Nigeria targets 300,000 metric tonnes of sugar production by 2030 – Minister 

The Federal Government says Nigeria will produce 300,000 metric tonnes of sugar by 2030.

The Minister of State for Industry, Sen. John Owan-Enoh, disclosed this during a one-day working visit to the Sunti Golden Sugar Estate in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger on Monday.

Mr Owan-Enoh explained that the target would be achieved through the Backward Integration Policy, BIP, of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

According to him, other incentives for manufacturers are expected to scale up Nigeria’s local sugar production.

The minister said the expansion “is aimed at” meeting the sugar demand of Nigerians.

Mr Owan-Enoh stated that the federal government “is encouraging local production by offering incentives such as duty-free importation of machinery and equipment for production companies.”

He noted that while the BIP had begun to yield results, it had not yet fully met expectations.

“I think that in this facility, like the other two that I have visited already, this is what a combination of government policy and private sector engagement can give you.

“It is a reflection of the implementation of the government’s backward integration programme.

“It also demonstrates that there is a business going on; there is an industry with all the elements that you can think about.

“People are gainfully employed. At its peak, I understand this facility has about 4,500 workers. So, government’s requirement for gainful employment is itself achieved here,” Owan-Enoh said.

The minister expressed satisfaction with the production process and the capacity of local industries to deliver results, while acknowledging some gaps still remain.

“I have never stopped getting amazed at what production can be. From the farm, you get to the factory and find sugar produced.

“This itself begins to demonstrate the ability of the country, of these business people, and of the industry to achieve that,” he said.

He, however, stressed that production levels remained below expectations despite progress, while highlighting the sector’s ambition to significantly increase output by 2030.

“While we can praise this to be an implementation of the BIP, it still falls quite short in terms of what expectations are of that policy.

“But I am glad that there is an ambition that by 2030 the output is going to increase to 300,000 metric tonnes,” the minister revealed.

Mr Owan-Enoh identified limited land under sugar cane cultivation as the sector’s biggest challenge, noting that expansion in cultivated land is key to achieving self-sufficiency.

He reaffirmed government’s commitment to industrialisation and continued support for industrialists, including fiscal incentives and funding efforts.

“We are not there yet, but there is commitment; there is push, and the government itself is serious about industrialisation,” he noted.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Sunti Golden Sugar Estate, Boye Olusanya, disclosed that the company currently cultivates about 6,600 hectares, producing about 20,000 tonnes of sugar, with plans to scale up.

He, therefore, called for policy consistency and better access to funding to actualise the dream.

“Today, we have under cultivation 6,600 hectares and we are producing just under 20,000 tonnes of sugar.

“Our intent is to get to 290,000 tonnes by the end of 2031,” he said.

NAN