Premier Plantations Limited, a subsidiary of Nosak Group, a Nigerian industrial conglomerate is seeking to invest in the country’s new investment hub, Ekiti State.
With the recent clamour and drive to make agriculture the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, Premier Plantations majoring in the cultivation of cassava and other feedstocks, is planning to establish a 6,000ha cassava plantation in the Southwest region of Nigeria.
The crust of the plantation is the cultivation of cassava and the conversion of the same into ethanol.
The denatured ethanol derived is expected to feed the 150,000 litres per day ethanol refinery of its sister company, Nosak Distilleries, for onward distillation and supply to the industrial and retail end-users.
For processing, the company will need about 1,200 tonnes of cassava per day. In addition, Premier will explore other opportunities in the cassava value chain including the processing of garri, high-quality cassava flour, and starch production.
With this volume, they will set up an out-grower scheme for smallholder cassava farmers in collaboration with the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA).
The project will mostly target the youth with the potential to create more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Ekiti State has been attracting a myriad of investments courtesy of the government’s focus on building an enabling environment for business to thrive.
Just the other day, Promasidor one of Nigeria’s leading dairy processors in partnership with the state government, received 250 new Jersey cows from Texas, USA, an addition to its existing herd of 192 indigenous and crossbred cows available on the Ikun Dairy Farm Limited (IDFL).
IDFL is a joint venture between the processor and the state government initiated in 2019, which saw Promasidor inject US$5m investment to reactivate the farm, as a catalyst that will turn around the economic fortune of the state.
Other agro-allied companies that have invested in the state’s agriculture industry include Stallion Group who have received a Certificate of Occupancy for a US$10 million rice mill in Ado-Ekiti.
In addition, Dangote Group is also finalising plans to locate a US$5 million mill within the same location, which is now being seen as the rice processing hub of the state.
In the cassava value chain, FMS Farms is finalising plans to set up a US$10 million starch processing plant and farm in Ikole council area and has already commenced farming activities.
Another agro-based firm, Promise Point, has also invested US$15 million in its starch processing facility within the same area, which has also been designated as part of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone.
