The management of Dangote Sugar Group has revealed that the company would employ over 150,000 new staff members to work in its new sugar plantations in about six states of Kwara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Taraba and Kogi.

The company also announced the appointment of a new group Managing Director for the Dangote Sugar Group, Mr. Graham Clark, and also announced the promotion of the former Dangote Sugar Managing Director, Mr. Abdullahi Sule, to the position of Deputy Group Managing Director of Dangote Sugar Group.

Clark said the Sugar Group would continue to strengthen output, sales and distribution through a large distribution network as well as have additional investment for new factories.

Revealing that plans were underway to begin production in Savannah Sugar, one of Dangote Sugar's subsidiaries, with the aim of increasing its sugar refineries to five across the country, he said Dangote Sugar embarked on the expansion as part of its efforts to boost the integrated sugar cane farming and sugar milling through increased plant capacity from 50,000 tonnes per annum to 200, 000 tonnes

According to Clark, the remodelling of the integrated sugar production would enhance the company's value-chain process, as by-products would be extracted from sugar cane for production.

He said, "Unlike before, where we import raw sugar for refining, the economic model of the sugar plantation is profitable when examined from the value-chain process. We will change the whole process and seek partnerships with communities and state governments in order to aid land acquisition for sugar plantation.

"The company is actively pursuing a backward integration master plan with a target of producing a total of 1.5 million tonnes of sugar per annum locally from its subsidiaries. We will also continue to strengthen output, sales and distribution through a large distribution network."

He added that the company would harness opportunities in the regional markets after it had satisfied demands in the local market.

Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), was recently quoted to have invested N18 billion to cater for latest farming equipment, expansion of the field/irrigation channels, importation of cane variety, community settlement and staff compensation/welfare package(s).

A statement from the company revealed that Savannah sugar has 5,200 hectares currently under cultivation with cane and has a daily can crushing capacity of 4,000MT. As a front line player in the backward integration policy, the Savannah sugar's projection is to produce one million tonnes of white sugar by 2015, cultivating 100,000 hectares in about six states of Kwara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Taraba and Kogi.

Savannah Sugar is capable of producing 50,000 metric tonnes of sugar per annum. The nation's foremost sugar refinery has increased its market share of the Nigerian sugar market in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 as part of the strategies to grow the company both locally and globally. The company is planning to resume exports to selected West African countries in the first quarter of 2014.