Newsroom, November 29, 2025: Sugarcane, a humble grass turned economic engine, traces its roots to wild Asian kin domesticated millennia ago through selective breeding and cross-continental journeys from Afghanistan to Indonesia, yielding the polyploid hybrids that dominate today's fields.
In India, the world's top producer with 4,400 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 across 13 states led by Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, it anchors a Rs 1 lakh crore industry as a vital cash crop for sugar mills and rural incomes, sustaining 5 crore farmers and their families in a sector that employs 50 lakh workers.
Beyond sweetness, sugarcane powers bioethanol, a cleaner fossil fuel alternative—blending its stalks with rice and wheat residues to fuel vehicles, a push kicked off by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in Assam. Wastes like bagasse fuel mills, while the crop's juice finds medicinal roles in traditional systems across India, China, and Pakistan, though shortages loom from overharvesting and climate shifts.
Genomic studies from Coimbatore's Sugarcane Breeding Institute and Lucknow's Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research reveal rich diversity in Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha breeds, hinting at resilient varieties for drought-prone futures.
