From Atiku Sarki, Abuja
The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has presented high-yielding seed cane to the Golden Sugar Company Ltd (GSC) located in Sunti, Niger state, ahead of the 2024 /2025 planting season.
This was contained in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday indicating that the presentation was made as part of efforts to empower sugar operators to step up production and support the implementation of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) II especially the attainment of self-sufficiency in sugar production.
The sugarcane variety which was requested by the GSC was presented to the company at the Nigeria Sugar Institute (NSI), Ilorin.
According to the statement, making the presentation of five hundred 500 stalks (2500 sugarcane sett) to the GSC on behalf of the Executive Secretary/CEO of the NSDC, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, the Director/Interim Coordinator of NSI, Dr. Abiodun Adeyemo, emphasised the significance of high performing sugar cane varieties.
He added that the Council is committed to boosting sugar cane production by offering valuable assistance to the sugar estates.
He reminded the gathering that the NSI was established as the training arm of the NSDC to provide technical support to sugar estates; conduct research and capacity development for staff of the sugar estates;
train and develop manpower for the sugar industry, and provide support for increased local sugar production through the supply of promising planting materials.
“The significance of high-performing sugarcane varieties cannot be overemphasised. They are characterised by: higher sugarcane yield, resistance to diseases and pests, lower production costs, and promote environmentally friendly practices, thereby transforming the landscape of the sugar industry.
“The Executive Secretary of NSDC at different meetings with key industry players and stakeholders, had consistently promised to support them with planting materials.
NSDC, through NSI, is committed to boosting sugarcane production by offering valuable assistance to the sugar estates. I am aware that NSI had donated some planting materials to Dangote Sugar Company in Numan before now.
“Today, in what appears to be the first practical demonstration of our commitment to support the Sugar Industries under the present leadership of NSDC/NSI, some seed canes will be donated to Golden Sugar Company, Sunti for multiplication. We have provided a promising sugarcane variety, R579. A total of 500 stalks have been carefully selected and packaged into about 2,500 sets These will be handed over to the company’s representatives shortly. This commitment to providing planting materials is a testament to our dedication to fostering strong partnerships within the sugar industry.
“This initiative demonstrates our zeal towards achieving the objectives of NSMP II and it is certainly one of the major solutions to addressing the challenges of low yield. I, therefore, encourage you to ensure that the best agronomic practices are strictly followed to complement the yield potential of this variety.
“We need to do all we can, to catalyse the process of yield improvement. Thus, the collection of this variety by GSC for evaluation in their environment will be of immense benefit to sugarcane crop improvement now and in the long term,” he said.
The Agric Manager at GSC, Mr. Herman Smith, appreciated the coordinator for the seed cane for multiplication from NSI germplasm.
The GSC Agronomy Manager, MMrM. Venkat said they had 120 varieties in their germplasm, but they didn’t have this particular variety in their field and that they discovered that this variety has a higher yield than most of the ones they have.
