Farmers in Thailand looking for alternative ways to harvest their sugarcane crops

It is a common practice in Thailand for farmers to burn the sugarcane fields prior to harvest. This practice takes place between December-February and is called the burning season. Farmers burn the fields to wilt away the tops and leaves which is a less expensive method. However, a down point to doing this is that it destroys part of the crop and causes massive air pollution which tends to plague Thailand. The farmers are already worried about droughts, high freight costs, shortage of containers and COVID-19. All this has impacted the industry severely which is encouraging the farmers to look for a more green way to harvest their cane, preferably through machinery.