Agriculture Current Affair 6 August 2020

Increasing sugarcane production for ethanol detrimental for India: Study

If India were to depend exclusively on sugarcane molasses for producing ethanol to meet its 2030 goal of 20 per cent blending, it may need to produce an additional 1,320 million tonnes (mt) of sugarcane, requiring 348 billion cubic metres of water and 19 million hectares of land, according to a study.

If molasses are used to meet this target – requiring a production of 20 billion litres (bl) of bioethanol – it would require additional water and land resources, nearly four times more than the current, and would result in production of extra sugar of 161 mt, said the study published recently by a team of researchers from Stanford University in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

Sardine famine to continue along Kerala coast this year: CMFRI

The availability of Indian oil sardine, the favourite fish of Keralites, will remain at a low level along the Kerala coastal waters during the current year as well, said a study by Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).

The sardine famine being experienced along the Kerala coast will continue, and experts working in the oil sardine and fishery sector have requested for utmost care in the harvesting of this particular fish variety.

Mechanisation to the rescue of Karnataka cashew processors during pandemic

Mechanisation of cashew factories seems to have helped cashew processors in Karnataka in managing the situation during the pandemic.

K Prakash Rao, partner in Mangaluru-based Kalbavi Cashews, told BusinessLine that cashew processing units in Karnataka have largely mechanised their manufacturing activities. This has helped processors in managing better in these difficult times.