Nigeria inks deals for four new sugar projects to boost local production 

NIGERIA – The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has signed agreements with four operators to establish greenfield sugar projects expected to produce a combined 400,000 tonnes annually.  

The initiative forms part of Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to reduce sugar imports and achieve self-sufficiency. 

The announcement was made in Abuja by NSDC Executive Secretary and CEO, Kamar Bakrin, who described the move as a significant step in the country’s sugar development strategy.  

The projects will be located across Nigeria’s agricultural belt: Brent Foods in Oyo State, Niger Foods in Niger State, Legacy Sugar in Adamawa State, and UMZA in Bauchi State. 

According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country spent more than N2.2 trillion on sugar imports over the past five years, an increase from N516.61 billion between 2015 and 2019.  

This comes despite over a decade of implementation of the National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), first launched in 2010 and renewed in 2020, which aims to eliminate sugar imports through the Backward Integration Programme. 

The NSMP set ambitious targets, including the establishment of 28 sugar factories, cultivation of 250,000 hectares of sugarcane, and attracting substantial private sector investment.  

The four new agreements are expected to advance these objectives by creating major production hubs across different regions. 

Bakrin noted that the geographic spread from southwest to northeast Nigeria was deliberate, leveraging diverse agricultural conditions while ensuring that economic benefits are shared across regions.  

Each facility is projected to generate significant rural employment, improve local infrastructure, and create opportunities across the sugar industry’s value chain. 

Under the agreements, the NSDC will provide customised project development support and cover critical service costs to help ensure the ventures’ commercial viability. The council views the initiative as a substantial scaling of its ambitions in the sugar sector. 

These projects align with the broader industrial policy direction of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which has prioritised import substitution and local value addition in key sectors.  

The success of the new ventures will depend on effective coordination between the NSDC and the operators to deliver on production and economic impact targets. 

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