The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) have started discussions about possible partnerships with the goal of raising approximately $5 billion to support investments in the sugar subsector.
The proposed agreement came about as a result of Mr. Emeka Obegolu, SAN, President of ACCI, and Mr. Kamar Bakrin, Executive Secretary of NSDC, visiting each other in Abuja. It happened on the same day that a $2 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the offtake of soy beans was signed by a Turkish company and Niger Food, a limited liability company that is partially owned by the Niger State Government.
The agreement, which was projected to cost $200 million a year for ten years, was intended to support the state’s farmers’ livelihoods, increase employment opportunities, and promote agriculture.
In the presence of Governor Mohammed Bago, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Monday at Government House in Minna by Mr. Sammy Adigun from Niger Foods and Mr. Nurullah Mehemet, Executive Officer of Direkci Group.
Bago praised the Turkish government for its willingness to invest in Niger State and called the agreement “a game-changer.”
“This collaboration is a game-changer for Niger State, and we are confident it will boost food security and significantly reduce unemployment,” he said.
The governor declared that the state was open to working with Turkey in sectors other than agriculture.
Bakrin said the council had a mandate, through the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), a 10-year blueprint currently in its second phase of implementation, to achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production.
He said the target was to be able to produce two million metric tons of sugar annually, which covered the current annual consumption of about 1.8 million tons.
The NSDC boss said a key aspect of the masterplan was the mobilisation of the right kind of funding.
He said, “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.”
Meanwhile, Chairman, Niger Foods, Mr. Sammy Adigun, disclosed that the Turkish firm will off-take 500,000 tonnes of soya bean each year for 10 years that the agreement would last.
Adigun added that the agreement would empower local farmers by providing them with seeds and fertilisers and ensuring a guaranteed market for their produce.
He revealed that the Turkish firm was also investing in a 100,000-hectare “Green House” project with a cold chain facility at the agro-processing zone with an annual output of about 160,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoe and pepper.
In addition, Adigun disclosed that the group would establish a total of 2.5 million chicken production poultry facility, including eggs and feed mills production in two phases.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Direkci Group, Nurullah Mehmet, said the firm had a long history of excellent performance across the country.
