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Federal Government has restated commitment to make Nigeria self-sufficient in sugar production by the year 2025.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo restated this during an inspection visit to the Nigeria Sugar Research Institute, a project of the National Sugar Development Council, NSDC in Ilorin the Kwara State Capital.
Otunba Adebayo who noted that the Coronavirus pandemic has greatly slowed down the work at the site, expressed satisfaction with the present level of completion saying that the project will be commissioned by the end of this year.
When completed, the Minister said, the Institute will add to the amount of seedlings people can use in their farms to increase amount of sugar cane that is being produced and will also enable Nigeria to be self-sufficient in sugar production as well as export to other African countries.
Conducting the Ministerial Inspection Team round the different sections of project site, the Executive Secretary of the NSDC, Dr Abdullateef Busari explained that, the seed multiplication is already in operation and that the Sugar Research Institute would serve as research and capacity development institution.
Dr Busari added that the project is part of about ten factories the NSDC is planning to establish across the country where training and research in sugar industry will be conducted for staff of sugar companies and other interested members of the public.
On the Inspection team of the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment were the Kwara State Governor who was represented by his Deputy, Mr Kayode Alabi, Kwara State Commissioners for Agriculture and Natural Resources and his counterpart at the Ministry of Enterprise, Estu of Tsaragi, Alh Aliyu Abdullah who is the chairman of council of nsdc among others.
Modupe Joel
CPS, Kwara Deputy Governor
