NSDC mobilises $1bn investment pipeline for sugar self-sufficiency

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The National Sugar Development Council has said it is mobilising a $1bn investment pipeline to accelerate Nigeria’s drive towards sugar self-sufficiency.

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The council said the initiative was anchored on a $1bn engineering, procurement and construction-plus-finance partnership with SINOMACH of China and a N10bn Sugar Project Acceleration Fund established with the Bank of Industry.

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The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the NSDC, Kamar Bakrin, disclosed this when he received members of the Abuja chapter of the Chartered Institute of Directors on a courtesy visit to the council’s headquarters in Abuja on Thursday.

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NSDC, in a statement on Sunday, said Nigeria consumes about 1.8 million metric tonnes of sugar annually, with an estimated $1bn flowing each year to foreign producers.

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Bakrin said the council viewed the situation as an opportunity to retain more value within the Nigerian economy through jobs, rural incomes, foreign exchange savings and increased industrial capacity.

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“We don’t lack policy. What we have struggled with is world-class execution,” Bakrin said, adding that the challenge was more about governance than farming.

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The NSDC boss described the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan 2.0 as an “acceleration mandate” aimed at shortening Nigeria’s path to self-sufficiency and producing about two million metric tonnes of sugar locally.

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He said the council’s plan extended beyond sugar production, with sugarcane capable of supporting the production of ethanol, animal feed and electricity.

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“We have been blessed with a crop that is one of the most generous God has ever made. From sugarcane you can get sugar, you can get ethanol, you can get animal feed, you can produce power. Our job is to build a bio-industrial ecosystem around it — this is not just about producing a commodity,” he said.

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On enforcement, Bakrin said the Backward Integration Programme had been rebuilt around four principles: “qualify, reward, verify and enforce.”

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He said companies seeking import quotas would be required to demonstrate genuine commitment to backward integration, while major refiners would provide audited production commitments tied to their quotas.

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According to him, the council is also deploying satellite imagery and field inspections to independently verify activities at sugar production sites.

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The statement quoted Bakrin as saying, “The Council’s diagnosis of the sector’s financing challenge is that capital is available — what has been missing is a pipeline of bankable projects capable of absorbing it. The Council’s response is to industrialise project preparation itself.”

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“The ₦10 billion Sugar Project Acceleration Fund, established with the Bank of Industry, will finance feasibility studies and project preparation, converting greenfield sites into investment-ready packages.

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“These packages will in turn feed the $1 billion EPC-plus-finance agreement signed with SINOMACH of China, which provides a ready channel for construction and financing once projects are prepared.

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“The Council is complementing this with structured engagement with Afreximbank and a partnership with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to fast-track the development of sugar estates across the country,” the statement added.

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On smallholder farmers, Bakrin said the Sugarcane Outgrower Development Programme was designed to make farmers co-owners of the sector’s growth.

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He said every sugar estate under the NSMP 2.0 would be required to reserve land for outgrowers and invest part of its capital in host communities through social and physical infrastructure and employment.

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Drawing lessons from Brazil and other sugar-producing countries, Bakrin said institutional development was critical to achieving sustained productivity.

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He invited the Chartered Institute of Directors to contribute to the development of the sector by strengthening board governance across sugar estates, mills and outgrower companies.

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Earlier, the leader of the CIoD delegation, Fatima Mede, commended the council’s leadership on reforms in the sugar industry and its drive towards self-sufficiency.

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She said the institute was ready to collaborate with the council in areas of mutual interest to support the development of the sector.

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