Dangote Sugar Refinery has drawn up its master plan to ensure that Nigeria achieves its broad national sugar objectives, in addition to the National Sugar Master Plan introduced in 2012.
This was revealed in the company paper titled “Dangote Sugar for Nigeria Master Plan,” the vision aims to ensure that the company produces 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MT/PA) of refined sugar from locally grown sugarcane, according to The Punch.
Dangote Sugar Refinery aims to ensure that Africa’s most populous country has a robust and flourishing sugarcane-to-sugar value chain, through its backward integration programme (BIP).
Given, the speed of work at the Numan and Tunga plants, analysts believe that this is possible.
The drive began immediately after the 2012 inauguration of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Nigerian Sugar Master Plan, which aimed at increasing domestic sugar production to achieve self-sufficiency and reducing imports of raw or refined sugar.
This initiative spearheaded by Alhaji Aliko Dangote and other stakeholders was fully implemented.
Dangote Sugar’s acquisition of more than 120,000 hectares of land for its sugar BIP projects in Adamawa, Nasarawa, and Taraba has exceeded expectations, 12 years after the master plan.
DSR has been doing its best to secure an end to the importation of raw sugar, which is a key raw material for Nigeria’s sugar industry within a few years, by setting up these plantations.
It importation of raw sugar costs Nigeria millions of dollars each year. importation of raw sugar cost Nigeria $433 million for 2020, According to the National Sugar Development Council.
According to analysts, the projects could help reduce the import of raw sugar and consequently limit Nigeria’s exposure to foreign exchange given the current foreign exchange crisis.
Research shows that DSR owns 32,000 ha in Numan, Adamawa State, as well as 68,000 ha in Tunga, Nasarawa State for its BIP projects.
These investments have proven to be decisive for a country in amid an acute unemployment crisis, engaging rural farmers and giving them hope in the face of the economic crisis; also given that the number of foreign investors in Nigeria is declining.
Over $700 million in land acquisition, machinery, infrastructure, human resources, community relations, CSR or any impactful activities has been funded by the company to date.
In Numan, Adamawa State, DSR’s existing factory has been upgraded and its capacity increased from 3,000 tonnes cane crushing per day(TCD) to 6000 TCD. Further upgrade to 9,800 TCD is ongoing and is expected to be ready any time from now.
The plant is expected to generate 32 megawatts of electricity after the upgrading process and is expected to launch the factory into a fully integrated sugar production within Nigeria.
At the end of the current expansion, Mr Chinnaya Sylvain Judex, Chief Executive Officer of DSR, Numan, said the company would aim to produce 9,800 tonnes of sugar per day.
“The Outgrower Scheme Programme is a very important project for us and is currently a win-win situation for both the company and the farmers,” he said.
