Burning of sugar cane fields reduce the quality of sugar produced in the mills and according to statistics released by the CEO of Sugar Research Institute of Fiji Vinesh Kumar, about 30 percent of the sugar canes that is supplied to the major mills are burnt.
Kumar says the burning of cane has significantly increased in the cane belt areas and the farming communities.
He says burning of canes harms the environment, kills the microbes (the good bacteria in the soil) which contributes to soil erosion and moisture loss.
The CEO says when the cane is being burnt, the quality of the juice starts to deteriorate which affects the purity of the cane.
He says the common practice farmers use is that they burn the trash but they don’t understand that it has a lot of advantages and provides nutrients.
Kumar says deliberately setting fire to sugarcane fields is not only reckless but is also a criminal offence and he emphasises that such acts have repercussions.
He is urging the communities to report any suspicious behaviour to authorities and those found committing this will face strict legal consequences.
