By Etse Kassim, Abuja
Nigeria’s quest to be self-sufficient in the production of sugar has hit a major setback as two sugar mills have lost their canefields to the recent Fulani/herdsmen clash in Numan, Adamawa State.
Savanah Sugar Limited and Sunti Sugar company lost the 1.58million metric tones capacity canefields to the rampaging warring groups in the area as they were brazenly set ablaze.
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Latif Busari, Executive Secretary of National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), disclosed this in Abuja during a chat with newsmen.
He said with the development, the Council is now expecting less than 29,000 metric tons from both sugar factories, a far cry from the total expected 1.58million metric tons.
According to him, the burnt canefields were expected to hit the production lines of the factories from November 24,2017 but had now been forced to stop as a result of the security situation in the area.
“Everybody working there had to move out, so they couldn’t get the labour that they will use to cut canes. I wonder why these people will take it out on facilities which is expected to attract investors.” He said
While saying that the council has reported the ugly incident to Okechukwu Enelamah and Aisha Abubakar, ministers of Trade, Industry and Investment, Busari tasked members of the affected communities to eschew violence and protect investments in the area.
“We have also identify the youth leaders, so we are taking the peaceful coexistence awareness from villages to villages in the area, ” Busari added.
Recall that the Federal Government had rolled out the implementation of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) in 2013 with the hope that by 2023, the country would be self-sufficient in local sugar production, as well as create massive jobs in the sector.