Value Addition Through Diversification of the Sugar Industry from Farm to Mill

The sugar industry is facing new global challenges from climate change, societal pressures and old foes of market price volatility that encourage the industry to diversify revenue through the creation of new value-added products. Industry diversification can be divided into a three-pronged strategy encompassing (1) crop diversification with new cash crops and farm management practices that reduce pesticide and fertilizer needs, (2) utilize microbial cell factories to produce value-added compounds, for example, squalene or rebaudioside from sugar and/or lignocelluosic sugars by fermentation and (3) conversion of sugarcane biomass and other by-products of the milling process into new products that either utilize the bagasse as a whole, i.e., biochar or fractionate bagasse into cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Lignin is of particular interest as it has the greatest diversity of valuable applications ranging from adhesives, foams, textiles and other industrial applications. The sugar industry is at a crossroads where it can redevelop itself to be resilient against future challenges through the diversification of its product offerings beyond the traditional products or continue with business as usual.