Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc is an integral part of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s National Sugar Development Master Plan. In 2012, Dangote Sugar committed to becoming an integrated sugar business, serving local and export markets from integrated sugarcane plantations and factories across Nigeria, over the next 10 years.
The company’s goal is to achieve the capacity to produce 1.5 million tonnes of refined sugar annually from sugarcane plantations covering more than 150,000 hectares of land across a number of sites in Nigeria.
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This step will move Dangote Sugar from a port-based refining to fully integrated sugar production within Nigeria, thereby helping Nigeria to achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production, and create over 100,000 new employment opportunities.
The first phase of the project is at an advanced stage with the rehabilitation and expansion of Dangote Sugar, integrated sugar estate at Numan, in Adamawa State
It also involves the reintroduction of a robust out-growers scheme and the charting of sustainable community relations and development initiatives guided by consultations and engagements with the local communities.
The Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR), Numan, is therefore targeting to produce 9,800 metric tonnes of sugar per day at the end of the current expansion project on-going in the company.
Chief Executive of DSR, Mr Chinnaya L Sylvain Judex, in a chat with Daily Trust, during a tour of the factory in Numan said the projection is in line with the National Sugar Development Master Plan to raise local production of sugar to attain self-sufficiency and create job opportunities.
Judex said although the company experienced delays for two to three years in the expansion processes, due to COVID-19, adequate equipment and new farming technology for optimal performance have been introduced.
He said the company was putting what has been invested into operation, in order to reach the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) demand in sugar production.
He disclosed that in October this year, the company planned to commission a boiler and turbine to produce 6000 tons of cane per day (TCD).
“We have assembled inputs and equipment, and we are confident of investing whatever is needed to reach NSM plan target,” he said.
He added that the extension plan also involves taking about 3,000 increase in hectares of land, per year. “As we produce 3,800 tonnes of sugar per day, we are upgrading to another 6,300 tonnes per day, and an additional 6000 is coming. The ultimate purpose is to have 9,800 tonnes per day,” he said.
He disclosed that the company had just introduced drip irrigation technology to outgrower farmers on win-win parameters to encourage them to produce 50 tonnes of sugarcane per hectare.
Judex said the company introduced Sugarcane Outgrower Schemes Model where space, land, seeds, fertiliser and other inputs made available to host community farmers as strategy to meet up targets set out by the national sugar development master plan.
He further explained that the company is looking at varieties of yield in direct relations with the NSDC in order to get best results.
Improving relations with host communities
Judex said the company worked closely with local indigenous sugarcane farmers at Numan, through its established sugarcane outgrower development scheme, to improve the community farmer’s participation in the Sugar for Nigeria Project, boost their income, while improving cane quality and yields at the mills.
The model is targeted to enrich many farmers in the host communities comprising five local governments that surround the factory.
“We have enough room for improvement in the Outgrower Scheme Programme, and the gain goes to the communities.
“The scheme is a win-win business, hoping the business would better the living standard of people in host communities”.
Refinery to generate 32MW of electricity after upgrading
The ongoing upgrading of Dangote Sugar Refinery, Numan, is expected to generate 32 megawatts of electricity from installation of new turbines and 2-high pressure boilers of 90 tonnes of stem per hour when completed.
The company’s originally installed electricity capacity of 2-turbines generates 6.4 megawatts far below electricity requirements during peak sugarcane harvest and production, usually in November.
Reinstate commitment to the achievement of backward integration
Meanwhile, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc has expressed its commitment to the achievement of sugar backward integration
The chairman of the company, Aliko Dangote, while speaking during the 16th Annual General Meeting of Dangote Sugar Plc, in Lagos recently, said it was the best thing that happened to the sector.
He said despite the harsh operating environment, the board and management were not deterred in the pursuit of sustainable growth for the company, and demonstrated resilience by continued implementation of its strategic objectives during the 2021 financial year.
At the meeting, the dividend pay-out of N12.147bn for the year which represents N1 per share was unanimously approved by the shareholders.
The company recorded a group turnover of N276bn, which is 29 per cent increase over N214bn in the comparative year.
It recorded profit before tax of N34.02bn and profit after tax of N22.05bn. Group EBITDA decreased to N46.5bn with an EBITDA margin of 18 per cent.
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