VISIT REPORT OF MR. ROBERT QUIRK, BONSUCRO DIRECTOR (FARMER), AUSTRALIA TO DSCL AND OLAM IN INDIA MARCH 2014

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1 VISIT REPORT OF MR. ROBERT QUIRK, BONSUCRO DIRECTOR (FARMER), AUSTRALIA TO DSCL AND OLAM IN INDIA 1. Background MARCH 2014 The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group and Solidaridad Network Asia Limited (Solidaridad) are jointly implementing a sustainable sugarcane advisory farmer support programme (the Programme ) in India. As part of the programme, IFC and Solidaridad are encouraging Indian sugar manufacturers to adopt sustainable sugarcane production standards. The Programme is working to promote Bonsucro amongst sugar manufacturers in India, where Bonsucro is a global metric sustainability standard for sugarcane. IFC and Solidaridad are collaborating with leading sugar manufacturers in India namely DCM Shriram Limited with four sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh and Olam Agro India Limited with two mills one each in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. As part of the Programme, Mr. Robert Quirk, Director (farmers) Bonsucro from Australia visited the sugar mills of DCM Shriram Limited ( DSCL ) in Uttar Pradesh and Olam Agro India Limited ( Olam ) in Madhya Pradesh from February 17 to 26, Dr. Raj Pal Singh, IFC Sugarcane Advisor anchored this visit at both DSCL and Olam with support from Solidaridad. Mr. Quirk is a sugarcane farmer in Australia and practices Bonsucro-certified sugarcane cultivation on 106 hectares of land in Australia. His average sugarcane productivity is about 100 tonnes per hectare with over 12 per cent sugar recovery. The total annual rainfall on his farm is around 1600 mm per annum and sugarcane is cultivated without any supplemental irrigation. The entire sugarcane cultivation on his farm is mechanized and most of the farm practices, from preparation of land, planting, fertilizer application, plant protection, weed control and harvesting, is done by him. He mentioned that in Australia the total manual labour (human days) required for sugarcane cultivation is about 3 human days per hectare as against more than 300 human days required for cultivation in India. 2. Purpose of the visit The purpose of the visit of Mr. Robert Quirk to DSCL and Olam was to educate and motivate the sugarcane farmers, sugar mill management, and extension staff on sustainable sugarcane cultivation and Bonsucro standards for betterment of environment, enhancing productivity and social sustainability. The aim was also to motivate the Indian sugarcane farmers to become members of Bonsucro. 1

2 3. Observations At DSCL, Robert visited all the four units, met the Unit Heads, addressed field staff and lead farmers and visited sugarcane fields. At DSCL Loni he made a presentation on sustainable sugarcane production and imparted training to the all the zonal heads of gate area of Loni, Ajbapur, Haryawan and Rupapur Mills. Major emphasis was given on recycling of crop residue in to the soil so as to maintain / improve soil organic carbon. During the discussions, it emerged that the soil organic carbon at the farm of Robert is 6.3 per cent (as against less than 0.5 per cent in Indian farms) and he still takes care that entire crop residue is recycled and burning is totally banned which has resulted in to following benefits: Fertiliser application has been reduced by 25 per cent including elimination of the use of phosphatic fertilizers; Herbicide application has been reduced by 30 per cent; Fuel usage has been cut by 47 per cent; Tractor hours have been reduced by 40 per cent; Labour requirement has been reduced by 66 per cent; Reduction in the discharge of heavy metals in the soils due to high presence of organic matter in the soil; Soil biota population has positively evolved and increased; Sugarcane productivity has increased by over 75 per cent; Cost of cultivation has decreased by around 50 per cent as compared to farms where soil health is poor and organic matter is low; 4. Inter Cropping of Soy Robert is taking intercrop of Soy at his farm in between rows of sugarcane which has also helped improving soil health. 2

3 Robert visited the cane fields in villages Nagla Lothu and Udharanpur and interacted with the cane farmers. He saw the recommended Sugarcane Better Management Practices (BMP) being practiced on the ground by the lead farmers, introduced under the IFC-Solidaridad Programme. These BMPs have shown encouraging results and Robert was impressed with the work done on the ground by the team. At Ajbapur, two training camps were conducted, one each for all the field staff (extension workers) of Project Gate Area, and second for the Lead Farmers. About 50 Lead Farmers were addressed and again major emphasis was given on Better Management Practices (BMP) with focus on improving soil health by recycling maximum possible crop residue, green manuring, and inter-cropping. Robert explained the Bonsucro Standard to the extension workers and the lead farmers and discussed how implementation of the recommended practices in Bonsucro increases farm productivity, reduces cost of cultivation, improves economic efficiency of the farms, and reduces environmental and social footprint of sugarcane farming. 5. Discussions on the Bonsucro Standard Robert highlighted the salient features of Bonsucro to the programme team, mill staff, extension workers and the farmers, some of which are discussed briefly below. Bonsucro is a metric based standard which is easily evaluated and is less prone to differences in interpretation; it is an objective measure of the farm and the mill operations which are benchmarked globally; Bonsucro provides an easy to use Bonsucro calculator which is helpful in understanding how the standard operates and what are the areas for further improvements; Bonsucro supports farmers better understand their farm activities and the efforts / capacity required to improve the farm performance against set metrics relevant for the farms; Dr. Raj Pal Singh and Robert discussed the scope of sustainability and how sustainable agriculture has become the important for long-term sustenance of sugarcane cultivation. Three pillars of sustainability social, environment and economic were discussed and how, under Bonsucro, these can be measured, enabling both the quantification of performance and compliance to the Bonsucro Production Standard. 3

4 The Bonsucro Core Criteria were discussed and explained to the sugar mill s management, extension workers and lead farmers Obey the law Respect human rights and labour standards Manage input, production and processing efficiencies to enhance sustainability Actively manage biodiversity and ecosystem services Continuously improve key areas of the business Chain of Custody (ChoC) requirements: 100% compliance required to achieve Bonsucro Certification The Bonsucro Production Standard, in the light of local soil conditions, was also discussed and it emerged that the BMPs could vary from region to region and even from farm to farm. Many of the BMPs have been developed across the globe and results vary widely. During the field visit Robert was happy to notice that in most of the fields organic manure had been applied and the inter-crop of gram was showing encouraging performance. In Rupapur and Haryawan Mills, presentations on the BMPs were made to the mill management, extension workers and lead farmers and major emphasis was laid on improving soil organic carbon. At Olam Sugars Barwani in Madhya Pradesh, Robert and Dr. Singh addressed the field extension workers and gave detailed presentations on the BMPs. Robert also addressed the Lead Farmers and educated them about BMPs. The farmers took keen interest in the BMPs as well as on the Bonsucro Production Standards. At Olam Barwani, Robert visited a large number of sugarcane fields and was extremely impressed with the BMPs introduced under the Programme. He was particularly impressed by the accelerated adoption of the BMPs by the farmers on the ground and the eagerness in the farmers to try new practices and technologies to improve farm performance. 4

5 6. Mechanized harvesting of sugarcane Robert has got a long and rich experience of mechanized sugarcane harvesting and therefore, he showed a keen interest in the harvesting by Sugarcane Harvester in the Olam Barwani Mill in Madhya Pradesh. According to him the quantity of extraneous matter coming with sugarcane was on the higher side in Olam Barwani and instructed the sugarcane team to recalibrate the configurations of the Harvester. Robert personally operated the machine along with the operator and found that there is a need to optimize and synchronize the RPMs of the blower. He imparted practical training to the operator and gave important tips. Frequently Asked Questions to Robert Quirk on the engagement in India for Bonsucro There appears to be a strong interest by both the Indian Farmers and Millers to join Bonsucro. The IFC-Solidaridad programme has facilitated ten interactions with the interested entities in India. Below are some of the frequently asked questions in each of the ten interactions, and the response from Robert. Q.1) The big question is what are the benefits from Bonsucro to the sugar mills? Answer) The business benefits from Bonsucro will be for the early movers - the first movers in the market will reap the benefits. While Bonsucro cannot sell the mills sugar, it can introduce the members who are committed to purchasing Bonsucro certified sugar. The certified sugar mills and the institutional sugar buyers can negotiate amongst themselves on the terms of trade for the sale and purchase of certified sugar. Once again, the early movers will be the main beneficiaries. 5

6 Q.2) What is in it for the farmers? Answer) The benefits to farmers, through the adoption of the BMPs under Bonsucro, range from farm productivity improvements, reduction in cost of cultivation, improvements in farm efficiency and overall quality of sugarcane production. These have been discussed at length in the report. 7. Impressions from Robert Quirk about sustainable sugarcane and Bonsucro in India Both millers and growers are keen to learn about Bonsucro and the implications of membership. It does look like the interest to join is very strong at one of the DSCL mills and at Olam Barwani. All the farmers showed interest in the Farmer Working Group at Bonsucro and the benefits they see in interacting with such a global network. Some of the practices we have seen in India during farm visits are the world s best practices and they should be spread widely in other developing countries. The IFC-Solidaridad programme has many demonstration sites, and we saw some of the BMPs in action particularly the practices of inter-cropping / companion planting and the innovative methods of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM). It has been a pleasure interacting with the IFC-Solidaridad team, under the leadership and guidance of Dr. R P Singh. I feel we have achieved a lot with many enthusiastic farmers and millers working towards sustainable practices and potential Bonsucro certification. Our travel programme, while hectic has been very enjoyable for me. I am sure the programme will be highly successful and more and more Indian sugarcane farmers and mills will adopt sustainable sugarcane cultivation practices thereby reducing the environmental and social footprint. I wish Dr. R P Singh and the entire team at DSCL, Olam and Solidaridad all the very best for their continued efforts for sustainable sugarcane in India and promotion of Bonsucro at the farm and mill levels. Robert Quirk Director (Farmers), Bonsucro 6