January 29, 2021
Bangkok Post | https://bit.ly/2MG9LFD
Early this week, residents of some provinces that serve as hubs for cash crops like rice and sugar cane started to choke on PM2.5 fine dust as many farmers began to burn farm waste. The dust levels caused by this method have exceeded the official "safe" threshold of 50 microgrammes per cubic metre.
One of the major culprits is "black sugar", the ecologically destructive harvesting practice which prevails in the industry. The increase in dust particles from sugar cane plantation burning often starts at the end of each year and lasts until April. Numerous planters burn sugar cane before cutting, knowing full well that such a practice will cause the price to drop and lower the product quality. They do so because they want to save time and labour costs.
The practice has been ongoing for almost a decade, following the expansion of the lucrative sugar industry in Thailand -- the world's fourth-largest sugar exporter.
This year, the "black sugar" problem is likely to increase because of the shortage of migrant labour amid the Covid-19 restrictions.
In fact, the government has acknowledged the problem and few years ago launched a series of anti-burning measures, including a "zero-burning" goal by 2023. However, the progress to date has not been impressive. Critics and even traders and farmers in the industry doubt whether the goal will be met.
The Cane and Sugar Act does not permit open burning. Millers who purchase large amounts of burnt sugar cane should be fined. But in practice, the authorities often yield to the demands of factory owners and farmers. As of now, the current law still gives reprieves by allowing factories to buy no more than 30% of burnt sugar cane per day.
In reality, half of the sugar cane is harvested using the burning process, according to information from the Thai Sugar Millers Corporation (TSMC). But the shortage of migrant workers will only see a surge in the "black sugar" problem.
The government is paying lip service to the problem, and that is obvious. It needs to instead arrest farmers who set fires on their plantations as doing so is a criminal offence.
But the authorities cannot just point the finger at farmers, they need to increase the fines to force factories to switch to the manual cutting of sugar cane.
One of the government measures is to encourage sugar cane planters to use modern technology. The government two years ago issued 1.5 billion baht worth of loans to farmers to buy specialised harvesters used in India and Brazil. Yet, in Thailand, only 30% of cane is cut by such machines. The government needs to encourage farmers -- even small-scale ones -- and ensure that they have access to sugar cane harvesting machines.
The government can also follow recommendations proposed by the TSMC by promoting the use of sugar cane leaves and waste as green fuel. This would encourage sugar farmers to use their hands and machines in order to reap by-product leaves to sell as a renewable energy source.
One thing that has been left out of finding a solution is the consumer. The government and the consumer protection sector need to educate the public about the relationship between PM2.5 and "black sugar". Creating a marketing campaign that encourages labelling can add premium value to sugar that has been harvested through environmental friendly methods.
Without a joint solution, the black sugar problem will never end and neither will the toxic PM2.5 haze affecting multiple provinces across the country.