National Sugar Development Council : News & Events |
Date |
News & Event |
| May 24, 2010 |
NATIONAL COUNCIL ON COMMERCE & INDUSTRY APPROVES NIGERIAN SUGAR MASTER PLAN
The National Council on Commerce & Industry (NCCI), the highest policy making body for the commerce and industry in Nigeria has approved the new Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP). The memo on the plan was presented to the Council by the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) at its 3rd meeting held in Kano on 17th-21st May, 2010.
The total cost of implementing the NSMP has been estimated at $3.1billion while the NSDC will require 10% of this sum ($310) to undertake preliminary works and studies in all the various sites that can support commercial cane production across all agro-scological zones of the country. If the plan could be implemented as envisaged, it is expected that Nigeria would by 2020, be in position to produce 1.3mmt/annum of sugar, 120,000L/day of ethanol, 115,000tons/annum of animal feeds and generate 389mw of electricity as well as over 98,000 new job opportunities.
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| May 25, 2010 |
NATIONAL COUNCIL ON COMMERCE & INDUSTRY APPROVES NEW GUIDELINES FOR THE IMPORTATION OF REFINED UNFORTIFIED SUGAR
The 3rd meeting of the National Council on Commerce & Industry (NCCI-03) came up in Kano on 17-21 May, 2010. It had in attendance the Federal Ministry of Commerce & Industry as well as the 36 State Commisioners on Commerce & Industry nationwide. Among the several memoranda tabled before the Council for deliberation was the one submitted by the Industrial Development Department (IDD) of the Federal Ministry of Commerce & Industry (FMCI) in which it sought the Councils approval of the new guidelines for the importantion of refined unfortified sugar.
It will be recalled that since Jan 2005 when the Nigerian government's policy on Vit 'A' Fortification programme affectively took off, importation of refined unfortified sugar has been regulated and can only be imported by very few importers for the few industries utilizing the commodity. This was ostensibely to prevent the illegal flow of unfortified sugar into the domestic sugar market.
In recent times, the country has witnessed unbridled importation and dumping of all kinds of sugar, including unfortified sugar into the local market - a situation regarded by Government to be inimical to the health of its citizens and economy. To stem this unwholesome trend, the Ministry has come up with a new set of guidelines which include;
1. The packaging of such sugar must be tamper-proof and must be labelled with the inscription, "FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY"
2. SONCAP certification is mandatory for all consignments.
3. Companies granted approval for its importation must commence investment in backward integration on local sugar production.
4. The Federal Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the National Sugar Development Council will monitor and evaluate compliance with these guidelines and defaulting importers will have their approvals revoked forthwith.
The NCCI-03 approved these guidelines for immediate implementation and solicits the cooperation of all stakeholders on compliance.
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| May 28, 2010 |
NIGERIA AND COTE D'IVOIRE TO OBTAIN $2.1M CFC GRANT
The Executive Board of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) at its 48th Meeting on 21, October 2009, has approved the financing of a Sugarcane variety improvement project for West Africa. The participating countries in the sub-region are Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire.
While the CFC will provide a grant of US $1.6, participating countries are expected to provide counterpart funding to the tune of $502,372.
The National Sugar Development Council is to serve as the Project Executing Agency (PEA) while the International Sugar Organisation (ISO) will serve as the Supervisory Body (SB). The 5-year project which is expected to commence in August 2010, involves 2 agricultural research institutes in Nigeria and one from Cote d'Ivoire. The institutes include the National Cereals Research Institute, Bida, Nigeria and the Unilorin Sugar Research Institute, Ilorin, Nigeria, and the Centre National de Researche' Agronomique (CNRA), Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.
The project also has a capacity development component involving the training of 21 scientists and technicians in various fields of sugarcane agriculture, at a renown sugarcane training institution abroad.
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| June 1, 2010 |
NATIONAL SUGAR DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL'S WEBSITE UPDATE & UPGRADE
The Mangement of the National Sugar Development Council has recently ordered that its website - www.nsdc.gov.ng be upgraded to make it a more informative and interactive platform that offers satisfactory services to our esteemed stakeholders and the public at large. The new-look site was launched in June, 2010.
Among the new features of the site are the pages on Sugar Prices, News & Events, Advertisements, Sensitisezation Programmes, Gallery, Sugar Business etc. We use this opportunity to invite our readers to check out the site which has now been repackaged to provide more up to date information on the Nigerian Sugar Sector. We also welcome your comments and advice through the feedback platform. Thank you. |
| June 5, 2010 |
NATIONAL SUGAR DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL ACQUIREs NEW OFFICE LOCATION
The National Sugar Development Council will move its headquarter offices from its present premises to a new one located at Ndola Cresent, Wuse zone 5, Abuja. The office is currently undergoing some finishing touches. The movement is scheduled to take place, as soon as the renovation is completed. |
| August 3, 2010 |
NSDC HOSTS INCEPTION MEETING OF THE CFC/ISO PROJECT
The inception meeting of the CFC/ISO West Africa Sugarcane Developoment project (WASDP) was held on Tuesday 2nd August, 2010 at the Rockview Hotels, Abuja.
The WASDP is a 5-year regional project that would cost a total sum of $2.1m, to be funded by grants in the sum of $1.6m from the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) while the two participating countries, Nigeria and Cote d'voire are to jointly provide the sum of $0.5m as counterpart fund. The project also has a capacity development component under which 21 scientists and technicians from the 3 Collaborating Institutions (CI); National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Nigeria, Unilorin Sugar Reseach Institute (USRI), Nigeria, and Centre Nationale de Recherche Agronomique (CNRA), Cote d'Ivoire.
The inception meeting was presided over by the Chairman of the NSDC, Abuja, Governing Board, Alh. Mohammed Shaba Lafiagi. The special guest of honor at the ceremony was the Governor representing Nigeria on the CFC Executive Board and the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Dr. A. K. Mohammed, who delivered a keynote address. All other stakeholders from the CFC, International Sugar Organization (ISO), Collaborating Institutions, the Chairman, Nigerian Association of Sugarcane Outgrowers (NOSA) and officials of the Project Executing Agency (PEA) which is the National Sugar Development Council, were also in attendance. Miss Eltha Brown, the First Project Officer represented the CFC while Mr. Linsay Jolly a Senior Economist represented the ISO.
At the end of the plenary session, the following decisions among others were reached:
1. The varieties to be imported would be proven varieties noted for high and consistent performance in countries with similar agro-climatic and edaphic conditions to Nigeria.
2. The end-users of the project output i.e outgrower farmers, should be trained constantly on the agronomic peculiarities of the selected varieties.
3. There will be 4-levels of monitoring and supervision of the project respectively by the CFC/ISO, West African Cane Implementation Committee (WACIC), the PEA and the Collaborating Institutions.
4. Report of all monitoring visits and supervision missions must be prepared by the PEA and forwarded to the CFC, ISO and the relevant government agencies of the governments of Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire.
5. On financing, all cost adjustments must be accomodated within the approved budget limit, while additional cost incurred would be funded through the counterpart fund. |
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