BLACK #STORIES::: How can Sugarcane Energy be successfully adopted in Nigeria without a decrease in food production?

Sugarcane (saccharin spp) is a perennial grass that thrives in the tropical and sub-tropical regions. It requires a frost-free climate with sufficient rainfall during the growing season. As it grows, Sugarcane converts sunlight into chemical energy which it stores inside the plant.

Each of the following main plant components contain approximately one-third of its stored energy.

a.       Juice: The sweet liquid inside sugarcane stalks containing sucrose used to provide sugar and ethanol.

b.      Bagasse: The dry, fibrous residues left after sugarcane is crushed. One ton of cane produces 270 kilos of bagasse.

c.       Straw: The tops and leaves of sugarcane stalks.

Most practices in Nigeria have involved burning of sugarcane straws in order to drive away snakes and potentially poisonous animals. This process leads to the total destruction of one-third of the energy content of sugarcane. It has also been discovered that vast majority of emissions come from burning the sugarcane field prior to harvesting.

Experts have estimated that straw can be burned alongside bagasse in high efficiency boilers to produce bioelectricity that could reach 11500MW (Heinimo, 2009).The bagasse which constitutes major waste product especially in the dry season has the potential power generation of the range 1000 to 9000MW depending on the technology used.

The juice forms a major source of both sugar and ethanol. Ethanol is now widely used to produce a biofuel called bioethanol. The overwhelming advantage of bioethanol for the environment is its potential to be carbon neutral on a lifecycle basis – meaning that the carbon dioxide (Co2) emitted during its use is offset by the absorption from the atmosphere during growth. This ensures reduction of air pollution and harmful emissions.

Compared to gasoline, sugarcane ethanol cuts greenhouse gases by at least 60%. Bioethanol has been employed successfully as fuel for vehicles in its pure form. It can also be used as gasoline additive to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions.

Success story of the use of bioethanol abound in countries like Brazil, the U. S and many other developed countries. Ethanol can reduce Nigeria’s dependence on fossil fuels. Sugarcane ethanol is one more option for diversifying energy supplies and improving energy security.

Nigeria has vast uncultivated lands in regions which suits perfectly the cultivation of sugarcane.  Some of the states where sugarcane can be cultivated successfully include Sokoto, Taraba, Niger, Kogi and most other Northern states.

The International Sugar Organization (ISO) has shown that it is possible to increase the amount of land under sugarcane meant for biofuel production in Nigeria and most other African countries without decreasing food production.

Bioelectricity would be particularly important in Nigeria because a large portion of the county’s electricity comes from hydro dams. The sugarcane harvesting period coincides with the dry season, so when hydroelectricity power stations sometimes have to reduce output because of low water levels in their reservoirs, sugarcane bioelectricity is most abundant.

Bioelectricity also has low environmental impact. Mechanized farming if employed to remove the straw can help to reduce air pollution. Setting up bioelectric plants will surely produce employment opportunities in parts of the country where these production plants are located. Inclusively, it will stem the high rate of rural to urban drift as well as contribute significantly to socio-economic development of the country.

The major problems that face the use of sugarcane as a source of energy are its usage for sugar production (which can pose a food versus energy dilemma), its seasonal nature and decrease in biodiversity. Other problems include the fact that sugarcane cultivation puts a high demand on the soil because of the use of heavy machineries. Trash and green harvesting overcomes many of these problems.

Policies should also be put up to balance off the cultivation of sugarcane and other food crops in order to discourage farmers from sacrificing food crops for biofuel which will increase food prices around the world.

Sugarcane cultivation can sustainably contribute to the supply of renewable energy but improved crop husbandry and precision farming are needful to sustain and improve the resource base on which production depends.

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United Nations Conference on Trade and Development