"This book chronicles the mainly government efforts at developing a viable sugar industry and the factors that militated against such efforts. Sections of the book also examine the performance of the global sugar/sweetener industry and the various benefits to be derived therefrom. For students, scientists and researchers, it provides insights into the sugar-cane plant: its geographical distribution, production techniques, processing technologies, as well as utilisation of its major by-products. Finally, given the fact that Nigeria still has an obvious comparative advantage for the production of cane and sugar, it provides a number of recommendations on what needs to be done for the country to become a notable player in the global sugar market."--BOOK JACKET.

This volume is intended for reference by the commercial sugar cane grower. Disciplines are covered for the successful production of a sugar cane crop. A number of good books exist on field practices related to the growing of sugar cane. Two examples are R.P. Humbert's The Growing of Sugar Cane and Alex G. Alexander's Sugarcane Physiology. Volumes of technical papers, produced regularly by the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, are also a source of reference. Perhaps foremost, local associations, such as the South African Sugar Technologists' Association, do excellent work in this regard. In my forty-five years of experience with the day-to-day problems of producing a satisfactory crop of sugar cane, deciding what should be done to produce such a crop was not straightforward. Although the literature dealing with specific subjects is extensive, I tried to consolidate some of the material to provide the man in the field with information, or an overview of the subject matter.