Chandigarh, September 13, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Punjab’s sugarcane acreage has increased to 1.16 lakh hectares for the 2026-27 season, with the state government targeting production of nearly 700 lakh quintals, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister S. Gurmeet Singh Khuddian said on Sunday.
Khuddian said the Bhagwant Mann-led government was pursuing a multi-pronged strategy to make sugarcane a more remunerative crop by improving productivity and sugar recovery, reducing cultivation costs and promoting mechanisation and scientific farming practices.
According to official data, sugarcane cultivation has increased from 1,11,818 hectares in 2025-26 to 1,16,131 hectares in the current season. Of the total area, 47,295 hectares is under ratoon crop, 51,174 hectares under spring crop and 17,662 hectares under autumn crop.
The minister said the government expects improvements in yield and sugar recovery, provided weather conditions remain favourable.
For 2026-27, the government has introduced an incentive of Rs 3,200 per acre for demonstration plots showcasing recommended cultivation practices. The initiative will cover 12 districts — Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar, Patiala, Fazilka, Faridkot and Kapurthala.
The demonstration plots will promote practices including wide-row spacing, trench planting, intercropping, mulching and scientific ratoon management.
To address labour shortages during sowing and harvesting, the state is also offering a 40 per cent subsidy on sugarcane harvesters, small tractors, cane planters and ratoon managers.
“Mechanisation is no longer an option but a necessity. Our aim is to make these machines easily accessible and affordable for every farmer,” Khuddian said.
He added that joint teams of the Agriculture Department, Punjab Agricultural University and sugar mills were conducting awareness camps and webinars on trench planting, primary seed nurseries, certified disease-free varieties, balanced fertiliser use, integrated pest management and ratoon management.
So far, 14 webinars have trained around 1,100 farmers, while 320 training camps have reached more than 15,000 growers. Technical guidance is also being provided through social media platforms and field staff.
Khuddian said the initiative combines financial incentives, technology adoption, capacity building and mechanisation to make sugarcane cultivation more profitable and strengthen the economic well-being of farming families and agricultural labourers across Punjab.
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