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How do farmers harvest sugarcane by hand?
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Sugarcane
Field of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) in St. George Parish, Barbados.
Manual harvesting of sugarcane remains a common practice, accounting for up to two-thirds of the global crop. The process typically involves the following steps:1
- Cutting: Farmers use long machetes to manually sever the cane stalks.1
- Burning: Before or after the cane is cut, fields are often burned to remove excess leaves and trash, which helps protect the blades of the cutting tools and clears the area of rodents and snakes. However, due to environmental concerns, some regions are shifting toward harvesting whole, unburned cane.1
- Transport: Once harvested, the cane is moved from the field to the factory using various methods, including manual haulage, oxcarts, trucks, or railway cars.1
To ensure the highest sugar yield, it is essential to minimize the time between cutting and processing, as this reduces cane deterioration.1