Danja sugar factory rots away in Katsina
It was meant to play a great role in industrializing the state,but this sugar factory in Katsina state is lying comatose. Background The multi million naira Danja Sugar Company, Katsina which was established in March 2003 by former President Umaru Musa Yar’adua when he was governor of the state, has become another abandoned project and […]
It was meant to play a great role in industrializing the state,but this sugar factory in Katsina state is lying comatose.
Background
The multi million naira Danja Sugar Company, Katsina which was established in March 2003 by former President Umaru Musa Yar’adua when he was governor of the state, has become another abandoned project and it is gradually rotting away.
Yar’adua had written to the National Sugar Development Council NSDC seeking for allocation of one of the pilot 30TCD Mini sugar plants earlier imported by the council, as the NSCD couldn’t oblige having already allotted them. The state government after several negotiations purchased a 50TCD from MINDEX of UK, but it lacked an auxiliary power unit.
The machinery were delivered to Danja on 8th October 2003 with the hope that installation will commence late November or early December 2003. To fast track installation and test running, the state government requested the assistance of NSDC to provide it with a 125KVA generator and a 33KVA transformer on loan. By October 2007, NSDC undertook and completed civil works, while installation and test running was done in February 2008.
The test running was done over a period of 14 days, but there were no records available on the performance of the test running ,and it was halted abruptly due to the unavailability of cane to crush.
The company was created with the aim of adding value to sugar cane farming, creating employment and increasing revenue drive for both the farmers and the state. However, these ideals have not come to fruition given the non commitment to the project by successive governments. Since the initial installation and test running of the factory, the plant has not functioned.
Present situation
When Daily Trust visited the factory, it was in a sorry state and presented a deplorable condition with virtually all the machines seen in rusty condition. The roofs of the factory have been blown off by winds over the years, just as grasses have taken over the facility which could have served as a source of livelihood for many.
The factory machinery components as well as its generating sets are in dire need of service. The transformer and laboratory equipment have to be restored as they are nowhere to be found.
Concerted efforts were made by the former administration to examine the possibility of yet again picking up with production, and a combined committee made up of state officials, and those from NSDC was set up to revive the plant.
A copy of their report obtained exclusively in Katsina shows that the operation of the plant can be profitable, and assist the state in its industrialization and job creation drive, if all the current lapses are rectified. It also recommended for proper feasibility studies which was never done, to be carried out to identify the full potential of the Danja area, and the plant capacity suitable for the site.
Sugar cane farmers react
Danja, Kafur and Bakori local governments are known for the farming of sugarcane, and with the coming of the company, more farmers delved into it, thereby recording massive production.
It was learnt that since the creation of the company nothing tangible can be said to have been achieved, having been abandoned by successive governments. Perhaps, this laudable initiative had at one time boosted the revenue base of the farmers and the state alike.
Initially, farmers were encouraged with new and improved sugar cane seedlings in addition to good pricing, to produce the commodity for outright purchase and processing into sugar.
However, most of the farmers that benefited from the initiative have now abandoned its farming, given the non patronage arising from the glut in its production. The few that still engage in it get buyers from as far as Jigawa, Bauchi and Kano.
Adamu Mohammad, a farmer who had participated in the test run program, said it was all joy for the farmers then, recalling how each farmer was trying to ensure the best cultivation practices of the commodity at that time.
He said, “improved seedlings were given to us then and virtually all the wet lands beside the streams engaged in sugar cane cultivation, many of us enjoyed its farming while it lasted. As I’m talking to you now the buyers from those places are not forth coming as before given the decline. I have replaced the commodity with tomatoes and other vegetables in my garden.”
Mohammed Lawal Mustapha said at the time all the villages around the area bring their commodities to the company for the processing of sugar, however this is now history.
He said all the workers have fled the company to other places like the ones in Lokoja, Kano and Jigawa, as they cannot continue to waste away.
He said “if people learn that the company has revived, I’m assuring you that they will re-engage with commercial sugar cane farming, giving what we had seen in the past.”
While calling on government to resuscitate the abandoned Sugar factory for the economic well being of the state, Mustapha said “we have lost a lot, but it is not too late to give it a try once more.”
Musa Bello, another farmer, said the company is comatose, and that they have returned to the old ways of sugar extraction despite its tedious nature and processes. He said the production process of the local sweetener involves the use of horses, generator or motorcycle which turn the engine which squeezes the juice out of the sugarcane.
The sugar juice is then cooked for about two hours during which particles of cane stalks are sieved from it. It will then take the brown sugar about 20 minutes to cool, become solidified and ready for use.
An official of the Ministry of Commerce who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the company was among the several established by the Yar’adua administration in its drive to industrialise the state, by boosting its economy and creating employment opportunities.
He said, some of the first challenges encountered with the project was that of power supply to the company. The Generating set then wasn’t able to run the plant properly, as plans were on going to address the issue, a transition period set in and that was how the problem started. As at then we had only produced 30 bags of sugar before it became comatose. The bureaucracy of government and its non challant attitude also played a vital role in folding up the place.
According to him, efforts were made again during the immediate past administration to revive the project, when about six million naira was released by government, and a counter part funding of another six million naira was sourced from National Sugar Development council to install additional machines and to make it commercially viable.
At present no production takes place as Sugar cane farmers plead for the new administration to properly examine the operational status of the company, with a view to making it more functional and viable for the state.
Way forward
From the NSDC recommendation report, the plant can be viable if Sugar cane farmers are re grouped and trained for better organisation and ease of field operations, such as field mechanical operations, harvesting and haulage. Planning and execution of all field and harvesting operations of the out growers, should be handled by an experienced field officer, lost facilities should be restored and upgraded with proper managerial control mechanism in place.
Only recently, the state government constituted a fifteen man committee to organise an Investment and Economic Summit, aimed at attracting investors and boosting the revenue base of the state.
Speaking during the inauguration of a 15 man committee for the event, the state Governor Aminu Masari said the need for the summit was necessitated giving the dwindling revenue accrued to the state.
According to him, it was only proper for government to diversify its revenue base, especially those vital ones left untapped over the years by previous government to check the fall in revenue.
He said, despite being among the highest in terms of federation allocation, Katsina is also the third on the poverty index, noting that this situation is unfortunate as wealth is being taken out of the state, instead of engaging the people within for execution of projects that will check capital flight.