Suger Cane and it's benefit

Sugarcane, is a forage crop from the grass family. Cane accounts for about 80 per cent of sugar produced worldwide. It can grow on almost any soil but requires plenty of water and sunshine to do well. For this reason, it thrives in the arid parts of the country where irrigated farming is widespread. Recent pictures of Governor  Seriake Dickson in his sugarcane farm in Bayelsa state also prove that canes thrive well in the swampy environment of the Niger Delta. It was fondly called “reeds that produce honey without bees” by the ancients in India and Egypt who were the first to cultivate it.

Apart from its applications in the food and paper industry, Sugar cane is a noteworthy source of biofuel and for some countries, this is where the real commercial advantage lies. Production of biofuel from sugar ethanol is more cost efficient than use of corn and other plant oils. Brazil, the world’s largest producer of sugarcane, uses it to produce sugar and ethanol for gasoline-ethanol blends called gasohol. In that country, gasoline is required to contain at least 22 per cent bioethanol. This is a good green strategy to reduce emission from fossil fuels.

Nigeria can also begin to develop such fuel blends to earn us some carbon credits. With our vast land mass, favourable climatic conditions and available labour force, we can become a big player in the international sugar market through production and processing of sugar cane. Unemployed persons in the country can take advantage of this natural resource to become productively engaged and create new wealth.

It starts with knowledge. Although there are many peasant small holders currently engaged in sugarcane farming, the new age entrepreneur who understands economics of scale, must now begin to think of owning cane estates for mechanised production. That is the primary stage of the business- to farm and supply the existing sugar companies, which are still quite few. The next viable area is at the secondary level where the canes are processed to produce, not only sugar but other industrial products like molasses, bagasse and ethanol.

Nigeria meets almost all of its sugar needs through importation. Out of an estimated national sugar demand of about 1.3 million tonnes, only about 100 million tonnes are met through local production. Unarguably therefore, there is a ready local market for sugar and allied products in the country, making it a viable venture area for clued-up agric entrepreneurs.