Sugar cane: fund hinders $1.8 billion per annum

The demand for sugar cane in Nigeria has increased to about 7 million metric tons as the country stands to gain $1.8billion by developing the sub sector.  Despite the fact that Nigeria is the highest consumers of sugar in Africa, aside South Africa, we only have few functioning sugar mills around as most of the sugars we consume are imported in form of semi-finished product according to National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) under the Federal Ministry of Trade and investment.

As this sub sector of agriculture is capable of creating jobs and wealth, a lot still needs to be done in order to harness the potential the crop can attract in term of wealth to the nation and farmers cum other stakeholders at the value chains of its production like the Brazil, Mexico, and India.

There are lot of economic advantages in the industrial and consumable sugar canes,while the former cannot be chewed because of its  toughness, and the later is a regularly chewing cane that are sold by hawkers with  wheel barrow as the water content is so high and the sucrose content is not economical for sugar production.

As  industrial sugar cane is capable of generating electricity, the roughages that comes out of the it can also be used to generate electricity through particle board and brisket which are like coal produced locally like fuel and the ethanol that reduce the cost of petrol.

  Sugar cane sector is a money spinning investment, you can imagine how many households make use of sugar every morning coupled the bottling companies. The industrial sugar is in high demand like crude oil, which also recruits massive population. Apart from the sugar produced from the industrial sugar cane, there is mollaces, after you have removed the brown sugar, which is in high demand by the pharmaceutical companies for syrup production and the brown sugar is also good for diabetic patients.

 The top part of the sugar cane can also serve as livestock feed; there is no part of it that is a waste. For example the sugar estate in Nuoman has 1,400 employees, with potential advantage of providing another 2000 jobs for processed sugar when they finally swing into full business fully. 

 The chewing cane also has its own market advantage as Egypt and India do extract the liquid in for other derivatives through value addition. We can add value to the chewing cane and also create employment with it; it is very medicinal and also has rich elements. But Nigerians are not taking agriculture serious like every other crop.

Findings revealed that lack of fund to the FMARD has deterred the growth and production of sugar coupled slow approval is seriously working against the development of the crop, funding wasn’t available until around July 2014 couple seeds scarcity.

Mr. Adeniran Ayodeji Bobby, Assistant Director sugar cane value chain and coordinator FMARD said efforts to promote sugar cane production in the country is on ongoing as the ministry had already commissioned two agencies- the National Cereal Institution and Root and Tuber Extension towards multiplying seeds grains that will be given to farmers around the mills estates saying “if you don’t have mill and you plant industrial sugar cane, it will ends up becoming a waste”

According to him “Industrial sugarcane (seed cane) is very scare and few in number. it was only Dangote and Savannah Sugar companies that have industrial sugar cane fields, and that of Dangote produced about 50,000tons as at then, now the sugar cane master plan is a part of the condition given to the sugar importers as part of measure for operating a backward integration, which means, they have to establish a sugar cane field that will employ Nigerians” 

He added that “a network of out growers all over the country and right now the sugar seeds are on the field ready to be distributed to 14 states of the Federation where there is sugar industry either small scale or big scale like in Taraba- Lau, Adamawa- Numan, Jigawa- Crystal Sugar company, Ogun- Malcolm Nigeria Limited and Oyo- sugar cane producer association” 

“As mentioned earlier we have few mills around, the problem is that sugar factory is very expensive. The least economical mill of 100 tons capacity per day cost 300million naira from India, such money is difficult for small farmers association to afford, although the Bank of Agriculture is there, but at the same time 10% equity of 300m will be required, which is 30m naira, that’s without the landing cost, and installation. With the purchase cost being too expensive and becoming a serious challenge, it is our view that the equipment should be locally fabricated in Nigeria.”

“ In  the past NOTA , a skill acquisition program fabricated some of this sugar mills, but it the efficiency was very low, so many of the people running it, were running at a loss, because the amount of sugar recovery was 6-8%, whereas the vacuum pan extraction from India will produce 10% sugar recovery which is economical” said he