Research is vital to maintain the survival of the sugar industry, says Sugar Research Institute of Fiji CEO Dr Vinesh Kumar.
He told The Fiji Times online portal Lens@177, that science-backed information was crucial to help sugarcane growers deal with new and ongoing threats such as climate change.
“We do plant building and do pest and disease screenings,” Dr Kumar said.
“We do a lot of things to ensure production is not lost through pests and diseases.
“We also have a farm management unit and a crop management unit which look at best practices in terms of growing your crops and third one is technology transfer.”
Dr Kumar said the institute ensured it provides solutions for the farmers to maintain their productivity and efficiency.
He said all 19 varieties of sugarcane produced by the farmers were approved by the institute through research and testing programs.
“All of the 19 commercial varieties that you have in the sugar industry are released by SRIF. The other thing is the fertiliser applications or the recommended doses and types of fertilisers.
“The way the industry is set up, we provide advisory and recommendations.
“So, the sugar industry heavily depends on this.”
