Sugarcane and Sugar Diversification: Opportunities for Small-Scale Entrepreneurship

Abstract

In recent times, entrepreneurship development is being seen as a promising alternative to traditional economic development, as it unlocks the potential of local people or industry to create jobs and cater to the needs of local tastes, markets and people and provides them with an opportunity to help themselves. In this regard, sugar industry offers ample of scope for rural and small-scale entrepreneurship due to the enormous magnitude of operations in rural area, nature of raw material, multiple co-products and duration of the crop. Apart from sugar, sugarcane is a wonderful source of fibre, fodder, fuel and many chemicals. Sugar, khandsari and jaggery are main products of sugarcane; however, tops, bagasse, molasses and press mud are by-products that are very important for agriculture-based industries. Sugarcane residue products are now becoming a valuable commodity around the world. This agricultural waste is a resource that is renewable and sustainable, making the research a positive example of waste to wealth. There is a huge market demand for sugarcane stalk (chewing, raw juice, worship purposes) and cane juice (jaggery, brown sugar, vinegar), etc. These products, in native or in processed form, offer a great scope of entrepreneurship for rural people, especially where sugarcane is grown on a large scale.