Dangote Sugar Refinery has disclosed its readiness to increase its spending on out-grower farmers in Adamawa State from N500 million to N1 billion for the next farming season in order to further empower farmers and boost economic activities.
The Group General Manager of the firm, Bello Dan-Musa, at the sugar factory pointed out that the move to expand the Out Growers Farmers Scheme was to accommodate more people that have an interest in the opportunity provided by the organization.
Dan-Musa noted that the Out Growers Scheme was introduced as part of the company’s policy to encourage host community members to practice good agricultural practices as well as to assist them in becoming financially independent.
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He said the scheme has put smiles on the faces of many families within and outside the state, adding that youths in the five local councils that comprise the host community have taken advantage of the scheme to improve their lives.
According to him, the firm helped beneficiaries prepare the land, plant sugarcane, and provide fertilizer and other chemicals needed by the out-grower farmers, stating that the work of the farmer is to pump water, which was also provided to their farms by the company.
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The group manager went further to add that after the company does the harvest, the management calculates the cost of the chemicals spent, deducts it from the total cost of the harvest for each out-grower, and pays them the balance.
The secretary of the Out Growers Farmers Association, Mr. Peter Guza, commended the firm for the scheme, saying his life has changed from abject poverty to a comfortable villager that can handle and control his financial needs, disclosing that he gets between N1.4m and N1.7m every year without paying for house rent or buying food for his family.
