By Cynthia Ezekwe
Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR) is scaling up its investment in the sugar sub-sector, in line with the requirement of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), with the aim of changing the trajectory by making Nigeria self-sufficient in the sector.
Aliko Dangote, president of the Dangote Group, made this known while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2022/2023 Crushing Season and Outgrower Scheme Awards in Numan, Adamawa State.
He said the company is committing over $700 million to its investment in the Backward Integration Programme (BIP) to enable it to put in place needed infrastructure for the eventual commencement of full-scale production.According to him, DSR is making massive investments in Adamawa State through the expansion of DSR Numan sugar refining capacity from 3,000 tons of cane per day (tcd) to 6,000 tcd, 9,800 tcd, and to 15,000 tcd.
Dangote also noted that increasing the company’s sugar refining capacity will require an increase in sugarcane production capacity; thus the company has concluded plans to increase its sugar plantation from the current land area under cane production of about 8,700 hectares in 2022 to about 24,200 hectares within the next seven years.
He said the company understands the impact of host communities, and assured that it would double its scholarship and empowerment schemes in its host communities.
‘’We will continue to introduce more initiatives to support our host communities that will bring social, economic, and infrastructural development to our host communities,’’ Dangote said.
Also speaking at the event, Adeniyi Adebayo, minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, commended Dangote and the staff of DSR for contributing massively to the sugar development stride of the federal government, as well as the company’s corporate social responsibility to host communities.
He said that agencies under his ministry would partner with the company to provide the technical knowledge that will support the Dangote empowerment schemes in the host communities.
Crowther Seth, deputy governor of Adamawa State, who represented the state governor, said he was amazed by the monumental social-economic transformation carried out by the Dangote Group.
He also assured the company of the support of the state government and enjoined other corporate bodies to imbibe Dangote’s spirit of job creation across the country.
