BUA Foods and the dawn of Arewa’s Agro-Industrial Renaissance
By Baba El-Yakubu Last week heralded a rare, good news from the North. It is about the rebirth of Lafiagi Sugar Company (LASUCO). This is more than the revival of a dormant asset; it is a statement of intent about Nigeria’s industrial future and the place of the North within it. The rebirth is […]
By Baba El-Yakubu
Last week heralded a rare, good news from the North. It is about the rebirth of Lafiagi Sugar Company (LASUCO). This is more than the revival of a dormant asset; it is a statement of intent about Nigeria’s industrial future and the place of the North within it. The rebirth is a newsworthy development, but the company is old. It was established in 1977 as a joint venture between the Federal Government of Nigeria and India’s Mehta Group. It was conceived as a fully integrated sugar complex. Unfortunately, as with many stories in Nigeria’s industrialisation journey, policy missteps and an aborted privatisation delayed that vision. Today, nearly half a century later, that vision is finally being realised and at a scale that far exceeds the original blueprint. It is something the northern governors and President Tinubu’s government should promote and attempt to replicate. The cost of the entire project is about $300 million. To put it in perspective, it represents a mere 2.5 per cent of the total allocation for the Lagos–Calabar +Highway. This implies that the highway’s cost is equivalent to about 40 value addition companies of the average size of Lafiagi Sugar. One can, therefore, imagine the scale of job creation, import substitution, and the positive feedback effects such investments could generate.
That is why this is a landmark achievement that is worth celebrating. I will definitely celebrate it in my undergraduate Chemical Engineering classes. I will use it as a case study of value addition to simple agricultural produce such as sugarcane. With the acquisition and sustained investment by BUA Foods Plc, LASUCO has been transformed into the largest greenfield sugar project by any major player in Nigeria. It is a fully integrated set of operations across 20,000 hectares, including plantations, irrigation systems, refinery and milling, ethanol plant, power plant, housing estate, airstrip, healthcare and education facilities. At 80 per cent completion, based on 10,000 tons of cane crushed per day, the upgraded facility is designed to deliver: (i) 220,000 metric tons of refined sugar per annum, (ii) 35 MW of embedded power generation, (iii) 20 million litres of industrial ethanol annually. This is not incremental progress; it is structural transformation.
Such an undertaking reflects the unwavering commitment of Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Foods Plc, to long-term industrialisation —one anchored in domestic value creation rather than import dependence. Nigeria consumes between 1.5 million and 1.7 million metric tons of sugar annually, yet remains heavily import-dependent. The LASUCO project alone meaningfully shifts that balance. We also consume about 400 million to 600 million litres of ethanol annually, of which over 90 per cent is imported. LASUCO’s ethanol stream therefore represents not only diversification, but strategic import substitution with implications for energy, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and industrial manufacturing. This achievement deserves commendation – not just for its scale, but for its philosophy.
I am excited about the project because LASUCO matters beyond sugar. It brings about spiral economic benefits. This is what Chemical Engineers refer to as positive feedback loop, where increased investment in raw materials processing, innovation, and consumer spending fuel continuous expansion into more processes and more consumption. LASUCO demonstrates what agricultural industrial value addition truly means: (i) creation of thousands of jobs that span farming, engineering, logistics, chemistry, power gener+ation, and services, (ii) rural infrastructure that anchors communities rather than extracting from them, (iii) industrial clusters that stimulate ancillary businesses—transport, packaging, maintenance, ICT, and finance and (iv) export potential that earns foreign exchange while stabilising domestic supply. This is how agriculture becomes industry, and how industry becomes development. In my estimation, LASUCO is to Lafiagi what Dangote Petroleum Refinery is to Lekki. Lafiagi could emerge as one of the most prosperous rural communities in the North. The Emir of Lafiagi – Alhaji Muhammad Kawu – may be the most important monarch in the region. For Arewa, this is particularly significant. The North holds Nigeria’s largest expanse of arable land – about 80 per cent, yet remains under-industrialised. LASUCO signals a reversal of that paradox. It is a decisive step toward Making Arewa Great Again—not as a slogan, but as an economic strategy.
As a student of History, I believe that nations that transformed their economies did so by adding value to agricultural output, not exporting raw produce. Let me cite my four favourite examples: Brazil, Thailand, India and Malaysia. (i) Brazil built a global ethanol and sugar powerhouse by integrating high-yield sugarcane, mechanisation, and cogeneration from bagasse. (ii) Thailand moved from raw sugar exports to refined sugar, ethanol, and bio-energy, creating millions of rural jobs. (iii) India used sugar cooperatives and ethanol blending policies to stabilise farmer incomes and industrial growth. And (iv) Malaysia turned palm oil into an industrial ecosystem—oleochemicals, biofuels, food ingredients, and exports. With LASUCO, BUA places Nigeria on the same trajectory—if the momentum is sustained.
As impressive as LASUCO is, it’s true potential lies ahead. My students case study of this company may focus on sustainability – areas for further improvement – and benefits. To maximise efficiency, resilience, and global competitiveness, several focus areas deserve attention: (i) based on our earlier studies on other crops for biofuels, it is important to have high-yield and climate-smart cultivars. Adoption of modern sugarcane varieties with higher sucrose content, drought tolerance, and shorter maturation cycles can significantly improve yields per hectare. For example, sugarcane yield in Nigeria is low and varies widely, at 60–100 tons per hectare. With advanced farming, yields can exceed 100-120 tons per hectare. Partnerships with international research institutes and local agricultural universities will be critical. (ii) based on increases in energy costs over the past decades, it is important to have advanced energy integration.
Bagasse-based cogeneration should be fully optimized so that the factory becomes energy self-sufficient year-round, with surplus power reliably exported to the grid. Integration with ethanol distillation heat recovery can further reduce energy intensity. (iii) Precision Agriculture and Digital Farming practice such as satellite mapping, soil sensors, and data-driven harvesting schedules can reduce water use, improve yields, and cut operating costs. (iv) Beyond sugar and ethanol, LASUCO can progressively expand into bio-chemicals, animal feed, and carbon credits—turning waste streams into revenue. And (v) based on experience from the Nigerian oil industry, there must be deliberate policy on development of human capital and local capacity. Continuous technical training, research collaboration, and skills development for Northern youth will ensure that the plant remains Nigerian-led in expertise, not just ownership.
As suggested at the beginning, the government of Bola Tinubu should not see LASUCO as an exception—it should become the template. Nigeria needs hundreds of such integrated agro-industrial projects across sugar, cassava, rice, maize, oilseeds, livestock, and horticulture. What BUA Foods has demonstrated at Lafiagi is that policy consistency, patient capital, and industrial vision can converge to potentially change a region’s destiny. Congratulations to Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu for turning a once-moribund enterprise into a flagship of Nigerian industrial ambition. LASUCO is proof that when agriculture meets industry on a scale, nations grow – and regions rise. I hope this is the opening chapter of Arewa’s agro-industrial renaissance.
El-Yakubu is a professor of Chemical Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Email: [email protected]