The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has disclosed that the Council would facilitate investment into the Nigerian sugar sector worth $5 billion in 2025.
Speaking while delivering a keynote address at a retreat organised by the Council for members of the Federal House of Representatives Committee on Industry in Calabar, River State, the Executive Secretary of NSDC, Mr Kamar Bakrin, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to the country to attend self-sufficiency in sugar production.
He shared the Council’s comprehensive plan for accelerated sugar project development in 2025 with the House of Representatives members.
Bakrin said before the 2025 plans and the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) II can be achieved, certain loopholes in the establishment law must be addressed.
“Our focus in 2024 has been on resetting the agenda and realigning the industry to the high expectations of Nigerians. For us, 2025 is the year of acceleration. This is not a choice but a must, given our macroeconomic realities and the tremendous benefits we know are possible from the cultivation and processing of sugarcane.
“Our key priorities for 2025 are to (i) accelerate the pace of project development; (ii) facilitate investment of $5 billion into the sector; (iii) ensure our priority greenfield projects are ready for investment; and (iv) strengthen NSDC’s capacity to develop the sector.
“We have set out the initiatives to be executed in 2025 that will drive the realisation of these objectives. One of these key initiatives is the amendment of the NSDC Act to address loopholes created by conflicting policies and codify its market protection provisions.
“This is a key requirement that emerges in all our conversations with our current and potential investors and financiers. As usual, we shall be counting on the House Committee for your guidance and support in making this happen in 2025.
“Since my resumption in office, we have sought to address the fundamental issues that held back investment in the sector, such as: How can sugar production become viable in Nigeria? How do we extract all the benefits of sugarcane processing? How do we better align the NSMP’s incentives to performance? How do we reposition NSDC as a world-class development agency and not just a regulator?
“Working with our investors and stakeholders, we have reimagined NSMP II. The objectives of NSMP II are now threefold: to attain self-sufficiency in sugar production; develop a globally competitive sector and become the cost leader in Africa; and develop an inclusive and sustainable sugar sector.
“These objectives shall be fulfilled using seven pillars that reflect the key changes that must be made – (i) Ensure sugarcane farming for the Backward Integration Programme is only carried out on suitable land; (ii) Partner with investors that are adequately motivated and possess the financial resources to execute and pedigree to attract funding into their projects; (ii) Attract the right mix of capital suitable for a capital-intensive, long-gestation business such as sugar; (iv) Provide directly relevant research, development and continuous improvement; (v) Improve the viability of sugar production by ensuring a diversified and optimal product mix; (vi) Deploy resources towards interventions that de-risk and enable investment-readiness of projects in the sugar sector; and (vii) Ensure the sector’s growth also results in the development of host communities and the adoption of sustainable farming and factory practices
He explained that, “we have also commenced several programmes to strengthen our capabilities in NSDC and NSI. We are strengthening NSDC’s technical and managerial capabilities and transforming our research and development capacity in NSI.
“As a result of the implementation of NSMP I, the sugar industry has been a key contributor to Nigeria’s economic growth and a catalyst for the development of the host communities in which they are established.
“Total installed capacity of Nigeria’s sugar refineries has risen to 3 million metric tonnes, creating self-sufficiency in the production of refined sugar, securing a steady supply of refined sugar for the domestic market, and creating capacity in readiness for the market access opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).
“BIP projects under the NSMP have attracted $1bn worth of investments from its major investors. These investors have created over 15,000 permanent and seasonal jobs, acquired over 180,000 hectares, placed 13,000 hectares under cane, and established cane processing factories with a total capacity of 18,000 TCD in five active project sites.
“Establishment of an Outgrowers Scheme that engages 535 farmers and pays over N1 billion per annum. The BIP Projects have also established numerous impactful corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in their host communities, covering schools, hospitals, grants, palliatives, infrastructure, and even support for farming other crops.”
The Executive Secretary stated that investments have also been made in greenfield sugar projects by investors who are not beneficiaries of the NSMP’s fiscal incentives. “These include the Great Northern Agribusiness Limited (GNAL) Project in Gagarawa, Jigawa State, to establish a 5,000 TCD sugar plant; the Contec Global Project in Isanlu Esa, Kogi State; the Gummi Sugar Project in Zamfara State; the Sean-Zara Sugar Project in Kwara State; the Crystal Sugar Project in Jigawa State; and two mini-sugar projects: Oyo Sugar Processors Ltd., Iseyin, Oyo State; and the Goronyo Sugar Project in Goronyo, Sokoto State.”
Also speaking at the retreat themed “Creating Synergy for Nigeria’s Sugar Industry Development,” the Committee Chairman, Hon. Dolapo Enitan Badru, expressed the commitment of the Committee to the institutional steps that must be taken to achieve the Council’s 2025 sugar project development plan.
The Committee Chairman stated that properly codifying the NSMP into law is required to improve investor confidence and address the lacuna in the existing law that enables some operators to get away with not contributing to the realisation of the vision for the sugar industry, adding that all the loopholes will be addressed in the proposed amendment of the NSDC Act.
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