By Atiku Sarki, Abuja
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Kamar Bakrin, has highlighted the enormous potential of Nigeria’s sugar industry to tackle unemployment, boost rural development, and address security challenges across the country.
Bakrin stated that the sugar sector could generate about 250,000 direct jobs and an additional 750,000 indirect jobs along its value chain, particularly for Nigerian youths.
He made this known during a courtesy visit to the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, at the Customs Headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, the full development of the sugar industry would not only strengthen the economy but also address insecurity at its root by creating employment opportunities and promoting development in rural communities.
“Beyond sugar production, the sector offers a major opportunity for rural industrialisation, energy security, infrastructure development, and economic diversification,” Bakrin said.
“If Nigeria succeeds in developing a proper sugar sector, one of the things we would do is convert an annual outflow of over one billion dollars into jobs, security, and industrialisation.
“The sector can create 250,000 direct jobs and an additional 750,000 indirect jobs across its value chain, primarily across about 12 states. The beauty of it is that these are rural jobs, not city jobs,” he added.
Bakrin further linked the establishment of sugar estates to improved national security, explaining that such projects would provide massive employment opportunities for youths who might otherwise become vulnerable to crime and social unrest.
“When you have sugar projects, you don’t have unrest or security challenges because you create so many jobs for the youths,” he stated.
The NSDC boss also disclosed plans for modern sugar estates capable of generating independent electricity while contributing excess power to the national grid.
“A sugar estate provides its own power; it does not rely on the national grid. As a matter of fact, it contributes to the national grid. A sugar estate consumes only about 50 percent of the energy it produces, while the rest can be injected into the national grid.
“And we are talking about 400 megawatts. That is enough to power at least a small modern city or community,” he explained.
Bakrin described the Nigeria Customs Service as a critical enforcement institution for the success of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP II), particularly in the areas of quota administration, import regulation, fiscal incentives, and anti-smuggling operations.
He said the Federal Government was committed to reducing the country’s dependence on sugar imports by encouraging large-scale local production through predictable policies and stronger institutional collaboration.
The NSDC Executive Secretary noted that successful implementation of the NSMP II would transform over one billion dollars currently spent annually on sugar imports into domestic investments capable of creating jobs, developing rural communities, and strengthening Nigeria’s industrial base.
He further revealed that Nigeria has over one million hectares of suitable land for sugar cultivation, while only about 200,000 hectares would be needed for the country to attain sugar self-sufficiency.
Bakrin added that investors willing to commit billions of dollars to sugar projects require assurance that government policies and incentives would be implemented transparently and consistently.
Responding, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, assured the NSDC of the Service’s full support for the sugar sector transformation agenda, describing the industry’s projected energy contribution as a major economic opportunity for Nigeria.
“The potential for job creation, security, rural development, and the added value in terms of energy that we can use speaks directly to Nigeria’s economic priorities,” Adeniyi stated.
He also pledged enhanced intelligence sharing, data transparency, quota enforcement, and operational collaboration to ensure the effective implementation of the NSMP II.
Adeniyi further proposed periodic review meetings between both institutions to assess implementation progress, address operational challenges, and jointly brief President Bola Tinubu on developments in the sector.
The two institutions reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate in five key areas aimed at resolving longstanding bottlenecks affecting the sustainability of sugar estates and attracting critical investments into the sector.
The priority areas include market stability, information sharing on imports and importers, implementation of quota allocation, enforcement of sugar incentives, and tackling sugar smuggling.
Both agencies also agreed to ensure that duty waivers and differentiated tariffs are granted only to eligible and verified operators, while fast-tracking the clearance of approved machinery and equipment.
They further resolved to establish a joint intelligence and enforcement team to combat illicit sugar imports undermining the sector.