Sugarcane Field Productivity in Sudan:
The Need for Human Resource Development
El Bashir Ali Hammad ӿ
Cane sugar production worldwide and in Sudan was briefly reviewed and productivity of sugarcane fields in Sudan was compared to that of neighboring and leading African sugarcane producers. It was found that field productivity in Sudan was lower than that in neighboring countries.
Human resource development seemed a determining factor for better and competitive field productivity for the Sudanese sugar sector.
1. Introduction
The sugar business is widely regarded as an ideal means of developing primarily rural economies as it combines an agricultural activity with an industrial one. Sugarcane growing has significant benefits for employment, while the processing of the cane and the crystallization of the juice foster the understanding of basic and advanced mechanics and chemistry. Of course, the establishment of a successful sugar sector is not a prerequisite for a nation to become a competitive industrialized country, but there are numerous examples which show that this industry is a useful springboard for mastering the transition of a predominantly rural economy to an industrial one (International Sugar & Sweetener Report, August, 2007)
This article is intended to:
Ø Briefly review sugarcane production around the world and in Sudan
Ø Discuss canefield productivity in Sudan
Ø Propose qualifying programs to improve performance in the canefields of the sugar sector in Sudan
2. Sugarcane Worldwide
Sugarcane growing countries of the world are extending from tropical to subtropical zones (between the latitude 36.7° north and 31.0° south of the equator). Worldwide sugarcane occupies an area of around 20 million ha with a total production of around 1333 million metric tons. Sugarcane area and productivity differ widely from country to country. Brazil has the highest area (5.767 million ha), while Peru has the highest productivity (122.41 tons/ha). South Africa is the largest African producer (2.46 mln tones) and its biggest exporter to the world market (1.17 mln tones) and Mauritius is the largest supplier of sugar to the EU followed by Swaziland.(International Sugar & Sweetener Report: August 2007 and Feb. 2008). Field productivity for some African countries is shown in the table below.
Canefield Productivity
For Some African Countries
Country
Productivity
( Tons/ ha)
Burkina Faso
100
Chad
100.2
Egypt
121
Ethiopia
106.5
Kenya
86
Malawi
105
Mauritius
72.2
Senegal
106.3
South Africa
69.7
Sudan
84.6
Swaziland
93.8
Tanzania
117.6
Zambia
105.9
3. Sugar Industry in Sudan
Sugar industry in Sudan started in the sixties and reached its present size (Five sugar factories) in early eighties of the last century. A new project (White Nile Sugar Project) is planned to start production during the season 2011/2012. Design capacity of the factory is 450 metric tons of raw sugar. According to the International Sugar and Sweetener Report (January, 2008) Sudan has great plans for its sugar industry. The production target for 2015 has been set at 10 mln tons with capacity to go up to 20 mln at a later stage. Numerous projects are to achieve this aim, among them: Blue Nile, Elramash, Melut, Elgazira, Balla and North Sugar companies.
Cane field productivity under Sudan conditions for Kenana Sugar Company (KSC) and the Sudanese Sugar Company (SSC), for the last 30 years is shown in Fig. (1).
Fig (1) Canefield Productivity in Sudan
In comparison with African countries, productivity in Sudan was lower than that of some directly neighboring countries like Egypt at the North, Ethiopia at the East, Kenya at the South and Chad at the West. The difference could hardly be attributed to cane growing conditions or shortages in essential production resources. In addition to that, refined Sudanese sugar is sold in the local market at higher prices than that imported from distant countries like Brazil. As productivity and production costs, under specified conditions, are mainly governed by the adopted cultural practices and technology, two questions readily arise from this situation:
1. Are we adopting the right cane production technology for our conditions?
2. Are we using the adopted technology in the way that increases productivity and decreases costs?
Land preparation for plant cane is still adopting the expensive clean tillage practices that prevailed more than thirty years ago while world trend for the last two decades has been towards conservation tillage. Tractor power for heavy operations increased for one reason or another from about 300 hp to 435. Heavy tillage degrades the soil and high tractor power increases production cost. It is not unusual according to Deer & Company (1999) to find that the difference of profit from one farm to another is due solely to differences in machinery and the way it is managed. Hammad (1996) advocated that adoption of suitable practices under Kenana conditions could increase income by more than US $3,100,000. The need for reconsidering the presently adopted cultural practices for soil conservation purposes was suggested by Hammad and Dawelbeit (2001).
Moving to the second question about proper utilization of adopted technology, it should be stated here that recently, a number of mechanical planting systems that cost millions of dollars are introduced to the cane fields in Sudan. Each system needs synchronized operation of:
1. a cane harvester to harvest the seed cane,
2. a truck/loader to perform a dual function of transporting and loading of seed cane to a planter,
3. a planter and,
4. a high power tractor to pull the planter
The estimated value of items 2, 3 and 4 is around US $ 388,000 (The first item is considered common between traditional and new planting systems).The new planter, Fig. (2) was designed to perform the following five operations:
Ø Opening of furrows for cane planting
Ø Band application of a fertilizer
Ø Placement of cane setts in the furrows
Ø Covering of cane setts with soil
Ø Application of an agrochemical
Fig. (2) A newly Introduced Planter to Canefields in Sudan
Fig. (3) Cane Setts as placed by planter (left) and manually (right)
In the light of above illustrative examples for adopted field practices and technology it could be seen that the two basic questions conclusively relate to the human resource element that is involved in selection, management and operation of the machinery system. The two questions could therefore be rephrased in one question that takes the matter to its roots:
Do the educational systems and local labor market provide a flow of competent human resource to the sugar sector in a manner that helps the sector to competently manage cane production operations and technology?
Looking back to the period from late seventies to early eighties which was the time that witnessed expansion of the sugar industry to its present size, we find, especially in Kenana, that expatriates from different countries were employed to manage, operate and maintain almost all operations related to cane and sugar production. That included employing expatriates even for normal tasks like welding jobs, repair works and servicing of vehicles. During that period many engineers, agriculturists and technicians were sent abroad to sugar technology institutes or attached to foreign sugar industries and related firms to gain the knowledge and skill that helped them work in this field and take over responsibilities from the expatriates.
Unfortunately, the national educational institutes were not then appropriately involved to provide a planned flow of qualified staff that meets the requirements of the sugar sector. As time passed, qualified and trained national staff became rare, contact with foreign experience decreased, productivity limits of the adopted technology were probably reached and as a consequence productivity of cane fields stagnated and eventually started to decrease. Now, if the situation is not correctly and immediately addressed, rapid collapse of the sugar industry would hardly be avoidable. It is probably always helpful in business planning and management to remember that the competitive edge in today’s world is the human resource.
5. A Human Resource Development Plan
Development of indigenous technologies need sound knowledge, skill and experience and that could only be gained through appropriate education, practice and technical training. The fundamental part of this process is the provision of appropriate education. It is therefore crucial now to develop a flow of qualified and competent human resource, through well organized programs, into the sugar sector. As the process is actually a national investment it needs real involvement and serious commitment of all stake holders in relevant governmental bodies, educational institutes and the sugar sector. .
University of Al Neelain, for example, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and the Sugar Sector, could work out plans for suitable qualifying and training courses to address short and long term needs of a wide spectrum of the human resource involved in cane production. This is perceived to include:
Ø short training programs for operation and maintenance technicians,
Ø Diploma courses for field supervisors and
Ø M.Sc programs for field and machinery managers.
Long term educational policy could include comprehensive sugarcane agronomy courses in B.SC levels.
The plan should continue in an interactive manner between all concerned partners until a smooth flow of adequately qualified human resource to the industry is achieved and maintained.
7. Conclusion
Productivity of sugarcane fields in Sudan was lower than that in directly neighboring countries and recently a declining trend started to appear. Development of a human resource element for cane production seemed to be a crucial factor for better future performance. Educational institutes and stake holders in governmental bodies and the sugar sector are to join efforts to provide the required qualifying and training courses.
Acknowledgement
The author finds deep pleasure to acknowledge the assistance of the engineers and agriculturists from the sugar sector for the provision of information used in this article. Special thanks should be expressed to the Sugar Research Director, Dr. Ahmed Obied, for reviewing the manuscript.
References
Deer & Company, (1999). Machinery Management: How to Select Machinery to Fit Real Needs of Farm Managers. Fifth edition, Deer & Company Service Publications, I llinois, USA.
Hammad, E.A and Dawelbeit, M.I. (2001). Effect of Tillage and Field Condition on Soil Physical Properties, Cane and Sugar Yields in Vertisols of Kenana Sugar Estate, Sudan. Soil &Tillage Research, 62, 101 – 109
Hammad, E. A. (1996). Tillage for Sugarcane in Sudan (With special reference to Kenana Fields), Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Khartoum, Sudan
International Sugar & Sweeter Report (February, 2008), Vol. 140, No. 5
F.O. Licht, 80 Calverly Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 UK
International Sugar & Sweeter Report (January, 2008) Vol. 140, No. 4
F.O. Licht, 80 Calverly Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 UK
International Sugar & Sweeter Report (August, 2007), Vol. 6 No. 13
F.O. Licht, 80 Calverly Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 UK
ӿ
Dr. Elbashir Ali Hammad,
Department of Agricultural Engineering,
Faculty of Agricultural Technology & Fish Sciences
University of Al Neelain.
مواضيع مشابهة:
معدل إنتاج قصبِ سكر في السودان "ومشاكل الزراعة الالية لقصب السكر فى مصنع سكر كنانة" د.البشير على حما
اقتباس