·Niger Food, Turkish firm seal $2 billion soya beans deal
James Emejo in Abuja and Laleye Dipo in Minna
The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has commenced talks with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) for potential collaborations aimed at mobilising about $5 billion to drive investments in the sugar subsector.
The proposed agreement followed the visit of ACCI President, Mr. Emeka Obegolu, SAN, to Executive Secretary of NSDC, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, in Abuja. It came on the day Niger Food, a limited liability company partly owned by Niger State Government, and a Turkish firm signed a $2 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the offtake of soya beans.
The agreement, which was expected to gulp $200 million annually for 10 years, aimed to boost agriculture, create job opportunities, and improve the economic status of local farmers in the state.
The MoU was signed on Monday at Government House, Minna, by Mr. Sammy Adigun for Niger Foods and Mr. Nurullah Mehemet, Executive Officer of Direkci Group, in the presence of Governor Mohammed Bago.
Bago described the agreement "as a game-changer" and appreciated the Turkish government for its willingness to invest in Niger State.
According to him, "This collaboration is a game-changer for Niger State, and we are confident it will significantly reduce unemployment and boost food security."
The governor said the state was equally willing to partner Turkey in other areas beyond 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."
He said the sugar roadmap was predicated on about seven pillars.
"And I think this is important, given the fact that as the key platform for private sector operators, it is important to look at how potentially the chamber can also key into different aspects of this," he said.
Bakrin added, "We have identified several critical pillars...a key one is the identification and operationalisation of viable sites for the growing of sugarcane and 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."
He said the planned partnership will witness attraction of credible players into the sector to embark on sugar production.
He said, "We have seen this demonstrated without any doubt in countries such as Tanzania, Senegal, among others, that have recently embarked on similar programmes with incredible success."
According to him, NSMP II further seeks to ensure sustainability in the host communities by mandating the provision of the right kind of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the host communities, and offering 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.
He said the initiative also provided for the provision of critical infrastructure to support sugar investments.
The NSDC executive secretary said, "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 facilitate the provision of these types of infrastructure.
"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."
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Earlier, Obegolu said the chamber was at the council to seek the sort of partnership and collaboration that will add value to the mandate of the NSDC.
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.
