The S. Nijalingappa Sugar Institute (SNSI) in Belagavi will launch a postgraduate course in sugar technology starting this academic year.
Minister Shivananda Patil announced this decision following a recent board meeting in Bengaluru. The course will be affiliated with Rani Channamma University, Belagavi.
Additionally, the board has approved the establishment of a sugar and alcohol research center in Benakanahalli, near Belagavi. The institute will also facilitate doctoral research across its campuses. An estimated ₹15 crore is needed to set up the college, with ₹5 crore allocated as an initial fund.
SNSI’s tissue culture laboratory, operational for nine years, has produced 16.47 lakh saplings. Meanwhile, the biofertilizer and biopesticide production unit, running for four years, has generated 8.26 tonnes by the end of 2023-24. Both facilities will be further enhanced.
To support sugarcane farmers, a corpus fund will be created to provide compensation in case of crop loss due to fire incidents, with guidelines to be formulated soon.
Minister Patil noted that sugar factories face profitability challenges, as they function only for about 90 days annually. He emphasized the need to extend operations to at least 150 days by focusing on by-product production after the sugarcane crushing season.
SNSI Directors Satyajit Patil and C.B. Patil, along with officers Raman Deep Chowdhury, Ravi Kumar, Raja Gopal, and others, were present at the meeting, according to an official release.
