For decades, Papalanto flourished in large sugarcane production, but today, this historic and significant activity is fading away. In this report, MICHAEL BABATUNDE captures threats to this age-long cultural practice.
How a sugarcane factory died prematurely
Despite being born and brought up in Abese, a popular sugarcane farming community in Papalanto, Funmilola Ayinde did not go into the business till about 10 years ago.
Now in her fifties, Ayinde recalled how her parents and others used to cultivate a large portion of land for sugarcane production, but none of her family members has a plantation as of today.
Ayinde told Sunday Tribune that a company came up in the area to process sugarcane but the company folded up due to the inability of the community to supply the required quantity for production.
“My mum used to sell sugarcane. I grew up in the business but I didn’t start till about 10 years ago. The sugarcane industry ought to have witnessed lots of advancement, one of which I could recall was a sugar factory, African Tiles, that was established in our village. They needed large supply of sugarcane but that demand could not be met at that time. That was how they packed up and converted the company to poultry.
“The company needed like 300 trucks but land cultivation had shrunk the sugarcane plantation and many off-takers were taking much of the harvest to Lagos. The company couldn’t proceed with operations, their equipment is still there in Abese,” she explained.
Speaking further, Ayinde buttressed what others told Sunday Tribune about the competition between natives and non-natives, adding that the native farmers have been drawn aback by the actions of non-indigenes.
She added that the farmers always go for the highest bidder and this has also affected availability in the area.
“There is a lot of competition. The people who buy to resell in Lagos usually make it difficult for us because what we want to buy for N2,000 from the farms, the non-indigenes may buy the same for N5,000. The farmer, who wants to make as much profit as possible so, he’ll sell to the middlemen.”
Ayinde concluded that though there is still a considerably larger cultivation in Abese, Sopade and other communities, the sugarcane production activities they grew up to know have dwindled.
Though the USDA FAS office in Lagos forecasts Nigeria’s ending stocks to be at 100,000 MT, it says the volume will remain unchanged because the Nigerian government’s sugar policies have not yet led to production increases that can increase stock levels.
Meanwhile, traders in Papalanto have collectively resolved not to give up sugarcane agriculture. They said though sugarcane farming may be endangered in the area, they will keep doing what they do to earn a living on the one hand and preserve the culture on the other hand.
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