subject: good management - bonsucro · although the literature on sugarcane husbandry and milling...

IFC MANUAL ON GOOD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR THE CANE SUGAR INDUSTRY July 15, 2011

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P G B I H O U S E , 8 W O L S E L E Y S T R E E T , W O O D M E A D E A S T , 2 1 9 1 ,

J O H A N N E S B U R G , S O U T H A F R I C A

GOOD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES MANUAL FOR THE

CANE SUGAR INDUSTRY


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AGENDA (90min)

Item Presenter Title Chapter Time

1 Cameron McGregor Introduction: Agenda - 3 min

2 Bruce Wise Welcome - 3 min

3 Bonsucro Representative Potential manual users - 3 min

Section 1 – Sugarcane Agriculture

4 Jan Meyer Introduction to Manual 1, 2 &5 12 min

5 Peter Turner Agric Chapters

3, 4, 8-10,12

12 min

6 Jan Meyer Agric Chapters 6,7,11,14 12 min

7 Jerry Gosnell Biomass Management 13 8 min

8 Discussion Section 1 Q & A 1-15 7 min

Section 2 – Sugarcane Processing Management

9 Dr Peter Rein Processing, Waste Management,

Co-products 1-3 8 min


Section 3-Regulatory, Social, Labor and Outgrowers

11 Kate Mathias Social, Labor & Outgrowers 1-5 10 min



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13 Bruce Wise General Discussion & Closure

3 min

Chapter Authors

Agriculture: J.Meyer, P.Turner, J.Gosnell, V.Spaull, M.Clowes, R.Bailey, M.Copeland, R.Donaldson,

P.Braithwaite, P.Lyne.

Milling & Processing: P.Rein.

Social & Community: K.Mathias.

Programme Manager: B.Wise (IFC).

Administrative Manager: C.McGregor (PGBI).

MANUAL OBJECTIVES To develop a comprehensive guidance document on Good Management Practices in sugarcane growing and processing to promote sustainable sugar and ethanol production, assisting stakeholders to implement beneficial environmental, social and production practices.

TARGET AUDIENCE IFC sugarcane sponsors and potential clients, industry management and stakeholders within the sugarcane industry.


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RATIONALE Although the relevant literature on sugarcane husbandry and processing is extensive, only a few texts have dealt with the social and environmental impacts of the sugar industry and recommended good management practices to mitigate these impacts. The environment in which the sugarcane industry operates has changed, and the following needs have to be addressed:

The pressure to reduce reliance on fossil fuel through development and demand for bio energy;

Global impacts and pressures of the cane sugar industry on the environment and human population;

The challenge to improve efficiencies;

Social and human pressures on the cane sugar industry.

Consumer and market pressure for responsible production.

Brief Overview of Manual In the literature dealing with tropical and subtropical crops, sugarcane occupies a prominent place as it has played an important role in the history of human civilizations. Today it is the strategic economic sector in many developing economies where agricultural activities provide the best potential for labor absorption in rural areas. Unlike the early years of regulated prices, sugarcane industries around the world are facing multiple challenges to the sustainability of production systems, because trade for global sugar has become more competitive as the production environment becomes less regulated. This has led to a greater focus on improved production efficiencies by either improving yield output or reducing costs or a combination of both options. The increased pressure and competition for water, nutrient and other resources and consequent increased risk of environmental impacts, such as degradation in soil health, climate change and atmospheric pollution, has led to increasing scrutiny from regulatory agencies, community and consumer groups into the environmental sustainability of current sugarcane production systems. A number of sugar industries have pre-empted these pressures through the introduction of self-regulation monitoring schemes such as in Australia – [COMPASS evaluations NSW Industry Code of Practice; Brazil [Jalles Machado ISO14001]; India – [EID Parry (2006)]; South Africa – [Standards and Guidelines for Conservation and Environmental Management and Susfarms (2007). Brazil, which is the world’s larger producer of sugarcane with more than half of its production channeled into ethanol, has in recent years been very progressive with the introduction of environmental legislation and self monitoring schemes. The most recent of these is the UNICA ‘’Green Protocol’’ initiative launched in 2007, to accelerate the elimination of sugarcane burning and protect the environment through the implementation of soil conservation and water resource plans in the State of Sao Paulo.


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Concurrent with these developments are the International NGO efforts to promote market driven regulation for sugar and ethanol, including Bonsucro, formerly known as the Better Sugar Cane Initiative and Fair Trade International, while the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels was established to set standards for the production of biofuels from all crops. Customer and stakeholder demands, as channeled through these organizations, will become an important part of the future sugarcane value chain which will include the production of sugar, ethanol and power Although the literature on sugarcane husbandry and milling is extensive, only a few texts have dealt with the environmental and social impacts of the sugar industry and preferred good management practices to mitigate these impacts. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank and active investor into sugar industries worldwide, recognized the need for a comprehensive guide to Good Management Practices (GMP) in the cane sugar industry. In 2010, the IFC assembled a team of contributors, with a wide range of experience in sugarcane agriculture, environment, processing, social and economic fields, with access to strong technological support networks, to produce this much needed manual on good management practices. In many ways this initiative complements the IFC's Biodiversity and Agricultural Commodities Program (BACP), funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF), which is aimed at reducing habitat destruction. Sugar is one of the main commodities covered by the BACP. While the manual is primarily intended to provide guidelines on good management practices to agricultural, field and mill managers of IFC-financed estates, it is also envisaged that the manual would be shared with IFC sugarcane sponsors and potential clients to assist them to implement advantageous environmental, social and production practices. Agronomists, soil scientists, consultants, extension officers, sugar technologists, specialists in the fields of research, teaching or technical assistance and human resource personnel will also find it a useful reference text. The 21 chapters in the book are divided into three sections, with 14 chapters covering agricultural management topics ranging from crop establishment to harvesting the crop, three chapters devoted to processing, co-product and effluent management topics and four chapters covering social, community and outgrower topics. Throughout the manual, authors have where possible, adopted the general theme of sustainability, to ensure that any good management practices that are recommended, comply with the tenets of the triple bottom line:

Ensuring profitable production and more efficient use of production resources

Minimizing or avoiding both on and off-site detrimental impacts on the environment

Ensuring that production takes place in a socially equitable environment. Although the chapters can be read independently, the subject matter has been arranged to provide continuity of material with the environment and physiology and varieties of the sugarcane plant in chapter 1, followed by the soil and its environment in chapter 2 and then proceeding through the various field operations from planting (chapter 3),weed control (chapter 4), fertilizing (chapter 5), irrigation and drainage (chapters 6 and 7), disease and pest control (chapters 8 and 9), ripeners (chapter 10), harvesting and transport (chapter 11), agrochemicals and farm safety (chapter 12), biomass management (chapter 13) and computer based decision support programs (chapter 14). Continuity of subject material is maintained in the processing section with the measurement of cane quality, cleaning of cane, water use and recycling, chemical and energy use and management of wastes and recycling. The manual ends with the third section dealing with regulatory frameworks, human resource management, social welfare and community initiatives and outgrower development. In terms of agricultural practices a range of general texts are available covering sugarcane (e.g. Humbert R (1968), The Growing of Sugarcane, revised edition, Elsevier, Amsterdam; Blackburn F (1984) Sugar-cane, Longman, New York; Bakker H (1999) Sugarcane Cultivation and Management, Kluver Academic, New York; and James G (2004) Sugarcane. 2nd edition, Blackwell Science, Oxford.


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Oliver Cheesman’s book on Environmental Impacts of Sugar Production (Cheesman 2004) was a

valuable starting off point for our literature search on environmental impacts but was updated with information derived from CAB Direct. CAB Direct is a database of over 8 million abstracts from the world's literature on agriculture and applied life sciences, based on material going back to 1973.Use was also made of other data bases including the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists and local associations including the South African Sugar Technologists Association, the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, and the American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists. In addition, various sugarcane research institutes such as CTC in Brazil, SASRI in South Africa, and BSES in Australia, conduct excellent research work on good management practices and publications such as annual reports, bulletins, manuals and information sheets where available, either in hard copy form or on the internet, also proved to be valuable sources of information. References cited in the text are listed at the end of each chapter. Finally, where appropriate, examples of good management practices, documented in a report prepared for the IFC and based on visits by the principal authors to some of the most highly productive and efficient mills in Brazil, Guatemala, Argentina, India, and Swaziland are referred to in various chapters, mostly in box format highlighted in a light blue color. JH Meyer July 2011


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subject: good management - bonsucro · although the literature on sugarcane husbandry and milling...

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