The Sugar Research Institute of Fiji has seen an increase in burnt canes being supplied to the mills, warning that this is harming the soil texture in fields.

SRIF Chief Executive Vinesh Kumar says that around 30 percent of the cane supplied to the mills this season is burnt, which has also reduced the quality of sugar produced by the Fiji Sugar Corporation.

Kumar is pleading with farmers to stop burning cane, as it has many negative impacts on the industry.

“At farm level, you are destroying the ecosystem in which your cane is being grown. The other thing also it does is again excessive burning, burning around your fields or hilly places, it again contributes to soil erosion as well. It also contributes towards moisture loss because once you burn it, burn your field, it gets exposed, all the moisture that is to be retained in the field, it gets evaporated.”

Kumar says research conducted by the institute shows that cane burning kills beneficial bacteria in the soil.

He adds that farmers who frequently burn their cane later rely heavily on fertilizers to supplement the nutrients lost from the soil.