Buhari to commission N50bn Sunti Golden sugar in Niger

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari is to commission the Sunti Golden Sugar Estate in Niger State on Thursday 15th, March 2018.

This was contained in a statement issued to the Nigerian Tribune and signed by the Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Head of Corporate Communications, Samuel Iboroma on Tuesday.

The statement disclosed that FMN Group is a market leader in food and agro-allied products in Nigeria, today announced that its biggest agricultural investment in Nigeria to date – The Sunti Golden Sugar Estate will be commissioned on the 15th of March 2018 by Muhammadu Buhari, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

‘Located on the banks of River Niger, in Mokwa, Niger state, the Sunti Golden Sugar Estate is owned by Sunti Golden Sugar Estates (SGSE) Ltd. a subsidiary of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc.

According to the statement, “The sugar estate features 17, 000 hectares of irrigable farmland and a Sugar mill that process 4,500 metric tons of sugarcane per day.

“At full capacity, the estate is expected to produce 1 Million tons of Sugarcane which roughly translates into 100,000 metric tons of sugar yearly.

“Enclosed within a 35-kilometre dyke, the production facility area is 15,100 hectares, with a cane area that features a maximum output of 10, 000 hectares.

“The dyke provides flood protection from the River Niger. Over N1 billion was invested in the state-of-the-art irrigation system that will ensure the efficient cultivation of sugar cane, with infrastructure that includes drain pumps, pump stations, and a power grid.

“The estate is the purest representation of the Federal Government’s Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) with an ambitious Backward integration program that intends to set Nigeria on the path to self-sufficient sugar production.

“The farm at peak production will provide direct employment for about 10,000 people yearly, and impact up to 50,000 people indirectly, including 3,000 small-scale out growers who will be cultivating sugarcane to feed the mill.

“The estate has brought infrastructure benefits to the surrounding community, with 28 communities in a total taking advantage of a new 30-kilometre road, plus expansive road networks that provide a variety of access routes to the homes of the indigenes. Drains, culverts, and flood-protection walls have also been constructed.

The project illustrates the desire to reduce sugar importation, save billions in foreign exchange, boost local capacity, and reduce unemployment by putting thousands of Nigerians to work.

The FMN Group’s mantra, “Feeding the Nation, every day,” is at the heart of the company’s strategic decisions on what they produce, how and where factories are set up, the level of care that is put into products, and how they interact with host communities and the wider environment.

The commissioning of the Sunti Golden Sugar Estate on March 15th will be the first step towards a collective dream of agricultural progress for all in Nigeria, the statement concluded.