B 2.4. What environmental demands are now made to control burning sugarcane crops?
Burning of sugarcane in the field is a centuries-old practice in many countries, designed to help in the manual cutting of sugarcane, and making it safer. It involves the controlled burning of the leaves and tips of the sugarcane. This burning, contrary to conventional wisdom, takes place in a small, well-delineated area, and is extremely fast (about 10 minutes) so that the sugarcane itself is not burned in the process. Alternatively, sugarcane can be harvested mechanically, doing away with burning. The interest in reducing pollution (mainly carbon) and the risk of uncontrolled fire has led to a recommendation to abandon this practice. This cannot happen over night because a lot of workers are still employed in manual cutting (in 2006 around 70% of the sugarcane in Brazil was cut manually) and a very fast shift to mechanized cutting would create unemployment. Environmental and social interests can be accommodated by a gradual elimination of burning. The controlled burning of sugarcane
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