Niger State Partners with Nigeria Sugar Council to Revive the Country’s Sugar Industry
To leverage the Food Security Emergency declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration last year, Niger Foods, in partnership with the Nigeria Sugar Development Council, has taken significant steps to revive Nigeria’s $2.5 billion sugar industry.
This information was shared by Abdullberqy Usman Ebbo, the Special Adviser on Digital Media and Strategy to the Niger State Governor, on his social media account.
Ebbo stated that this initiative aims to promote food security and rural industrialization in Nigeria, ultimately boosting agricultural production and improving the economy for everyone.
He highlighted that during a side event of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Niger Foods signed an agreement with Uttam Sucrotech, a consortium of leading sugar value chain experts from Brazil and India.
The agreement focuses on developing 250,000 hectares of sugarcane fields and establishing six sugar and ethanol plants in Niger State over the next three years.
According to Ebbo, the Niger Farms project will utilize approximately 90,000 hectares along the recently initiated Sokoto-Lagos Super Highway. This project is expected to produce 2.5 million metric tons of sugar, 250 million liters of ethanol, and generate 300 megawatts of electricity.
Additionally, the project is projected to create 100,000 direct jobs and 250,000 indirect jobs, along with an estimated 750,000 outgrower participants.
During the event, the Minister of Foreign Affairs praised the Niger State Government for its private sector approach to agricultural development through the establishment of Niger Foods.
He commended the strategic partnership with two leading sugar producers specializing in large-scale cultivation (Brazil) and structured small-scale outgrower programs (India).
Ebbo quoted the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, who expressed the Ministry’s support for Niger State’s efforts to develop large-scale mechanized and integrated agriculture.
The Minister also praised the initiative’s focus on integrating research and innovation into farm development.
He added that the growth of the sugar value chain would foster a vibrant livestock industry in Niger State, and the intercropping of sugarcane with soybean would generate significant foreign earnings.
Governor Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his unprecedented initiatives aimed at the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
Ebbo noted that Governor Bago mentioned the Super Highways passing through Niger State will open up 90,000 hectares of arable land, contributing to the sugar project.
It is worth recalling that Nigeria, Brazil, and India were developing their sugarcane cultures in the 1960s.
According to the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Sugar Council, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, Nigeria’s sugar industry has stagnated, with less than 20,000 hectares cultivated, producing about 540,000 metric tons (approximately 3% of Nigeria’s current sugar demand), compared to Brazil’s and India’s productions of 41 million metric tons and 36 million metric tons, respectively.
