The Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) and ICAR–Indian Sugarcane Research Institute (ICAR-ISRI), Lucknow, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish an Advanced Centre for Quality Sugarcane Seed Production. The initiative aims to improve access to disease-free, genetically pure and high-yielding sugarcane planting material for sugar mills and farmers across Uttar Pradesh and other parts of India’s subtropical sugarcane belt.
The proposed centre will create a science-based system for the production, multiplication and distribution of quality sugarcane seed. By making superior varieties available to farmers more quickly and on a larger scale, the initiative is expected to improve cane productivity, sugar recovery, ratoon performance and farm incomes.
The Advanced Centre will be established at ICAR-ISRI in Lucknow and will have dedicated facilities for quality seed production, nursery raising, disease indexing, hardening, multiplication, storage and distribution. ICAR-ISRI experts will provide technical guidance and scientific support to participating sugar mills, helping them maintain seed quality and strengthen their capacity to multiply and distribute improved planting material in their respective command areas.
A major focus of the programme will be the rapid multiplication of elite and newly released sugarcane varieties through protected and scientifically managed cultivation systems. The initiative will also promote systematic varietal replacement and diversification in sugar mill command areas, which can help improve productivity, sugar recovery and the long-term sustainability of sugarcane cultivation. 
The programme will incorporate phytosanitary quality assurance measures, including disease-free seed production, certification and regular monitoring to maintain the health and genetic purity of planting material. Systematic tagging and digital traceability of seed lots will also be introduced, enabling the source, identity and quality of planting material to be tracked from production to the farmer’s field.
For sugarcane farmers, timely access to high-quality planting material is expected to support better crop establishment, higher cane yields, improved ratoon crops and lower disease incidence. Improved varieties and better-quality seed can also contribute to higher sugar recovery and improved economic returns from sugarcane cultivation.
Participating sugar mills will play an important role in taking the technology and improved planting material from the research centre to farmers. The collaboration will strengthen training and capacity building for cane development personnel and help create a more organised system for large-scale adoption of improved sugarcane varieties.
Commenting on the partnership, Deepak Ballani, Director General, ISMA, said that sugarcane farmers must remain at the centre of efforts to strengthen the sector. He said quality planting material is the foundation for higher productivity, better sugar recovery and stronger farm incomes. According to Ballani, the partnership with ICAR-ISRI will help translate scientific research into field-level benefits by enabling faster and wider access to disease-free, genetically pure and high-yielding planting material through participating sugar mills.
Ballani further said that the Advanced Centre for Quality Sugarcane Seed Production will help create a reliable quality seed ecosystem while improving field-level monitoring, varietal performance assessment and the capabilities of cane development teams. He added that the initiative will establish a sustainable mechanism for transferring scientific advancements from research institutions to farmers on a larger scale.
The partnership brings together the scientific expertise of ICAR-ISRI and the extensive field-level reach of the sugar industry. The collaboration is particularly significant for Uttar Pradesh and other major sugarcane-producing regions in the subtropical belt, where improvements in planting material quality and crop productivity can directly support farmer incomes and strengthen the competitiveness of the sugar industry.
Through the new centre, ISMA and ICAR-ISRI aim to build a scalable and science-led sugarcane seed production and distribution framework. By combining quality seed production, scientific propagation, digital traceability, field monitoring, training and farmer-level dissemination, the initiative seeks to create a stronger foundation for higher sugarcane productivity, improved sustainability and better returns for farmers.
