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'''Sugarcane''' (Saccharum officinarum) is a plant in the grass family ([[Gramineae]]) that is cultivated to produce table sugar (sucrose), molasses, rum, and ethanol. Historically, sugarcane was produced with slave labor. In modern times, it is still often linked to exploitative labor practices. For more information, see the article on [[Sugarcane Labor Practices]].Globally, sugarcane covered 23 million hectares as of 2007.<ref>Klaus Deininger and Derek Byerlee with Jonathan Lindsay, Andrew Norton, Harris Selod, and Mercedes Stickler, "Rising Global Interest in Farmland: Can It Yield Sustainable and Equitable Benefits?," [[World Bank]], September 7, 2010, pp. 12.</ref>
== Cultivation ==
One estimate, which is likely slightly out of date, found that 1450 million metric tons of sugarcane are grown annually on 22 million hectares world wide. At that time, Brazil and India together accounted for nearly 60% of the global production.<ref>[http://www.netafim.com/crop/sugarcane Sugarcane], Netafim, Accessed December 13, 2011.</ref>
=== Brazil ===
:"Brazil also developed an advanced sugarcane industry to produce sugar and ethanol, producing 20 percent of the world’s sugar and 34 percent of its ethanol in 2005 and accounting for 38 percent of world trade in sugar and 74 percent of world trade in ethanol. In addition to low production cost for sugarcane, the high concentration of sucrose in Brazilian varieties (14 percent) contributes to its competitiveness and has made it one of the lowest-cost global producers."<ref>Klaus Deininger and Derek Byerlee with Jonathan Lindsay, Andrew Norton, Harris Selod, and Mercedes Stickler, "Rising Global Interest in Farmland: Can It Yield Sustainable and Equitable Benefits?," [[World Bank]], September 7, 2010, p. 18.</ref>
:"Brazil is the largest world producer of sugarcane, followed by India, Thailand and Australia. The area planted in 2006/2007 was over 7 million hectares, representing an increase of 1,47 million hectares in comparison with 2004/2005 harvest. Over the last three harvest years, cane plantations occupied an area 26,3% larger; presently it occupies 10% of the total farmed areas. It is estimated that in 2015/2016, Brazil’s cane plantations will expand approximately 50%, reaching 12,2 million hectares."<ref>Sérgio Schlesinger, Lúcia Ortiz, Camila Moreno, Célio Berman, Wendell Ficher Teixeira Assis, "New roads to the same old place: the false solution of agrofuels]," Núcleo Amigos da Terra Brasil – NATFederação de Órgãos para Assistência Federação de Órgãos para Assistência Social e Educacional – FASE, Terra de Direitos, October 2008, p. 5.</ref>
For more information, see the article on [[Sugarcane Production in Brazil]].
==Resources and articles==
=== External Resources ===
* "[http://www.usaid.gov/locations/latin_america_caribbean/environment/docs/ag%26environ/Sugarcane.pdf Chapter 7: Sugarcane], " [[U.S. Agency for International Development]].
=== External Articles ===
