G20 summit,Niger State partners Brazil and indian on Sugar production.

G20 summit,Niger State partners Brazil and indian on Sugar production.

FROM SAMSON ALFA, MINNA

As part of Niger state government industrialization drive Niger food have signed a pack with the Uttam Sucrotech a consortium of leading in Brazil and India sugar value chain in Rio de Janeiro  Brazil..

At the recent G20 summit in Brazil is also one of the steps taken by the Niger state government  to leverage from the Food Security policy declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

According to the special adviser on digital and strategy Abdullbergy Ebbo on his Social media handle ×,said Niger Foods in partnership with the Nigeria Sugar Development Council has made a bold step to revive the USD2.5 Billion Nigeria Sugar Industry in the country.

The initiatives is another bold step by the Niger state government to also promote food Security and rural Industrialisation of Nigeria which will boost agricultural production and re position the economy growth.

Abdulbaqy Usman Ebbo noted that during a side event of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro is aimed  to develop 250,000 Hectares of Sugarcane fields and six Sugar/Ethanol plants in Niger State over the next three years.

He further explained that the Niger Farms project which will harness about 90,000 Hectares on the shoulder of the recently flagged off Sokoto – Lagos Super Highway will produce 2.5million metric tones of Sugar, 250million litres of Ethanol, and generate 300 Megawatts of Electricity.

“It will also in addition create 100,000 direct Jobs, and 250,000 Indirect Jobs aside from the projected 750,000 Out grower Participants”.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs praise the Niger State Government for its private sector approach to the development of Agriculture through the creation of Niger Foods and also for the strategic choice of the two leading Sugar producers in the world with a specialty for large scale cultivation (Brazil) and structured small scale out-grower program (India).

He said the development of the Sugar value chain will give birth to a vibrant livestock industry in Niger State and the mixed cropping of sugar with Soybean will ensure the massive foreign earnings.

The special adviser said Governor Mohammed Umar Bago thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the unprecedented initiative for the socio economic development of Nigeria.

Ebbo disclosed that the Niger State government will open 90,000 hectares of arable land which will be part of the field to be used in the Sugar project.

All the efforts is geared towards rekindling the Nigeria, Brazil and India initiative of 1960s in developing the Sugarcane culture.

In his address  at the occasion the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Sugar Council, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, said the Nigeria Sugar Industry has cultivated less than 20,000 Hectres producing about 540,000 metric tones (about 3% of Nigeria current Sugar demand) compared to Brazil’s and India’s production of 41 million metric tones and 36 million metric tones respectively.