• Nigerian sugar regulator partners governors’ forum to attract domestic and foreign investment
• Deal prioritises investor-ready sugar projects, land access, infrastructure, incentives
• Initiative aims to boost output, cut imports amid long-running self-sufficiency shortfalls

Nigeria’s National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has partnered with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to attract investment into the sugar sector, NSDC Executive Director Kamar Bakrin said on Feb. 1, 2026. The NGF is a consultative body representing the governors of Nigeria’s 36 states.

Local media reported that the agreement will see the NGF Secretariat give priority to sugar projects in its discussions with development partners in Nigeria and abroad.

“This will be done within and outside the country, while partnering with the NSDC to support states in preparing and positioning investor-ready sugar projects. [...] It will also focus on improving coordination around critical enablers such as land access, infrastructure provision, and incentive frameworks,” Bakrin was quoted as saying by the daily Vanguard.

The initiative reflects efforts to improve the investment climate in the Nigerian sugar industry and accelerate its industrial development.

An industry that has struggled for years

The announcement comes as the regulator continues to fall short of its goal of sugar self-sufficiency, set out in the National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) launched in 2012.

The first phase of the plan ended in 2020 with disappointing results. Over that period, Nigeria produced only 70,000 tonnes of raw sugar, far below the target of 1.79 million tonnes.

Industry players have blamed poor infrastructure, high transport and production costs, and limited access to financing. Other constraints include low farm yields, insufficient research into suitable sugarcane varieties, and insecurity in some growing areas, which has discouraged investment.

In a 2021 assessment of the market, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also noted that policy implementation has been slowed by administrative bottlenecks and weak coordination among institutions. It added that “refiners with vested interests” often favor imports of raw sugar over domestic production.

Against this backdrop, the government launched the second 10-year phase of the NSMP in 2023, renewing its self-sufficiency ambition with measures aimed at addressing long-standing industrial challenges. Since then, the number of investment projects has increased.

Industrial expansion underway

The sector has drawn fresh interest through new public-private partnerships aimed at expanding processing capacity.

In August 2025, the NSDC signed agreements with four Nigerian sugar companies in Oyo, Niger, Adamawa and Bauchi states. The projects are expected to produce a combined 400,000 tonnes of sugar annually, or 100,000 tonnes per site.

Earlier, in April, the council signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese conglomerate SINOMACH to develop a sugar complex. The $1 billion project is expected to produce 100,000 tonnes a year in its first phase, with plans to eventually reach 1 million tonnes annually.

In November 2024, the Niger State government also signed agreements with four local and foreign firms to build six sugar mills. Four of them are planned for the Shiroro–Minna corridor, covering 148,000 hectares scheduled for development by 2027.

In this context, the partnership between the NSDC and the Governors’ Forum could act as a catalyst for faster industrial growth if it leads to concrete implementation.

Beyond the four states already involved, authorities have identified seven others as priority areas for sugar investment. Kwara, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kano, Gombe, Jigawa and Taraba are considered to have suitable land for commercially viable sugarcane production.

In its 2024 market report, the USDA estimated that Nigeria has more than 800,000 hectares of land potentially suitable for sugar cultivation. Only about 130,000 hectares are currently under cultivation, roughly 16% of that potential.

While these projects remain under development, Nigeria continues to rely heavily on imports to meet domestic demand. Data compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that the country imported about 915 billion naira ($655.8 million) worth of sugar in 2024.

Stéphanas Assocle