Tinubu’s reforms boost sugar self-sufficiency drive — NSDC boss

Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the National Sugar Development Council, Kamar Bakrin. Photo: NSDC

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the National Sugar Development Council, Kamar Bakrin, has said the macroeconomic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu have made local sugar production attractive and cleared the path for Nigeria to achieve self-sufficiency in sugar.

According to a statement on Wednesday, Bakrin stated this when he appeared as a panellist at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NESG #32), during a session on “Strengthening Policy Coordination for the Non-alcoholic Drink Sector Competitiveness.”

He said the reforms had brought stability to the economy, adding that the next step was to turn that stability into growth that works for ordinary Nigerians.

“Our most pressing priorities are well known: jobs, especially for young people; rural livelihoods; security, pressure on foreign exchange; food security; and the cost of living,” he said.

According to him, the council’s role is to ensure that the full economic picture of the sugar value chain is considered whenever the government makes policy choices.

“Every Government must make choices among competing priorities. Our contribution as a Council is to make sure that, when those choices are made, the full economic picture of the sugar value chain is on the table. This is because very few sectors touch all of these priorities at once the way sugar does,” the NSDC boss said.

Bakrin urged participants to view sugar and beverages as a single value chain, “from the cane field to the bottle.”

He noted that the beverage industry is the largest industrial consumer of sugar in Nigeria, meaning that what strengthens one sector strengthens the other.

Responding to the summit’s theme, he said sugar offers a practical route to inclusive growth. Under the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan 2.0, the goal is self-sufficiency in sugar production.

He said achieving it would save about US$1 billion in foreign exchange annually and create about 110,000 direct jobs, mostly in rural communities, on estates, in mills and on outgrower farms where smallholders grow cane for the mills.

“The gains go beyond the factory gate. Sugar estates bring roads, schools, clinics and electricity generated from bagasse, the fibre left after cane is crushed. Sugarcane is also a source of fuel ethanol, bio-electricity and biodegradable packaging, which links to the circular-economy agenda this session is discussing,” he said.

He added that investors were already responding to the opportunities in the sector.

“Brownfield investors have committed to delivering 1.22 million metric tonnes a year by 2030, two years ahead of the NSMP’s 2032 timeline. A pipeline of greenfield projects is set to add 830,000 metric tonnes a year by 2030,” he said.

He added that investor confidence remained very high but could only be sustained through consistent policies.

“A sugar estate takes at least four years from land clearing to full production, with capital committed long before the first tonne is sold. Investors therefore look for stable demand and a predictable policy environment,” he told the audience.

He stressed that the council fully shares the government’s objectives, including the public-health goal of tackling non-communicable diseases.

“We are not asking anyone to choose between health and industry,” he said.

He explained that investors weigh two key questions before committing funds: whether there will be stable demand for the sugar, and whether the policy environment will stay predictable throughout the life of the investment.

“An investor making that decision looks at two things: will there be stable demand for this sugar, and will the policy environment be predictable over the life of the investment? So, every fiscal and regulatory decision that touches this value chain also sends a signal to the investors we are working hard to attract,” Bakrin added.

He proposed that any measure affecting the sugar and beverage value chain should first be assessed for its impact on jobs, investment and the NSMP before being finalised and then introduced with a reasonable transition period through established mechanisms.

Bakrin said coherence between government and industry was critical, adding that beverage manufacturers could anchor demand for Nigerian-grown sugar through local offtake commitments, support for outgrower farmers, market data and investment in the Backward Integration Program.

“When Government protects the conditions for demand, and industry commits to local supply, the whole value chain grows, and the jobs stay in Nigeria,” he said.

He also recommended that the Nigeria Industrial Policy Sectoral Competitiveness and Growth Initiative (NSCGI) adopt alignment with the Sugar Master Plan as one of its measures of success.

“When the sugar sector and the beverage sector grow together, Nigeria wins: on jobs, on foreign exchange, and on rural prosperity,” he added.

The Nigeria Sugar Master Plan 2.0 is the country’s strategy for achieving self-sufficiency in sugar production.

Its delivery is projected to save about US$1 billion in foreign exchange annually and create about 110,000 direct jobs, largely in rural communities.

Brownfield investors have committed to delivering 1.22 million metric tonnes a year by 2030, two years ahead of the 2032 timeline, while greenfield projects are expected to add a further 830,000 metric tonnes a year by 2030.