NSDC set for $1bn sugar import substitution, to increase landmark by over 80,000Ha

The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has set 2025 targets to cartelise investment into the sugar industry and eliminate over $1 billion in sugar importation into the country.

The council also aims to increase the land bank by a minimum of 80,000Ha of suitable land for the development of sugar estates for easy access to investors.

By curbing sugar imports, Nigeria can conserve foreign reserves, which are critical for other essential imports and national financial stability.

This revelation was made by Mr Kamar Bakrin, the Executive Secretary and CEO of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC). Bakrin highlighted the urgent need for the country to reduce its dependence on imported sugar and pivot towards strengthening domestic production.

“The landmark is simply creating a pool of land that can be readily accessible for cultivating sugarcane. Not kind of a deposit. It simply means an administration of land across the sugar-growing sites of the country,” he clarified.

According to him, it is not going to be in the name of the council. But it’s just that the land is accessible, and then interested operators, can access it, process the C of O and take possession, prepare the land and establish the state government’s role in terms of the state’s collaboration.

Again, with this “I am giving due credit to my predecessors, who have created very solid relationships with the state, especially by establishing the forum of sugar-producing states,” Bakrin emphasised.

The NSDC also aims for 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.”

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