NSDC To Create Jobs In Sugar Subsector

The Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Sugar Development Council, NSDC, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, has assured that the ongoing reforms by the Council and expansion plans by operators will make thousands of jobs available for Nigerians very soon.

Mr Bakrin stated this while speaking with newsmen in Abuja.

He said based on the mandate and new targets given to major sugar operators by the Council, they have embarked on an aggressive expansion that would create high-paying jobs for Nigerians in the coming months.

“You are going to see a lot of employment because each of the sugar operators have very aggressive expansion plans which we have seen and we have also engaged them on what they need to do.and you will see a lot more economic activity. both in terms of logistics and so on and so forth, a lot is going on in the sugar producing estates, and it will translate into jobs for the local communities, for suppliers, for contractors and all of that, because everybody is now scrambling to move” the Executive Secretary explained.

He emphasised the need for a comprehensive approach to addressing community hostility, a long-standing challenge in the sugar industry.

He highlighted key strategies incorporated into the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan, NSMP II, to ensure community acceptance.

“These, he added, include educating communities about the economic benefits of sugar production, allocating a portion of capital for community development projects, and mandating sugar companies to recruit local residents for various positions, thereby fostering greater community involvement and engagement” Mr Bakrin stressed.

In his words”we are mandating a specified amount of capital that must be dedicated to community development, roads, schools, clinics, whatever makes sense for that community and we are also mandating a certain amount of recruitment that must come from the host communities, as well as the catchment areas for both field operatives, junior staff and workers, and so on, as well as for managerial staff”.

In addition to expansion plans from existing sugar producers, he said the NSDC had identified 14 new “greenfield” sites with high viability for sugar production.

He reminded the journalists that the pursuit of self-sufficiency in sugar production, as the most important element of the NSMP II, remains the priority of the Council, adding that two million metric tonnes by 2032 is the utmost destination.

Mathew Ayoola, Edited By Grace Namiji