Growth Dynamics of Sugarcane in North Karnataka, India

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) holds immense significance in India's agricultural, economic and industrial spheres. In Karnataka, sugarcane was cultivated on an area of 6.37 lakh hectares with annual production of 61.15 million tonnes (2021-22). Bagalkote district ranked as the state's second-largest sugarcane producer, accounting for 16.82 per cent of the total cultivated area and contributed for 15.06 per cent in the total production of the state. The present study was conducted to know trends in sugarcane cultivation in Karnataka and Bagalkote district. The secondary data on area, production and productivity of sugarcane for a period of 20 years (2001-2021) were collected from the publications of Department of Economics and Statistics (DES) and were analysed using Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and Cuddy Della Valle Index. The results of the analysis revealed a significant compound growth rate of 3.50 per cent annually for sugarcane production in Karnataka, driven by augmented area and productivity and area under sugarcane expanded by 2.92 per cent per annum. In Bagalkote district, sugarcane production increased by 4.21 per cent annually, attributed solely to the increased cultivated area, even though productivity exhibited a slight decline. The Cuddy-Della Valle Index revealed higher instability in production and area compared to productivity in both Karnataka and Bagalkote district. The study highlights the importance of farmers adopting new high-yielding sugarcane varieties that demonstrate resilience to adverse weather conditions, pests, and diseases as a means to sustain and boost productivity for higher sugarcane production.