P-Green Solutions’ Director, Arun Pandhi, joined the ISAP India Foundation team — including Naveen Jha and Amit Sharma, AVP — for a field visit to Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, to review the ISAP–CNH Industrial sugarcane mechanization and operator-skilling programme. The visit brought together ISAP’s field team, Dhampur Sugar Mills, and CNH Industrial (New Holland) representatives to assess equipment uptake, meet farmer machine operators, and discuss the programme’s future direction.
Site Visit: Meeting Farmer Operators and Reviewing the Mechanization Fleet
The team met roughly 20–25 farmer machine operators along with Dhampur Sugar Mills and CNH staff at the mill premises, many in New Holland/CNH-branded uniforms and gathered under CNH Industrial banners promoting “Say No to Stubble Burning, Save Environment.” Arun Pandhi addressed the group before the team walked the surrounding sugarcane fields to inspect the mechanization assets stationed at the centre — including a Case IH 4010 Maxx sugarcane combine harvester and New Holland TX 3630 tractors forming part of the custom-hiring / Source Centre fleet — and observed cane trucks and logistics operating at the mill yard.
Programme Status, Asset Base and the Road Ahead
CNH Industrial has been ISAP’s lead donor for the mechanization programme for roughly 11 years, with the last three years focused specifically on mechanization and operator skill-building in Moradabad through a Source Centre model linked to an Extension Centre. With CNH and Dhampur Sugar Mills due to jointly decide the programme’s future beyond December 2026, discussions centred on shifting ISAP’s engagement — currently largely project-based — towards a longer-term, self-financing approach.
CNH has invested in equipment, opening up the possibility of a paid service-centre model that hires out equipment to farmers for multiple services. Moradabad and Hardoi were both flagged as needing a longer-term institutional framework, particularly to safeguard farmer interests.
The team also discussed the potential for a multi-partner consortium for sugarcane-farming mechanization — drawing on lessons from Maharashtra and adapting them for Uttar Pradesh with stronger civil-society involvement — and noted a clear gap in farmer-level knowledge dissemination on improved agronomic practices, such as integrated pest management, that could be addressed through IT-enabled extension tools.
