As Agbeyewa Farms Targets Bigger Share of $3.65bn Cassava Market

Raheem Akingbolu writes on  how a new Memorandum of Understanding  between the National Agricultural Land Development Authority  and Agbeyewa Farms could  drive industrial production, boost exports, and strengthen food security through the $3.65 billion cassava market

When President Bola Tinubu took office in 2023, his administration identified the need to move beyond oil and gas to secure long-term economic stability. Years of reliance on crude revenues had exposed the country to price shocks and global energy shifts, making diversification not just desirable but essential.

To confront this, the government adopted a dual-track approach: extracting maximum value from the oil and gas sector while aggressively broadening the economy through investments in renewable energy, gas utilization, solid minerals, and wider economic reforms.

Agriculture quickly emerged as a pivotal pillar in this strategy. Beyond food supply, the sector offered a pathway to foreign exchange earnings, reduced import pressure, and a stronger currency. In the past two years, the administration has pursued measures such as advancing technology, scaling processing capacity, and tackling systemic issues like land titling to attract investment and promote mechanization; all aimed at repositioning agriculture as a viable industrial and export engine.

In a major stride toward transforming Nigeria’s agricultural landscape, the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), recently signed a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Agbeyewa Farms, a partnership set to redefine the nation’s cassava value chain and accelerate industrial-scale production.

The MoU signing ceremony held in Abuja, brought together key government officials, industry stakeholders, development partners, and private sector leaders in a strong show of commitment to agricultural transformation.

Speaking at the event, Executive Secretary of NALDA,  Cornelius Olusegun Adebayo,  reaffirmed the agency’s strategic drive to support private sector-led agricultural expansion under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He recalled that his initial visit to Agbeyewa Farms in Ekiti State in 2024 was a defining moment that influenced NALDA’s decision to prioritize cassava as a critical focus crop and partnership with Agbeyewa Farms.

“Our conviction to partner with Agbeyewa Farms is anchored on the clear capacity of their investment, the scale of their operations, and the size of the farms. These factors validate our belief that Agbeyewa Farms is not just the largest cassava farm in Nigeria, but indeed the largest in Africa.”“We have moved beyond producing raw cassava quantities. The next phase for Nigeria is capturing the global market and this partnership is a key direction towards achieving that mark.”

He further announced that under the MoU, NALDA will clear an additional 5,000 hectares of land to support Agbeyewa’s large-scale cultivation drive, secure raw material availability for processing, and deepen industrial sector participation.

“Government has no business in running businesses. Rather, government should enable businesses to thrive. With Agbeyewa, we are building a model that proves that the private sector, supported with the right policies and legislations, can scale faster, bigger, and more sustainably,” he added.

In his remarks, Mr. OSKA Seyi Aiyeleso, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Agbeyewa Farms, expressed deep appreciation to NALDA for translating months of strategic engagement into a formal alliance that will reshape Nigeria’s agricultural future.

He reflected on Agbeyewa’s bold growth trajectory, disclosing that the company has already cultivated over 3,000 hectares of cassava, with expansion plans to reach 5,000 hectares by the end of 2025.

“Agbeyewa Farms is today the largest cassava farm in Africa. With this collaboration, we are positioned to become the largest in the world. This is not just growth; it is transformation. This is not just farming, this is industrial repositioning.”

Aiyeleso added that Agbeyewa’s operating model is anchored on four core pillars — cultivation, aggregation, agro-processing, and agro-training, driven by full mechanisation. He also reaffirmed the company’s commitment to economic empowerment, revealing that its workforce has now grown to over 2,000 direct jobs, with thousands more supported across its value chain.

Both leaders applauded President Tinubu for championing reforms that strengthen private sector participation, unlock investment, and remove systemic barriers to growth.

Delivering the technical framework for the partnership,  Technical Adviser to NALDA,  Mathew O. Owolabi, described the MoU as a strategic collaboration designed to share resources, mitigate operational risks, strengthen transparency, and unlock long-term institutional value for Nigeria’s agricultural economy.

Observers believe that this development is still in line with the Tinubu administration’s approach to the sector’s growth, which focuses on food security through a combination of declaring a state of emergency, mechanization programs, and financial support for farmers. Key initiatives include the launch of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), distributing 2,000 tractors and other implements, and implementing the Nigerian Farmers Soil Health Scheme. The administration has also partnered internationally, created the Ministry of Livestock Development, and is working to boost dry season farming.Meanwhile, stakeholders in the agric sector have expressed optimism about the transformation that is expected to take place in Nigeria’s cassava industry in the near future.

This position was expressed during a workshop organised early this year, by Cavista Holdings and Agbeyewa Farms which was held at Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort, Ekiti State.

The event, held just a day after Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture’s visit to Agbeyewa Farms, brought together representatives from Cavista Holdings, Agbeyewa Farms, the Nigeria Agricultural Development Fund (NADF), Nigeria Cassava Industrialisation Alliance (NCIA) and the Lagos Business School (LBS) among others.

The Chief of Staff to the Ekiti State Governor,    Niyi Adebayo,    represented the state government and highlighted ongoing initiatives to boost cassava production and agribusiness development.

Adebayo outlined the government’s land-clearing initiative, which has opened 5,000 hectares for young farmers adding that the state has introduced mechanization and agribusiness programs for over 3,000 youth, aligning with national goals to increase agricultural productivity and employment.During the workshop, stakeholders engaged in in-depth discussions on agricultural financing, mechanisation, logistics efficiency, and value addition, all geared toward positioning Nigeria as a leader in cassava processing.

A lecturer at Lagos Business School, Doyin Salami, emphasised that farmer aggregation is critical to unlocking financing and improving productivity. By organising smallholder farmers into structured groups, access to credit, mechanisation, and technical support can be significantly improved.Also speaking, Head of Partnerships, at NADF), Nasir Ingawa,   stated that limited access to financing remains one of the biggest barriers to productivity and industrial-scale processing.

Ingawa said to bridge this gap, NADF would work to develop tailored financing solutions that will enable smallholder farmers and agribusinesses to scale operations, adopt modern agricultural practices, and integrate into larger value chains.

The workshop concluded with a commitment to concrete action plans across four key areas: strengthening farmer aggregation which involves developing structured out grower models to increase financing access, mechanisation adoption, and productivity.

It commits to scaling up processing infrastructure i.e mobilising investment for industrial-scale processing plants to expand cassava’s value-added potential.There are also plans of improving logistics and market access that is, addressing inefficiencies in storage and transportation to reduce post-harvest losses.Another thing is policy and investment facilitation which involves engaging policymakers and financial institutions to create an enabling environment for cassava industrialization.

“The Cavista Holdings-led workshop has set a clear path forward for transforming Nigeria’s cassava industry,” the company said in a statement.“With continued investment and policy support, Nigeria is well-positioned to become a leader in cassava processing, unlocking billions in economic value, creating jobs, and strengthening food security,” it added.

For Agbeyewa farms Limited, the recent feat was not by accident. In 2024, the company unveiled an ambitious 12-point agenda designed to transform cassava farming and address food insecurity.

The agenda was made public during a presentation to a high-level delegation from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) during a working visit to the farm on December 2, 2024.

Unveiling the blueprint document, the Director of Strategy for Cavista Holdings (parent company of Agbeyewa Farms), Kabir Shagaya, explained that this 12-step plan builds on the successful signing of an MOU between the company’s chairman, Niyi John Olajide and the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji in May 2024 to establish a state-of-the-art cassava farm covering 100,000 hectares within the state.

This initiative is to be delivered through an in-grower/out-grower cooperative programme where eligible farmers will be organized into cooperatives of 100-150 members, each managing a 500-hectare plot.

According to Shagaya, “This programme is expected to impact 1,500 farmers across 10 cooperatives, benefiting approximately 7,500 individuals, including families, thereby supporting local communities and fostering economic growth and scalability.”

Shagaya also revealed an investment plan for international donors, like USAID and the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), to join their programme and support various aspects of their operations, such as farmer integration, infrastructure costs, initial operational needs, training, cooperative operations, and market integration through off-taker arrangements, all aimed at significantly reducing post-harvest losses.

Other highlights of the company’s plans include: massive land clearing and preparation for 2025 farming season in partnership with NALDA), extensive farmer training through its in-house Training Academy, and the development of an Agbeyewa Model Town (consisting residential units, schools, healthcare facilities, recreational spaces, and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) logistics for transportation within and outside the community).

The USAID Team, comprising Xavier Preciado (Senior Agriculture Advisor), Susan Oranye (Project Management Specialist; Private Sector Engagement) and Grace Bojuto (Manager/Executive Assistant to the Mission Director) expressed their admiration for the high level of expertise, professionalism, and technology employed by the Agbeyewa team.