Inter-cropping with sugarcane brings more profit to farmers

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RAJSHAHI, Jan 22 (BSS): Inter-cropping with sugarcane has been found as more beneficial to the farmers as it can boost total crop production per unit area along with ensuring sustainable sugarcane cultivation with higher economic benefit compared to other crops.
Systematic inter-cropping-potato, onion, lentil, mug bean, garlic and some other winter crops, vegetables and spice help increase sugarcane yield compared to sole-cropping.
Quoting the field-level research findings and farmers views the sugarcane researchers and agriculturists revealed this while talking to BSS here today.
Dr Khalilur Rahman, Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Sugarcane Research Institute (BSRI) at Ishwardi, depicted that inter-cropping not only increase total crop production but also help improve soil health and fertility with little or no negative effect on sugarcane yield and quality.
Terming the sugarcane as a cum-cash-cum-industrial crop of Bangladesh, he said its farming is being gradually pushed into low-lying marginal lands due to high demand of cereals and vegetable crops.
Besides, the national average yield is far below than potential yield.
Although a good number of high yielding modern varieties and production technologies have been developed at the BSRI but these modern varieties and production technologies failed to increase national average yield to a satisfactory level.
In this context, he attributed that the existing sugarcane cultivation would not be economically viable without inter- cropping which always reduce the demand for extra land to produce the above crops as well as save foreign currency. So, it must be mandatory for the sugarcane farmers.