Abuja: The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has agreed to prioritise sugar production as a strategic commodity for accelerating industrial growth and job creation across the states.
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Mr Kamar Bakrin, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, following engagements with the NGF leadership.
Bakrin said the decision was part of efforts to halt the importation of raw sugar, attract investments and achieve national self-sufficiency in sugar production.
Under the arrangement, he said the NGF secretariat would prioritise sugar projects in its engagements with development partners while collaborating with the NSDC to support states in preparing investor-ready projects.
He identified Oyo, Kwara, Niger, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Adamawa and Taraba as states with proven land suitability for sugarcane cultivation.
Bakrin noted that recent exchange rate movements had made sugar imports more expensive, thereby improving the competitiveness of locally produced sugar.
He said Nigeria currently had about 1.2 million hectares of land suitable for large-scale sugarcane cultivation, although only about 200,000 hectares were required to achieve self-sufficiency.
The NSDC boss added that the sugar sector, valued at about $2 billion, offered significant opportunities, including ethanol and bio-electricity production.
Speaking on behalf of the NGF, its Director-General, Dr Abdulateef Shittu, said many states were already engaged in sugar-related investments and pledged the forum’s commitment to aligning state development priorities with sugar project investments.
