The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has agreed to prioritise sugar as a key product for accelerating industrial development across all states.
The executive secretary/chief executive officer of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Kamar Bakrin, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr Bakrin said this decision followed a request by the NSDC as part of efforts to develop the sector, halt the importation of raw sugar, create jobs and achieve national self-sufficiency in sugar production.
“Under the arrangement, the NGF secretariat will also include sugar projects as priority beneficiaries in its engagements with development partners.
“This will be done within and outside the country, while partnering with the NSDC to support states in preparing and positioning investor-ready sugar projects.
“The partnership will focus on facilitating structured engagement between state governments, investors, and industry operators.
”It will also focus on improving coordination around critical enablers such as land access, infrastructure provision, and incentive frameworks,” he said.
Mr Bakrin, during a meeting with NGF leadership, highlighted the vast investment opportunities in the sugar sector and urged the governors of sugarcane-viable states to embrace the development of sugar projects.
He identified 11 states with suitable land for profitable sugar production: Oyo, Kwara, Niger, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Adamawa, and Taraba.
The executive secretary said that recent macroeconomic developments had improved the competitiveness and profitability of local sugar production.
He said that while global sugar prices had remained relatively stable in dollar terms, exchange rate movements had made imports significantly more expensive.
“Exchange rate movements have made imports significantly more expensive, thereby enhancing the commercial viability of domestically produced sugar, whose inputs are largely naira-denominated,” Mr Bakrin said.
He said Nigeria now had strong operational fundamentals for sugar production, with assessments identifying about 1.2 million hectares of prime land suitable for large-scale sugarcane cultivation nationwide.
Mr Barkin, however, acknowledged that only about 200,000 hectares were required to achieve self-sufficiency.
“The availability of suitable land, water resources, labour and policy incentives positions Nigeria favourably for large-scale sugar investments,” he said.
According to Mr Bakrin, the Nigerian sugar sector is currently valued at about $2 billion.
He said that, under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the continental market was estimated at $7 billion, while the market for sugar by-products alone was worth about $10 billion in Nigeria.
Mr Barkin emphasised that sugar projects promoted inclusive development, noting that the industry integrated host communities into the value chain through outgrower schemes and employment opportunities while supporting environmental sustainability.
According to him, a model sugar project producing 100,000 metric tonnes annually requires an estimated investment of about 250 million dollars.
He said it also delivered an internal rate of return of about 24 per cent, in addition to generating valuable by-products such as ethanol and bio-electricity.
The NGF director-general, Abdulateef Shittu, said many state governments were already engaged or keen to engage in sugar-related investments covering land development, agricultural schemes, and agro-industrial initiatives.
Mr Shittu said unlocking the opportunities would require effective coordination, credible investment frameworks, and strong alignment between federal policy objectives and state-level development priorities.
He pledged the NGF secretariat’s commitment to ensuring that state development priorities increasingly focus on sugar project investments, given their potential for rural development and job creation.
(NAN)