The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has said Nigeria can significantly reduce its over $1 billion annual sugar import bill through sustained investment in local sugar production and stronger institutional collaboration.
Kamar Bakrin, executive secretary and chief executive officer of the NSDC, stated this during a meeting between the Council and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the Customs Headquarters in Abuja. This was disclosed in a statement signed by the council.
Bakrin said the successful implementation of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan II (NSMP II) would not only reduce dependence on imported sugar but also create jobs, improve rural livelihoods, strengthen national security and boost industrialisation.
According to him, a fully developed sugar industry has the potential to create about 250,000 direct jobs and an additional 750,000 indirect jobs across the value chain, mainly in rural communities across 12 states.
“If Nigeria succeeds in developing a proper sugar sector, one of the things we would do is convert an annual outflow of over one billion dollars into jobs, security and industrialisation,” he said.
He explained that the sector offers opportunities beyond sugar production, including energy generation, infrastructure development and rural industrialisation.
Bakrin noted that modern sugar estates are designed to generate their own electricity independently of the national grid while supplying excess energy for public use.
“A sugar estate provides its own power; it does not rely on the national grid. As a matter of fact, it contributes to the national grid. A sugar estate consumes only about 50 percent of the energy it produces, while the rest can be injected into the national grid.
“And we are talking about 400 megawatts. That is enough to power at least a small modern city or community,” he stated.
The NSDC boss also linked sugar sector development to improved national security, saying large-scale sugar projects would provide employment opportunities for youths and reduce vulnerability to criminal activities and unrest.
“When you have sugar projects, you don’t have unrest or any security challenge because you create so many jobs for the youths,” he added.
Bakrin described the Nigeria Customs Service as a critical partner in the implementation of the sugar master plan, especially in the areas of quota administration, import regulation, fiscal incentives and anti-smuggling enforcement.
He said investors willing to commit billions of dollars into sugar projects require confidence that approved government policies and incentives would be transparently and consistently enforced.
The NSDC Executive Secretary disclosed that Nigeria has over one million hectares of tested and suitable land for sugar cultivation, noting that only about 200,000 hectares would be required for the country to achieve sugar self-sufficiency.
Responding, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, the Comptroller-General of Customs, assured the Council of the Service’s commitment to supporting the sugar sector transformation agenda.
Adeniyi described the projected energy contribution of the industry as a major economic opportunity for the country.
“The potential for job creation, security, rural development and the added value in terms of energy that we can use speaks directly to Nigeria’s economic priorities,” he said.
He also pledged stronger collaboration with the NSDC in intelligence sharing, data transparency, quota enforcement and anti-smuggling operations to ensure the successful implementation of the NSMP II.
Both institutions reaffirmed their commitment to work together in five critical areas, including market stability, import monitoring, quota implementation, fiscal incentives enforcement and the fight against sugar smuggling.
They also agreed to establish a joint intelligence and enforcement team to tackle illicit sugar imports and support sustainable investments in the sector.
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