Nigeria Targets Sugar Self-Sufficiency with $1bn Investment Push

The National Sugar Development Council has embarked on an ambitious plan to make Nigeria self-sufficient in sugar production. To achieve this goal, the council is mobilising a $1 billion investment pipeline. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to reduce the country's reliance on foreign sugar imports, which currently stand at about 1.8 million metric tonnes annually, costing the economy an estimated $1 billion every year. According to the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the NSDC, Kamar Bakrin, the investment pipeline is anchored on a $1 billion engineering, procurement, and construction-plus-finance partnership with SINOMACH of China. Additionally, a N10 billion Sugar Project Acceleration Fund has been established with the Bank of Industry to finance feasibility studies and project preparation, converting greenfield sites into investment-ready packages. Bakrin stated that the council's plan extends beyond sugar production, as sugarcane can support the production of ethanol, animal feed, and electricity. He noted that the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan 2.0 is an 'acceleration mandate' aimed at shortening Nigeria's path to self-sufficiency and producing about two million metric tonnes of sugar locally. The council is also deploying satellite imagery and field inspections to independently verify activities at sugar production sites. On enforcement, Bakrin said the Backward Integration Programme has been rebuilt around four principles: 'qualify, reward, verify, and enforce.' He added that companies seeking import quotas would be required to demonstrate genuine commitment to backward integration, while major refiners would provide audited production commitments tied to their quotas. The Sugarcane Outgrower Development Programme is designed to make farmers co-owners of the sector's growth, with every sugar estate under the NSMP 2.0 required to reserve land for outgrowers and invest part of its capital in host communities through social and physical infrastructure and employment. Drawing lessons from Brazil and other sugar-producing countries, Bakrin emphasized the importance of institutional development in achieving sustained productivity. He invited the Chartered Institute of Directors to contribute to the development of the sector by strengthening board governance across sugar estates, mills, and outgrower companies.