NSDC, ABUJA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE COLLABORATE ON SUGAR INVESTMENT DRIVE

The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has commenced discussion with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) to seek potential collaborations that can add value to the Council’s search for serious investments into the sugar subsector.

The discussion commenced with the visit of ACCI leadership led by Barr. Emeka Obegolu, SAN, to the Executive Secretary of the Council, Kamar Bakrin.

Whie welcoming his guests, the Executive Secretary of the Council,  Kamar Bakrin shared the history and mandate of the Council as well as the destination and the direction it must take to get there.

 “We execute our mandate through what is termed the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), which is in its second phase. The NSMP is a ten-year blueprint geared towards self-sufficiency in sugar production. The target is for us to be able to produce 2 million metric tons of sugar annually, which covers the current annual consumption of about 1.8 million tons. So that is essentially what the objective of the NSMP II, as it is known. It is predicated on about seven pillars. And I think this is important, given the fact that as the key platform for private sector operators, it’s important to look at how potentially the Chamber can also key into different aspects of this. We have identified several critical pillars. I am not going to go through all of them, but rather focus on a handful of them that are important towards the achievement of our mandate.

“A key one is the identification and operationalisation of viable sites for the growing of sugarcane and the for the production of sugar. That is a very important thing for us. Part of what we are doing in that regard is a comprehensive nationwide survey of the most viable sites for growing cane, as well as the establishment of a robust technology platform for tracking the various attributes of the sites that are so identified. Also, probably the most important relevant aspect to you is the attraction of credible players into the sector who can embark on sugar production, which is actually a very, very sustainably profitable opportunity. We have seen this demonstrated without any doubt in countries such as Tanzania, Senegal and so on and so forth that have recently embarked on similar programs with incredible success.

Then there is also the mobilisation of the right kind of funding. We estimate that the sector requires about $5 billion. So, one of the key roles of the council is to facilitate the mobilisation of the funding required, both in terms of equity as well as project finance or debt, if you will, of a particular nature that is suited to the gestation or the development cycle of sugar production, which is long-term, low-cost development finance.

“So, for example, ensuring sustainability in the host communities by providing, by mandating the provision of the right kind of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the host communities, mandating minimum employment of locals, natives and indigents in the catchment areas to ensure that they embrace the location or the sighting of sugar projects in their communities. Of course, there are other things that we also seek to do through the NSMP ll, such as the provision of critical infrastructure to support sugar investments.

“This is because obviously a farm, by definition, is located in a rural area, which will require a certain degree of infrastructure to be able to operate. But also sugar by itself requires peculiar infrastructure, such as irrigation facilities and so on and so forth. So, part of our mandate is to ensure, to facilitate the provision of these types of infrastructure.

“So, this, in a nutshell, is what we set out to do. Since coming on board, we have been able to invigorate the council, to be able to really step up and drive aggressively towards achieving these mandates.

“We take ACCI very seriously and we expect that we will be able to key into some of your activities and that they will actually lead to fruitful partnerships with the Council, I mean, the various parties that ACCI represents, as well as those interests that we are seeking to promote on our side,” the Executive Secretary said.

Speaking earlier, the ACCI president said they were in the Council to seek the sort of partnership and collaboration that will add value to the mandate of the NSDC.