Here’s the latest in ESM’s regular series, Notes From Africa, which brings you the latest retail, consumer goods, and food and beverage stories from across the African continent. Past editions can be found here.
Nigeria: Jubaili Agrotec Receives $35 Million In Financial Support
Nigerian agrochemical manufacturer Jubaili Agrotec has received $35 million in financial supports from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The financial package will help the company to expand its production capacity for crop protection products and fertilisers in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda. Overall, the initiative aims to make these agricultural inputs available and more accessible to farmers in the context of a general surge in input prices on the world market. Founded in 1944, Jubaili Agrotec has been present in Nigeria since 2002. The group employs around 2,300 people in sub-Saharan Africa and supplies its products to nearly 50,000 farmers in the region.
Burkina Faso: Agroserv Industries To Install New Corn Processing Plant
Agroserv Industries SA, a Burkinabe company specialising in corn processing, has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the USAID Trade and Investment Hub. The company plans to use the fund to develop a second corn milling unit in Bobo Dioulasso in order to meet the market demand for grits and flour. Thanks to the planned expansion, the share of maize supplies directly purchased from Agroserv Industries' producers will increase from its current 20% to 75%. Agroserv Industries was formed in 2008 and operates a production unit in the Kossodo industrial zone in Ouagadougou with two automated production lines with a production capacity of 50 tonnes per day each.
Zambia: Zambeef Receives $35 Million Credit For Agribusiness Expansion Plan
Zambeef Products, Zambia's leading agribusiness conglomerate, has secured a $35 million credit facility from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The funding will support the company's three-year expansion plan, which has a total cost of $100 million. As part of this investment strategy, Zambeef plans to increase its various production and processing capacities as well as its local purchases of raw materials such as wheat, corn, milk and animal ingredients. The company also plans to renovate its feed production plant, construct livestock buildings, acquire agricultural equipment and irrigate 1,000 hectares of farmland. Overall, the project is expected to create 1,400 new jobs.
Nigeria: Chinese Investors To Establish 10,000 Hectare Rice Field In Yobe State
In Nigeria, a group of Chinese investors is planning to establish a 10,000 hectare rice plantation in the northern state of Yobe. According to reports, the farm will be devoted to growing a new and improved variety of rice based on modern Chinese agricultural technology. This will provide a five-fold increase in yield compared to conventional rice seed on the same plot of land. This project, when completed, will be one of the largest rice farms in the country. As a reminder, Nigeria is the leading rice producer in Africa with a harvest of nearly eight million tonnes per year.
Tanzania: Government To Invest In Flour Mills And Warehouses
Tanzania's Cereals and Other Produce Board (CPB) has been allocated 20.5 billion shillings ($8.7 million) to finance the construction of three flour manufacturing plants over the period 2022/2023. According to local media reports, the first processing unit will be set up in the town of Mwanza, and will boast a daily production of 125 tons of cassava and corn flour.
The second unit, to be set up in the town of Mzizma, will have a processing capacity of 100 tonnes of corn flour per day. The final unit will be located in the district of Kyela and will have a milling capacity of 96 tonnes of rice per day. At the same time, the funding should also enable CPB to install new warehouses and silos to increase its grain storage capacity to 600,000 tonnes from the current 120,000 tonnes. This should enable the government agency to reduce post-harvest losses, which affect approximately 30% of the rice crop.
Kenya: Eni Launches Oilseed Crushing Plant in Makueni County
In Kenya, Italian oil and gas company Eni has commissioned a vegetable oil extraction unit for energy purposes in Makueni County. With an installed processing capacity of 15,000 tonnes of oilseeds, the plant is expected to supply 2,500 tonnes of vegetable oil by the end of 2022. The new unit will also produce animal feed and bio-fertilisers from the by-products of oil extraction. According to the company, the construction of a second plant is planned in the near future to bring the company's total installed processing capacity to 30,000 tonnes by 2023.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest A-brand news. Article by Espoir Olodo. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
