From Rashida Suleiman,Minna
Niger State Government has announced a strategic partnership with Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN), owners of Sunti Golden Sugar Estate, to boost sugar production and strengthen the agricultural market system. Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago,, disclosed that the State has earmarked 20,000 hectares of land to upscale sugar cultivation and processing.
The Governor made this known while receiving the Chairman of Flour Mills of Nigeria, Mr. John G. Coumantaros, alongside a delegation of foreign investors from Brazil, the United States, and South Africa, who were in Minna for an on site review of agricultural opportunities in the State.
The visiting team also toured the Tagwai Dam and the Tagwai Breeding and Feedlots Centre, where Governor Bago reiterated his administration’s vision to make Niger State a key contributor to Nigeria’s food security agenda.
According to Governor Bago, the partnership with FMN marks a major step toward transforming the agricultural market system by prioritizing infrastructure, institutional capacity, and food production for both export and local consumption. He further explained that the collaboration aligns with the Niger State Livestock Modernization Programme, which promotes South South technological exchange between Nigeria and Brazil.
The initiative aims to tackle challenges in pasture management, feed production, animal health, and the livestock value chain, with particular focus on empowering herders, women, and youth through enhanced productivity and sustainability.
Governor Bago reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to working with development partners to harness the State’s vast natural resources especially its numerous dams and water bodies to enable all year round agricultural production.
In his remarks, FMN Chairman Mr. John Coumantaros commended Governor Bago’s visionary leadership, describing him as a transformative force in Nigeria’s agro industrial sector. He noted that the collaboration would uplift farmers’ livelihoods through seed production, sugar expansion, and other agricultural development programs aimed at reshaping the State’s agro-ecosystem.
Other investors also expressed optimism about the partnership, pledging their support for Governor Bago’s agricultural revolution, which they described as a model for sustainable development and economic growth in Nigeria.