Ganye Sugarcane: Untapped Million-Dollar Industry

Nigeria is the second largest sugar market in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa and Adamawa State is ranked second producer of sugarcane in Nigeria after Kwara state.

In Adamawa state, the two major areas known for sugarcane is Numan and Ganye with Numan as the leading producer of (green stem) sugarcane, which is used only in Savannah Sugar refinery while that of Ganye (black stem) sugarcane is used for local consumption.

One of the reasons why Ganye is regarded as the food basket of Adamawa State and perhaps the Northeast, is the dynamism and ability of it soil to grow any type of arable crops in Nigeria. But unlike Numan, Ganye’s sugarcane farming is yet to catch the eyes of national and international investors of the sugar refining industry.

According to Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report, Nigeria spent a whopping 89 billion Naira on sugarcane importation in the first quarter of 2021 alone! With per capital consumption of about 8kg. This data inadvertently means there’s an investment opportunity in sugarcane farming.

In the past, Ganye grows mainly the (green stem) sugarcane, (the sugarcane with high sucrose content) which is similar to the one grown in Savannah Sugar Refinery Numan. It was later gathered that the (black stem) sugarcane replaced the (green stem) because of it soft stem, water content, higher yield and demand for consumption. Because the green stem sugarcane is used industrially, and there is no available demand in the sugar market, Ganye sugarcane farmers later adopted the black stem sugarcane.

Today, almost 90% of the farms on the river banks (farms located close to the river sides) of Ganye are primarily used for sugarcane farming with some Banana plantations. This is because sugarcane is a water loving crop. It requires soil with high organic content to ensure sufficient moisture retention, well leveled soil for easy irrigations and intercultural operation, soil with good tilth to facilitate earthing up and well-drained soil to save the crop from waterlogging in case of heavy rains. Thus, made the river sides suitable for sugarcane farming. Other places include irrigated areas, high moisture retention areas and swamp sites.

Dangote Savanna Sugar Company Numan, cultivates 32,000 hectares of (yellow/green stem) sugarcane with annual milling capacity of 205,000 metric tonnes. The total land use for sugarcane farming in Ganye is unknown, but with daily exportation of the sugarcane trucks, from individual farms, it can be estimated to be about 6,000 – 10,000 hectares per annum (depending on seasonal production). While BUA Sugar Company Limited, Lafiagi, Kwara State, cultivates only 6,500 hectares of (yellow/green stem) sugarcane with annual milling capacity of 120,000 metric tonnes.

The rationale above is that, (if Ganye estimate is to be correct) Ganye produces more or equal sugarcane with BUA Sugar Refinery in Lafiagi, Kwara state and about 35% that of Savannah Sugar Company in Numan.
If that is correct, therefore, Ganye could be a source of raw material for the two companies, or a good avenue for investors in the sugar refining industry.

An average sugarcane farm in Ganye harvests 500 bunches of sugarcane (which is 30 stems per 1 bunch) this will give you 15,000 stands of sugarcane planted in a single farm. These bunches can be sold between N2000 – N3500 depending on stem maturity, tallness, and sucrose content. If a bunch were to be sold for sugar production, it will be more N5,000 because most of the sugar companies are mechanized not manual labor.

In some of the largest farms, 5,000 bunches are harvested, which is 150,000 sugarcanes stand and may take two weeks before the harvest is completed. Everything is done manually from ploughing to harvesting to transportation and loading in trucks. They are mostly transported to Gombe, Kano, Bauchi, Maiduguri, and Jalingo. However, the stems are mainly consumed raw (for chewing) not for industrial purposes.

Many parts of Nigeria has the environmental requirements for sugarcane farming and Ganye has proved to be characteristically qualified in terms of land, soil, and climate favorable for sugarcane farming, especially the yellow/green stem varieties (the sugarcane used in sugar refinery) why would Nigeria be importing sugarcane of 89 billion in just 2021?

Suppose a mini sugarcane refinery will be installed between Jada, Ganye or Toungo, with the current availability of good access roads, electricity and labor, our farmers can supply the sugarcane, our youths will be employed and the state and local government will earn more internally generated revenue (IGR). Aside from sugar, sugarcane and its bye-products have been found useful in industrial settings of medicine, pharmaceuticals, confectionery and beverages, electricity and motor fuels.

The biggest assets of Ganye is its soil and climate, as an agronomist, agroprenuer and a youth, I find it worrisome that the relevant stakeholders in government; legislative and executive do not understand the potentials of these assets. If not, Ganye should by now, be an industrial area, processing all its farms products not transporting them.

My article is directed towards attracting investors, awakening our stakeholders from slumber and calling the attention of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), BUA Group, Dangote Group, the world sugar industry and those who are interested in buying, producing, or refining sugarcane that Ganye is the best place for the business, Ganye can supply, grow and still process sugarcane.

Ironically, we have business tycoons from the chiefdom who have the funds to invest, but they are not willing to take the risk or they are not just interested. But we hope, one day, the future of Ganye’s agribusiness will change from transporting to processing.