The demand-supply gap of major
industrial crops in Nigeria and most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa is largely
met by importation (Wada et al. 2006; GAIN 2008). This is because most of the
vital inputs in production such as planting material, fertilizer, herbicides
and irrigation facilities are not always within the reach of the farmers
(Wayagari et al. 2003), thus, crippling the return on investment and
discouraging the farmers from continued production of these crops.
This has
contributed significantly to the poverty state of the nation judging from the
fact that Nigeria is an agrarian economy and agricultural development is a sine
qua non to economic growth. One of such industrial crops is sugarcane.
Considering the shortfall in sugarcane production in Nigeria, the government has set up and mandated research institutes and agencies such as the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) and Nigeria Cereal Research Institute (NCRI)to facilitate increase in sugarcane production and utilization. The Millennium
Village Commission in Jigawa State is a fall out from this initiative. However,
many if not all the established institutes have not met the set out objectives
(Olofintoye 2002; Babalola et al. 2009).