Nigeria targets self-sufficiency in sugar production by 2020
Xinhua, September 21, 2016 Adjust font size:
Nigeria is looking at possibilities to stop importing sugar by 2020 and be self-sufficient in its production.
Around 1.5 million tons of sugar is consumed annually in the West African country, yet local production has not been kick-started.
Discussing the possibilities of producing enough sugar for the country on Wednesday, Aisha Abubakar, Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, told reporters in Abuja, that the West African country has only implemented 20 percent of its National Sugar Master Plan launched in 2013.
"We need to be more aggressive, including bringing more players into the industry," she said.
The master plan is a 10-year one designed to make Nigeria self-sufficient in sugar production latest by 2020.
The official said the nation has made some progress, especially in terms of backward integration, which is the whole essence of the master plan.
"Investment in sugar is very capital intensive, it takes about three years to actually set up an industry, so the turnaround time is long," she noted, adding the government has provided a total of 30,000 hectares of land for cultivation by major local players in the sugar-making industry. Endit