ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council, Kamar Bakrin, says the macroeconomic reforms of President Bola Tinubu have made local sugar production attractive and cleared the path for Nigeria to achieve self-sufficiency.

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‎Bakrin spoke as a panelist at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on the topic “Strengthening Policy Coordination for the Non-alcoholic Drink Sector Competitiveness.”

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‎He said the reforms have brought stability to the economy, adding that the next step is to turn stability into growth that works for ordinary Nigerians.

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‎“Our most pressing priorities are well known: jobs, especially for young people; rural livelihoods; security, pressure on foreign exchange, food security and cost of living,” Bakrin said.

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‎He said sugar is one of the few sectors that touches all these priorities at once.

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‎Bakrin urged participants to see sugar and beverages as one value chain, “from the cane field to the bottle.” He noted that the beverage industry is the largest industrial consumer of sugar in Nigeria, so what strengthens one strengthens the other.

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‎He said under the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan 2.0, the goal is self-sufficiency. Achieving it would save about 1 billion dollars in foreign exchange every year and create about 110,000 direct jobs, mostly in rural communities, on estates, in mills and on outgrower farms.

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‎“The gains go beyond the factory gate. Sugar estates bring roads, schools, clinics and electricity generated from bagasse, the fibre left after cane is crushed,” he said. He added that sugarcane is also a source of fuel ethanol, bio-electricity and biodegradable packaging.

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‎Bakrin said investors are responding. He said brownfield investors have committed to delivering 1.22 million metric tonnes a year by 2030, two years ahead of the 2032 timeline, while greenfield projects are set to add 830,000 metric tonnes a year by 2030.

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‎He said investor confidence is high but depends on policy consistency.

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‎“A sugar estate takes at least four years from land clearing to full production, with capital committed long before the first tonne is sold. Investors therefore look for stable demand and a predictable policy environment,” he said.

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‎Bakrin said the Council shares the government’s public-health goal of tackling non-communicable diseases.

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‎“We are not asking anyone to choose between health and industry,” he said.

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‎He proposed that where a measure affects the sugar and beverage value chain, its impact on jobs, investment and the Sugar Master Plan should be assessed before it is finalised, and introduced with a reasonable transition period.

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‎He said beverage manufacturers can support the plan by committing to local offtake, supporting outgrower farmers and investing in the Backward Integration Programme.

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‎“When Government protects the conditions for demand, and industry commits to local supply, the whole value chain grows, and the jobs stay in Nigeria,” he said.

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‎He recommended that the Nigeria Industrial Policy Sectoral Competitiveness and Growth Initiative adopt alignment with the Sugar Master Plan as one of its measures of success.

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‎“When the sugar sector and the beverage sector grow together, Nigeria wins: on jobs, on foreign exchange, and on rural prosperity,” Bakrin said.