The Sugar Cane Growers Fund (SCGF) has cut loan interest rates for 797 farmers participating in its Green Cane Incentive Programme, reducing the annual rate from 3.95 percent to 3.5 percent for a 12-month period as part of a push to reward and expand sustainable harvesting practices.
Introduced in 2025, the Green Cane Incentive Programme targets growers who harvest at least 75 percent of their cane green — a practice that avoids field burning and is promoted for its environmental and soil-health benefits. SCGF Chief Executive Raj Sharma said the latest rate reduction takes effect from March 2026 through February 2027, and that all eligible growers have been notified by SMS.
The 797 growers affected under the measure hold a combined loan balance of $7.97 million, representing about 20 percent of SCGF’s total loan portfolio of $38.91 million. SCGF estimates the move will save those growers roughly $35,865 in interest costs over the 12-month period. Mr Sharma framed the cut as consistent with the fund’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments and broader efforts to financially reward sustainable farming methods.
Growers who sustain the 75 percent green cane threshold in the current season will be eligible to retain the reduced 3.5 percent rate for an additional 12 months, creating a rolling incentive to maintain green-harvest practices. The programme’s design links immediate financial relief with longer-term behavioural change, SCGF officials say, by making the economic benefits of green cane harvesting more tangible to farmers managing tight farm margins.
SCGF also highlighted that interest rate cuts are only one part of its support package. Mr Sharma noted the fund returns more than $1 million annually to growers through initiatives such as discounted fees and mortgage protection cover, underlining the organisation’s role in cushioning farmers against financial stress while encouraging industry shifts.
The move arrives as stakeholders across the sugar sector continue to grapple with productivity and sustainability challenges. Green cane harvesting has been promoted by industry and government agencies as a way to reduce air pollution, conserve soil nutrients and lower the labour and environmental costs associated with burning. By tying a measurable lending benefit to a 75 percent green harvest threshold, the fund aims to accelerate adoption among growers who may otherwise face upfront costs or logistical barriers to changing harvesting methods.
For the nearly 800 growers covered by the reduction, the immediate effect will be a modest but welcome easing of interest expenses at a time when many agricultural producers are sensitive to cost increases. The conditional 12-month extension for growers who maintain the green threshold makes the policy both an incentive and a test of uptake: continued participation will determine whether the measure translates into sustained practice change across the sector.
Leave a comment