• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Nigeria can save over N6bn growing industrial sugarcane – NSDC

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Inuwa Usman, general manager, Sugarcane Bio Factory, National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), has said Nigeria is capable of saving more than N6 billion annually if more attention is given to the plantation of industrial sugarcane.

Usman, who is a professor, said for the consumption of sugar alone, the nation can replace importation of this commodity by placing priority on the plantation of industrial sugarcane, thereby saving the nation a huge sum which could have been used in sugar importation.

“Nigeria’s sugar consumption is placed at 130 million metric tons per annum. If we grow industrial sugarcane, all the money we use in importing sugar to this country will be saved, which can save the nation N6bn per annum,” Usman told BusinessDay in an exclusive interview at the just concluded Manufacturing & Equipment Expo held in Lagos.

The most popular form of sugarcane in Nigeria is the chewing sugarcane, whose juice is ordinarily consumed through chewing. According to Usman, if it is not processed, it is like any other juice without any benefit therein.

“But industrial sugarcane has a lot of economic importance because we produce a lot of industrial products from it,” he said.

Nigeria’s sugar production rose from 14,918 metric tonnes (MT) in 2017 to 30,000MT in 2018, according to the NSDC.

Sugar import fell from $459.36 million in 2017 to $337.31 million in 2018.

Consumption also fell from 1.301 million MT to 1.246 million MT in 2018.

“Seventy percent of world sugar now comes from this sugarcane,” Usman said.

He said there is also bioethanol, which is currently used as a substitute to petroleum.

“There is a policy on ground for ethene brand of petroleum which uses ten percent of bioethanol. The petroleum we use is supposed to have ethene standard. The industrial sugarcane is the raw material for bioethanol in making the ethene brand of petroleum. This is also being imported,” he explained.

He further said that while the country sources its sugar consumption locally, it equally contributes to greener energy through the consumption of bioethanol energy.

”We can also use it to generate electricity. It is called electric co-generation, to solve national power problems. So, it can contribute towards solving that.

“We can also get bio-plastics from this sugarcane. The present plastic we are using is not bio-gradable. From this sugarcane we can produce plastics that are bio-gradable, which are eco-friendly,” he said, adding that organic fertilizers can also be produced from it.

“Other products which can be produced from industrial sugarcane include paper, activated charcoal, feeds for livestock for cattle and fish, among others,” he stated.

He said according to his organisation’s it has been proven that the country can produce 20 different products from industrial sugarcane.

 

Odinaka Anudu, Joseph Maurice Ogu & Gbemi Faminu