Nigeria : Sugar investments can reduce unemployment, insecurity — NSDC
National Sugar Development Council said developing Nigeria’s sugar industry could create one million jobs, strengthen rural economies, improve energy generation, and reduce over $1 billion in annual sugar imports. Authorities also pledged stronger cooperation on quotas, anti-smuggling enforcement, and investment support under the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan II.
The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the National Sugar Development Council, Kamar Bakrin, has said a fully developed sugar industry could help tackle unemployment, insecurity, and rural underdevelopment in Nigeria through large-scale job creation and industrial investments.
Bakrin stated this during a strategic meeting between the NSDC and the Nigeria Customs Service at the Customs Headquarters in Abuja, according to a statement from the NSDC on Sunday.
Addressing the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, and senior officials of the Service, Bakrin said the sugar sector could transform annual import spending into investments that generate jobs, improve security, and support industrialisation.
He said, “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.
“The sector can create 250,000 direct jobs and an additional 750,000 indirect jobs across its value chain, primarily across about 12 states. The beauty of it is that these are rural jobs, not city jobs.”
Bakrin linked the development of sugar estates to improved national security, noting that the projects could absorb large numbers of unemployed youths who might otherwise become vulnerable to criminal activities and social 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 stated.
He added that modern sugar estates are designed to generate electricity independently of the national grid while contributing excess power to the country’s energy supply.
“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,” Bakrin stated.
“And we are talking about 400 megawatts. That is enough to power at least a small modern city or community,” he added.
According to him, the sugar sector presents opportunities beyond sugar production, including rural industrialisation, energy security, infrastructure development, and economic diversification.
Bakrin described the Nigeria Customs Service as the most critical enforcement institution for the success of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan, particularly in the areas of quota administration, import regulation, fiscal incentives, and anti-smuggling enforcement.
He noted that the Federal Government was seeking to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on sugar imports by encouraging large-scale investments in domestic production through predictable policies and stronger institutional collaboration.
The NSDC Executive Secretary said the successful implementation of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan II would convert over one billion dollars currently spent annually on sugar imports into domestic investments capable of creating jobs, developing rural communities, and strengthening Nigeria’s industrial base.
He further disclosed that Nigeria possesses over one million hectares of tested and suitable land for sugar cultivation, while only about 200,000 hectares would be required for the country to attain sugar self-sufficiency.
Bakrin said investors considering committing billions of dollars to sugar projects required confidence that approved policies and incentives would be transparently and consistently enforced.
Responding, Adeniyi said the Customs Service fully supports the sugar sector transformation agenda, describing the projected energy contribution of the industry as a major economic opportunity.
“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,” Adeniyi stated.
He assured the NSDC of Customs’ readiness to strengthen intelligence sharing, data transparency, quota enforcement, and operational collaboration to ensure the effective implementation of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan II.
The two institutions reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate in five key areas aimed at resolving longstanding bottlenecks affecting the sustainability of sugar estates and attracting investments into the sector.
These areas include market stability, information on imports and importers, implementation of quota allocation, implementation of sugar incentives, and tackling smuggling.
According to Bakrin, the measures would support the continued implementation of approved fiscal incentives for eligible and verified operators, provide real-time data sharing on sugar import volumes and importer identities, and strengthen enforcement of approved import quotas.
The agencies are also expected to work together to ensure that duty waivers and differentiated tariffs reach only eligible and verified operators, while facilitating the clearance of eligible machinery and equipment.
They also agreed to establish a joint intelligence and enforcement team to combat illicit sugar imports undermining the sector.
Adeniyi, on his part, called for periodic review meetings between both institutions to assess implementation progress, address operational challenges, and jointly brief Bola Tinubu on developments within the sector.
To Read more about Sugar Industry continue reading Agriinsite.com
Source : Punch
