In Sokoto, sugar production stiffles demand for mazarkwaila

Mazarkwaila, which is a sweetener locally made from sugarcane, is very popular among Hausa communities in northern Nigeria. It has been in existence long before the advent of the white crystalline substance we call sugar. Mazarkwaila is available only where sugarcane is produced; hence its association with sugarcane producers. The coming of sugar in the […]

Mazarkwaila, which is a sweetener locally made from sugarcane, is very popular among Hausa communities in northern Nigeria. It has been in existence long before the advent of the white crystalline substance we call sugar.
Mazarkwaila is available only where sugarcane is produced; hence its association with sugarcane producers.
The coming of sugar in the market is noted to have relegated mazarkwaila’s popularity to the background.
Sugar has dwarfed the popularity of this local sugarcane product and restricted its consumption to rural dwellers.
The mass consumption of sugarcane itself, which demand keeps soaring, also puts many mazarkwaila producers out of business. Majority of sugarcane farmers now supply their produce to marketers instead of mazarkwaila producers.
However, the coming of sugar notwithstanding, some communities such as Binjin-Muza, Kibiyare and Muza in Yabo Local Government Area of Sokoto State still produce mazarkwaila in commercial quantities.
At Kibiyare village, the people disclosed that in order not to waste sugarcane, and in the absence of a standard sugar factory, they went into mazarkwaila production.
Some people who do not use sugar prefer mazarkwaila, which they believe is healthier.
They use mazarkwaila as sweetener for taking such food as pap and fura da nono.
The process of making mazarkwaila starts with getting a quantity of very good sugarcane, a healthy horse, engine for squeezing the liquid extract of the sugarcane, drums for boiling the extract, firewood, a team of helping hands, clay pot for mixing the liquid extract and containers for condensing the liquid into desired shapes and sizes.
Makers of this sweetener use a horse tied to a sugarcane squeezing machine, which extracts liquid from the squeezed sugarcane. Sugarcane stalk are loaded into the machine which squeezes the liquid into a container.
When the liquid reaches the desired level, it is transferred into an empty drum and placed on a fire to boil until it condenses to a desired level and transferred to a clay pot to cool.
The substance will continue to be stirred until it solidifies into shapes and sizes to suit consumers’ demands.
The mazarkwaila producers disclosed that the machines they use, which are powered by horses, are sold in Zaria, Kaduna State. It is observed that the horses used in the local sweetener production get so overworked that when they are taken to the market to sell, they hardly fetch the owner an appreciable money.
A mazarkwaila producer, Abdullahi Tara, 50, of Binjin Muza, who has spent 15 years in the business, recalled that it was popular and lucrative until sugarcane came into the market, thereby taking over the place of mazarkwaila in sweetening demands.

The mass consumption of sugarcane also denies mazarkwaila producers the amount of sugar cane needed for large quantity production.
“Nowadays, sugarcane farmers take their products to the market where they fetch quick and large amount of money, unlike before when they waited for us to pay for the whole farm produce to make mazarkwaila,” he stated.
“Here in Binjin Muza, we were about 50 who owned mazarkwaila making machines. We used to be very busy with over 40 horses squeezing sugarcane juice at a time. It also created employment for our youths and school dropouts,” he added.
He, however, lamented that the number of producers have been reduced to about four people in the whole village.
On the availability of the facilities they use, he said: “We have to go to Zaria to purchase the machine, it is not available in Sokoto. Initially; it cost just N5,000, but it is now N50,000.”
Another producer, Aliyu Musa, 45, noted: “At the peak of mazarkwaila business years ago, we supplied people from Bayawa, Augie and Bachaka in Kebbi State, as well as Bodinga, Gande, Sokoto town and Yabo in Sokoto State. They bought from us in large quantities and stored for a long period of time since it hardly goes bad.
“During that period, camels and donkeys were the only means of transportation; that was why our market was limited to Kebbi and Sokoto states.”
He said mazarkwaila was transported in wooden crates to avoid damage.
Musa also attributed poor marketing of the product to the availability of sugar in the market.
He stated their challenges to include lack of adequate funds to make bulk purchase of sugarcane for making mazarkwaila.
“Sugarcane farmers now prefer to sell the produce directly to the marketers and consumers as they get their money promptly. Mazarkwaila producers don’t grow sugarcane, they buy from the farmers. Hitherto, we bought the whole farm of sugarcane, but now, it is not so,” he lamented.
On the work involved in mazarkwaila production, he explained: “We hire youths, in addition to the conventional seven people who make up a team of mazarkwaila producing group. The seven people include the chief supervisor, the firewood collectors, the machine controller, the horse controller and the boiling and filtering boys. It involves team work, and each of us has an important role to play.”
He said before the advent of the granulated sugar, people used mazarkwaila very well to drink pap, fura da nono or to sweeten other drinks and foods.
“The commodity fetched us good income during the high demand period. We were all living far from poverty. With N50,000 to N70,000 worth of sugarcane, we produced as much as N1million worth of mazarkwaila.
“From this we paid for the labour and fend for our families and meet other financial needs,” Musa said.
On the amount of sugarcane that goes into production of mazarkwaila, he said it was not easy to quantify because some sugarcanes were big while others were small and with little juice.
“The big ones produce a large quantity of liquid for higher production while the little ones only give small quantities of mazarkwaila,” he noted.
“As the demand for mazarkwaila is fizzling out, making us to cut production, things are no longer easy for us. The demand is no longer high,” he lamented.
However, despite the downward trend in the business, many still rely on it as their source of livelihood.
“We are still in the business as we still have people who would not go for sugar but mazarkwaila, especially in the rural areas,” one of the local sweetener producers said.
A mazarkwaila consumer, Malam Yusuf Adamu said, “Our parents were afraid of consuming sugar for the many disadvantages it is believed to have on a person’s health, so they resorted to using mazarkwaila.
“No matter how much sugar is available, I don’t think I can use it for any reason when mazarkwaila is available. People living in the rural areas cherish mazarkwaila more than sugar.”