The CICS was part of the Agricultural Innovation and Technology Transfer Network (RITA-Canne) on Réunion Island, which brings together all stakeholders in the sugarcane sector (technical institutes, research organizations, farmers, and other stakeholders). More specifically, it has sought to support a small group of farmers in establishing and monitoring intercropping plots on their farms to assess the practical feasibility of these herbicide-reducing systems. The systems under study were combinations of sugarcane and cover crops (primarily legumes) designed to limit weed growth while also offering potential complementary harvest. The choice of species was made by the farmers.

Reducing herbicide use alone is not enough to encourage intercropping adoption in the sugarcane sector in La Réunion. A more promising approach is to combine production and services, involving diversified farmers to support wider uptake.

New practices must also improve the economic viability of intercropping, which remains more expensive than conventional farming, while offering benefits that farmers find attractive.

Although farmers have shown clear interest, wider adoption is still constrained by labour shortages, limited mechanisation and the insufficient availability of cover crop seeds, despite the emergence of new suppliers.

Scientific publication A 7-year multi-criteria analysis of sugarcane intercropping compared to conventional cropping systems

Scientific publication Réduire les herbicides en cultures de canne à sucre, à quel prix

Document Des plantes de services pour réduire l’utilisation d’herbicides en canne à sucre

Document  Guide pratique de mise en place des plantes de services en canne à sucre

Poster and presentation  Les plantes de services pour une gestion complémentaire des adventices