The National Sugar Development Council, NSDC, says it is targeting sugar self-sufficiency through a $1 billion investment partnership and a N10 billion Sugar Project Acceleration Fund.
The Executive Secretary of the council, Mr Kamar Bakrin, said the initiatives were part of efforts to reposition Nigeria’s sugar industry and achieve the production of about two million tonnes of sugar annually under the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan 2.0.
Bakrin disclosed this when he received the Abuja Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Directors, CIoD, on a courtesy visit in Abuja, saying Nigeria currently consumed about 1.8 million tonnes of sugar annually and spent about $1 billion on imports to meet domestic demand.
He said the council was strengthening the Backward Integration Programme to ensure that companies receiving import quotas demonstrated genuine commitments to local sugar production.
According to him, the NSDC will deploy satellite imagery and field inspections to independently verify production activities by participating companies.
Bakrin said the N10 billion Sugar Project Acceleration Fund, established in partnership with the Bank of Industry, would support feasibility studies and project preparation for sugar projects.
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“The initiative will create a pipeline of bankable projects capable of accessing the $1 billion Engineering, Procurement and Construction-plus-finance agreement with SINOMACH of China,” he said.
He added that the council was engaging the African Export-Import Bank and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to accelerate the development of sugar estates across the country.
Bakrin said sugarcane had the potential to produce sugar, ethanol, animal feed and electricity, making it an important component of Nigeria’s bio-industrial development. “We have been blessed with a crop that is one of the most generous God has ever made,” he said.
The NSDC boss said the council would also prioritize farmers and host communities through the Sugarcane Outgrower Development Programme.
He said the programme would require sugar estates to reserve land for outgrowers and invest in the development of host communities.
Bakrin urged the CIoD to support efforts to strengthen corporate governance across sugar estates, mills and outgrower companies.
Earlier, the leader of the CIoD Abuja Chapter, Mrs Fatima Mede, commended the reforms being undertaken by the NSDC and pledged the institute’s collaboration in developing the sugar industry.
