Nigeria - Nigeria – Need for UK expertise in the agriculture value chain of a multi-million dollar farm project

Description

1. Fruits Plantation Project

One of the largest manufacturing conglomerates in Nigeria is seeking UK Partners in the development of its over 75,000 hectares of Farmland for the production of fresh fruits (i.e. pineapple, banana, citrus and papaya), pineapple concentrates, Puree and IQF.
To enable the company achieve its objective to be the foremost producer of fresh fruits and concentrates in Nigeria, the construction of a 24,000 tonnes (cpa) processing plant is on going.

The Farms and processing plants are in area with about 3,600 mm rainfall per annum which is very conducive for the cultivation of fruits. The abundant rainfall eliminates the need for irrigation, which usually accounts for about 30% of production costs per hectare, although a future need for irrigation may be considered for the plantation.

The Farms have proximity to sea ports and airport which will facilitate easy transportation of products locally and for exports.
Some international companies are already showing significant interest in the uptake of their products and have conducted site visitations. The company is already engaging both local and foreign technical partners for seedling propagation in Nigeria.
Major milestones achieved to date on the project include the following:

• Planted about 27,000 tonnes of Smooth Cayenne pineapple on 300 hectares of land.
• Imported and planted about 1 million units of MD2 pineapple suckers in its nursery as a trial, prior to the commencement of commercial planting.
• Constructed a 40m bridge for easy access across the project area.

The company is currently raising seedling for their fruits i.e. pineapple, banana, citrus and papaya and by the end of the year, planting will start.

Areas of Interest in UK Based Partner(s)

In view of their focus areas, they are seeking to work with UK companies in expertise in the following areas:

• Waste Management / Renewable Companies who can make productive use of the fruits’ waste.
• Producer of Fruit Concentrates, Puree and IQF.
• Agri-Tech equipment and machineries that can be deployed to any of the specified processing.
• Consultancy services / Farm Management in any of the highlighted areas above.
• Companies that specialise in industrial deployment of Turbine / solar solution in order to generate power for the farm project.
• Sustainable Housing plan for the staff
• Training, skills, and technology transfer in the area of Good Agricultural Practice.
• Quality planting materials not tissue cultured.

UK Companies that have specific expertise in the opportunities highlighted above should indicate their interest with a page summary on their proposed areas of interest and deliverables.

Opportunity closing date

30 September 2016

Value of contract

to be confirmed