South West Agricultural Company Limited (SWAgCo), the agribusiness arm of Odu’a Investment Company Limited (OICL), has signed N10 billion worth of joint venture agreements with three multinational corporations to drive agro-industrialisation in South West Nigeria.
SWAgCO partnered with PETAGULS Cultivars & Seedling Technologies Ltd, Foodlocker Limited, Starlink Global & Ideal Limited, and the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF).
The project is also expected to involve Westlink Integrated Agriculture Limited, the implementing partner, an operating portfolio company of SWAgCo.
One of the major parts of the investment is a N4.6 billion Cocoa Plantation Joint Venture with Starlink Global & Ideal Limited and PETAGULS.
This five-year project will be located at either the Odu’a Agro-Industrial Hub in Oke-Ako, Ekiti State, or Akunnu, Ondo State, pending final land validation. It will begin with a 100-hectare pilot phase in its first year and expand to 1,000 hectares by its fifth year.
According to SWAgCo, the cocoa project is expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs, stimulate local economies, improve livelihoods, and encourage sustainable development. It will also harness existing irrigation infrastructure to enhance food security and support long-term regional growth.
Starlink Global & Ideal Limited brings over four decades of expertise in international cocoa trading and African commodity markets, while PETAGULS specialises in advanced cocoa seedling production and agricultural consultancy.
In another deal, SWAgCo will partner with Foodlocker Limited in a three-year N5.2 billion venture to integrate the production of maize, soybeans, sorghum, and beef at the Odu’a Agro-Industrial Hub in Imeko, Ogun State.
Commencing with 200 hectares in the first year, the project aims to expand to 1,000 hectares by the third year, including forming a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) within the initial year. This initiative is projected to enhance livelihoods, foster community development, and improve food security by utilising available irrigation water. Furthermore, it is expected to spur infrastructure development and contribute to sustained economic advancement in the South-West region.
Foodlocker Limited was founded in December 2017 by millennials who were ex-Amazon and ex-Bunnings Warehouse employees with over 25 years of experience in Agriculture, Operations Management, Finance, Marketing, Sales, Data Science, and Engineering. Foodlocker is backed by Founders Factory Africa, the African Development Bank, and local VCs.
They are also the first AgriTech startup to win the diamond prize at the prestigious Impulse Accelerator Program, an initiative driven by OCP Group (the World’s largest Phosphate fertiliser company), OCP Africa, UM6P of Morocco, Mass Challenge Boston and Mass Challenge Switzerland.
The company is the first African AgriTech/FoodTech startup selected by SVG Ventures in Silicon Valley, San Francisco.
The venture with BATNF is a ₦65 million maize production program on fifty hectares at Odu’a Agro-Industrial Hub, Oke-Ako, Ekiti State. It aims to provide smallholder farmers with credit, inputs, training on good agricultural practices, cultivation, harvesting, storage services, and marketing services.
The ₦32 million revolving grant from BATNF will be available over two years to improve the livelihoods of rural maize farmers.
The project seeks to improve their production capacity, skills, access to necessary resources and markets, ultimately increasing their income. This initiative aligns with BATNF’s broader objective of empowering rural Nigeria through agribusiness development for a sustainable future.
Source: Business Day
Image Credit: This Day
