.
Our findings include evidence for rapid uptake of new varieties, significant
improvements in yield of cane per hectare and financial benefits delivered to growers
adopting these improved cane varieties.
Differences existed between the R&D programs in terms of the benefits being
delivered to the respective industries that could be directly connected with particular research
strategies employed. R&D is an investment, not a cost, but it becomes a cost if benefits are
not realised by industry.

KEYWORDS: R&D Performance, Benchmarking,
Technology Valuation, Technology Adoption

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Plenary           Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010 
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DESIGNING, PRODUCING AND PROCESSING ‘ULTIMATE’ VARIETIES OF SUGARCANE

By C. RICHARD, M. McKEE, R. TRICHE and M. GODSHALL
Sugar Processing Research Institute, New Orleans, LA, USA
charley.richard@ars.usda.govor charley@sugarjournal.com

KEYWORDS: Sugarcane Varieties, Sugarcane Breeding,
Sugarcane Composition, Chromatographic Analysis, Alternative Products.

Abstract

MANY sugar industries, beet and cane, would predict that in the future they will produce a
wide range of products, which could include sugar.
To realise this prediction, new varieties must be designed, production practices
improved and alternative processing techniques developed.
Sugarcane breeding and selection has moved far beyond the ‘old days’ of crossing
the best parents and hoping to select the best segregate as a potential new variety.
Modern breeding procedures and biotechnology offer greater efficiency. Typically,
varieties are selected on the basis of high yield of sugar and characteristics important to
agronomic production and pest resistance in each growing region.
The typically measured juice quality characteristics of brix and pol along with
tonnage, ratooning ability and fibre content can predict yield of sugar per unit area. It is
anticipated that the ‘ultimate’ variety of the future will involve much more detailed analysis
than the typically measured characteristics.
Once produced, high yielding varieties for various products need to be grown in a
sustainable manner that provides maximum production with minimal environmental and
economic impact.
Processing of these varieties will need to accommodate the specific product(s) being
produced whether sugar, energy, some other product or some combination of these.
To demonstrate the importance of quality characteristics of future varieties, the Sugar
Processing Research Institute has investigated the presence of components that could either
enhance or inhibit production of various products from sugarcane.
Significant variability among and within species of sugarcane and related genera
have been found for starch, polysaccharides, ash, cations, invert sugars and other parameters.
This paper includes these data and the potential importance of these parameters in
future varieties, its importance in a sustainable production system and its importance in
processing needs.

Plenary   Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010
www.issct.org
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USDA-AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE: A PUBLIC PARTNER FOR SUGARCANE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

By  GAIL C. WISLER
USDA-ARS, National Program Leader for Horticulture and Sugar,
Beltsville, Maryland, U.S.A.
Gail.Wisler@ars.usda.gov

Abstract

RESEARCHis the cornerstone for maintaining healthy and sustainable agricultural industries.
Systems for obtaining funding and managing and dispersing resources are as diverse as there
are systems for culturing sugarcane.This paper presents a model of managing agricultural
research programs at the Federal agency level.The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is
USDA’s principal in-house agricultural research agency and, as a Federal agency, it is tasked
with conducting publicly-funded research for the benefit of the United States.
ARS aims to generate relevant, significant, and timely scientific information for use
by the Agency’s many stakeholders: agricultural producers, food processing industries,
natural resource managers, universities, and non-profit research institutions.
To ensure that these objectives can be achieved, ARS implemented the National
Program cycle, a cycle of phases embodying a series of recurring activities. Customers and
stakeholders are actively engaged in each phase of the process and their contributions are
integral to the direction of research and its success.
Input, Planning, Implementation, and Assessment are the four sequential phases
through which ARS research progresses, ensuring that it remains of the highest quality. The
cycle ties these activities together in a recurring 5-year sequence to ensure an effective and
efficient program and project management within ARS. These efforts are aimed at
maintaining a sustainable sugarcane industry that is responsive to changing economics,
production problems, and opportunities, and will require continued Federal, but also State,
private, and international cooperation to be successful.
The beneficiaries of a sustainable sugarcane industry will be the citizens of the U.S.
who will enjoy abundant and affordable sugar and sugar-based products.

KEYWORDS: National Programs,
Stakeholders, Matrix Management.

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Plenary Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010 
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SUGARCANE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER—STRATEGIES FOR THE NEXT DECADE

By ALVARO AMAYA
Colombian Sugarcane Research Center, CENICANA, Cali, Colombia
aamaya@cenicana.org

Abstract 

AGRONOMICchallenges required for the decades ahead will focus on:
(1)  research and technology transfer based on multidisciplinary approaches;
(2)  a transition from production-oriented models to consumer-driven systems;
and
(3)  developments that promote sustainability and concerns for environmental
issues.
A multidisciplinary approach ensures that scientists, growers and factory engineers
are aware of the contributions of other disciplines, rather than isolated, individual efforts.
This requires not a narrowly focused ‘specialist’, but rather someone with a ‘special’ interest
in various disciplines, whose wide vision could make integrated contributions to developing a
true Renaissance in sugar industries. The transition to a consumer-driven model requires the
identification of new priorities.
Technologies for sugar production will remaina priority, but greater emphasis must
be directed towards technologies for using sugarcane for energy production and for valueadded products. In the case of energy production, the use of sugarcane has been possible
because of the availability of proven technologies, interest from investors, government
regulation and consumer demand. For value-added products, the challenge for scientists lies
not just in concrete researchoutputs, as has been the case for sugar production. Their skills
for knowledge management and the vision to transfer their achievements, open new markets
and generate interest in funding new research must be strengthened. Sustainability and
environmental protection will continue playing a role in future research, both in the field and
in factory processes. Climate change is on the agenda of challenges that agronomists and
their allied specialists must address in the design and managementof future production
systems.
The prospective use of sugarcane as a source of bioenergy to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions to the atmosphere offers an opportunity for scientists, investors and consumers to
work together on sustainability and environmental protection. Research achievements and
projections in the sugar industry worldwide, reported in the literature as well as by the
Colombian sugar industry, are usedto illustrate these strategies.

KEYWORDS: Research Challenges, Multidisciplinary Research, Sustainability.

Plenary Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010
www.issct.org
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RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER STRATEGIES FOR THE NEXT DECADE—AN INDIAN EXAMPLE

By  M.C. GOPINATHAN 
E. I. D. Parry (India) Ltd.,
Research & Development Centre,
145, Devanahalli Road, Off Old Madras Road,
Bangalore 560 049, India
GopinathanMC@parry.murugappa.com

Abstract

GLOBALISATIONis driving unprecedented, radical internal and external reforms in sugar
industries across the world.
In addition to this, five major emerging or intensifying forces with extraordinary
implications will shape sugarcane farming and the sugar industry in future—demographic,
economical, socio-political, environmental and technological.
This paper first addresses the growth and status of the sugar industry and impact of
these emerging forces in shaping future Indian sugarcane farming.
Emerging complexities and diversities in farming structure and process demand a
new and more complex model of research and technology transfer.
Consolidation of the best technologies for maximum exploitation, identification of
technology diffusion and adoption gaps, and introduction of new technologies and innovative
practices throughout the farming chain will continue to play a vital role in sugarcane
productivity improvements.
Demographic changes, socioeconomic status of farmers and prices for competing
crops will demand sugar companies provide, in addition to competitive cane price, targeted
delivery of diverse services to farmers to ensure a sustainable cane supply.
Introduction of new sustainability standards and the need for certification from
consumers will drive sugar companies to integrate the entire value chain from farmer to
consumer through various forms of cooperation, relationship and partnership.
These emerging realities will open up untapped potentials and utilise opportunities
throughout the value chain to create a new research and technology transfer architecture and
competitive landscape for the sugar industry in India.

KEYWORDS: Sugarcane, Research, Innovation,
Technology Transfer, Parry Way

Plenary Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010

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