Tinubu’s Reforms Laid Foundation For Nigeria’s Sugar Self-Sufficiency – NSDC Boss

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Mr. Kamar Bakrin, has mentioned the daring, macroeconomic reforms put in place by President Bola Tinubu have made native sugar manufacturing enticing and cleared the pathway for the nation to realize self-sufficiency.

Bakrin was talking as a panelist on the thirty second Nigerian Economic Summit (NESG #32), on the subject “Strengthening Policy Coordination for the Non-alcoholic Drink Sector Competitiveness.”

He mentioned the reforms have introduced stability to the economic system, including that the subsequent step is to show stability into development that works for peculiar 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.

“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 mentioned.

Bakrin urged members to see sugar and drinks as one worth chain, “from the cane field to the bottle.” The beverage business is the biggest industrial shopper of sugar in Nigeria, he famous, so what strengthens one strengthens the opposite.

Responding to the Summit’s theme of turning stability into development that works for peculiar Nigerians, he mentioned sugar affords a sensible route. Under the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) 2.0, the purpose is self-sufficiency in sugar manufacturing.

Bakrin mentioned reaching it could save about $1bn in international trade yearly and create about 110,000 direct jobs, most of them in rural communities, on estates, in mills and on outgrower farms the place smallholders develop 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 mentioned.

He added that buyers are responding: “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.”

Bakrin mentioned investor confidence may be very excessive however sustaining it relies on coverage consistency.
“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 advised the viewers.

He pressured that the Council absolutely shares the Government’s goals, together with the public-health purpose of tackling non-communicable illnesses. “We are not asking anyone to choose between health and industry,” he mentioned.

“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, Mr. Bakrin added.

He proposed that where a measure affects the sugar and beverage value chain, its impact on jobs, investment and the NSMP should be assessed before it is finalised, and that it should then be introduced with a reasonable transition period, through the established mechanisms.

Mr. Bakrin said coherence is very important, adding that beverage manufacturers can anchor demand for Nigerian-grown sugar through local offtake commitments, support for outgrower farmers, market data and investment in the Backward Integration Program (BIP).

“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 mentioned.
He advisable that the Nigeria Industrial Policy Sectoral Competitiveness and Growth Initiative (NSCGI) undertake alignment with the Sugar Master Plan as one in every 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 concluded.