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he Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Industry, Hon. Dolapo Badru (L), and the Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Mr. Kamar Bakrin (R), at the 4-day retreat on “Creating Synergy for Nigeria’s Sugar Industry Development,” organised by the NSDC in Calabar, Cross River state, over the weekend.
The House of Representatives Committee on Industry has announced plans to amend the law establishing the National Sugar Development Council and make necessary amendments that will empower the management team to successfully pursue the advancement of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan II.
According to a statement on Sunday, the committee’s Chairman, Dolapo Badru, made this known on Saturday at a retreat organised for the committee members in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
Badaru said the committee members have agreed on the principle of taking steps to achieve the council’s 2025 sugar project development plan.
Badru commended the Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Sugar Development Council, Kamar Bakrin, and his management team for the ‘impressive’ work they have done in the last one year.
He expressed the commitment of the committee to the institutional steps that must be taken to achieve the Council’s 2025 sugar project development plan.
He said, “Properly codifying the NSMP into law is required to improve investor confidence and address the lacuna in the existing law that enables some operators to get away with not contributing to the realisation of the vision for the sugar industry, adding that all the loopholes will be addressed in the proposed amendment of the NSDC Act.”
Delivering his keynote address at the retreat, the NSDC Executive Secretary/CEO said before the 2025 plans and the Sugar Master Plan II can be achieved, certain loopholes in the establishment law must be addressed.
Barkin said the council has set out the initiatives to be executed in 2025 that will drive the realisation of the master plan.
He said, “Our focus in 2024 has been on resetting the agenda and realigning the industry to the high expectations of Nigerians. For us, 2025 is the year of acceleration. This is not a choice but a must, given our macroeconomic realities and the tremendous benefits we know are possible from the cultivation and processing of sugarcane.
“Our key priorities for 2025 are to (i) Accelerate the pace of project development; (ii) Facilitate investment of $5bn into the Sector; (iii) Ensure our priority greenfield projects are ready for investment; and (iv) Strengthen NSDC’s capacity to develop the sector.
“We have set out the initiatives to be executed in 2025 that will drive the realisation of these objectives. One of these key initiatives is the amendment of the NSDC Act to address loopholes created by conflicting policies and codify its market protection provisions.
“This is a key requirement that emerges in all our conversations with our current and potential investors and financiers. As usual, we shall be counting on the House Committee for your guidance and support in making this happen in 2025.
“We are most grateful for the continued intervention and direction which this event is privileged to receive from Mr. President, which has resulted in the resolution of key issues which were hindering its performance and provides investors with the confidence that the Nigerian Sugar Industry is a viable investment option,”
Bakrin, who resumed office on October 16, 2023, after his appointment by President Bola Tinubu, also shared with the Committee members how the journey has been in the last one year.
“Since my resumption in office, we have sought to address the fundamental issues that held back investment in the sector, such as: How can sugar production become viable in Nigeria? How do we extract all the benefits of sugarcane processing? How do we better align the NSMP’s incentives to performance? How do we reposition NSDC as a world-class Development Agency and not just a Regulator?
“Working with our investors and stakeholders, we have reimagined NSMP II. The objectives of NSMP II are now threefold: to attain self-sufficiency in sugar production, develop a globally competitive sector, become the cost leader in Africa, and develop an inclusive and sustainable sugar sector.
“These objectives shall be fulfilled using seven pillars that reflect the key changes that must be made – (i) Ensure sugarcane farming for the Backward Integration Programme is only carried out on suitable land; (ii) Partner with investors that are adequately motivated and possess the financial resources to execute and pedigree to attract funding into their projects; (ii) Attract the right mix of capital suitable for a capital-intensive, long-gestation business such as sugar; (iv) Provide directly relevant research, development and continuous improvement; (v) Improve the viability of sugar production by ensuring a diversified and optimal product mix; (vi) Deploy resources towards interventions that de-risk and enable investment-readiness of projects in the sugar sector; and (vii) Ensure the sector’s growth also results in the development of host communities and the adoption of sustainable farming and factory practices.
“We have also commenced several programs to strengthen our capabilities in NSDC and NSI. We are strengthening NSDC’s technical and managerial capabilities and transforming our Research and Development capacity in NSI,” he noted.
