The gains of hosting the China Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE) in Abuja which ended on November 30 seem to have been reaped by both the Nigerian and Chinese business sides.
Several Nigerian business companies attended the event which attracted over 100 exhibitors, but most of the exhibitor companies were from China.
One of the Nigerian companies at the event came scouting for partners and expressed willingness to get into a business alliance with Chinese stakeholders in agriculture.
Azuba-Oasotech Cassava Industrial Park is a large farming concern in Nasarawa State that is next to Abuja in location.
The Cassava company has a swathe of over 200 hectares of land and an investment of over N100 million in place.
Speaking with ACE Magazine, the principal partner, Mr. Aso Oji said the company that the Nigerian Bank of Agriculture recognises is a potential economic hub for the country, and provides a platform for a large partnership with foreign players, especially from China.
He estimated the total value of the industrial park project at US$50 million and structured to be developed in phases.
The first phase is what the company has also commenced and seeks partners that can provide technical assistance, machinery, expertise, and a foreign market for the export of its products.
The farm targets that 70% of the produce will be cassava and the various value chain products from planting to processing and delivery at the local and international markets. There is also the provision for secondary crops through inter-cropping, which also represents a large pool of business.
Oji noted that his company is not new in the business and has a concrete plan to process its produce into garri, pellets, manihot flour for the bakery industry, cassava starch for the pharmaceutical industry, and also produce ethanol from the cyanide acid fluid pressed out during processing.
He said that given the vast number of foods processed from cassava and its high yield on Nigerian arable lands, he is sure the market is already there for a large-scale business.
He also noted that the research team of the company is working on a major challenge in the Nigerian cassava processing sector which is high moisture content.
“The moisture content has been an issue, no doubt, but we are working towards reducing that through the introduction of hybrids with less moisture or better still, finding another beneficial and industrial use for the moisture which would be extracted into another product. Nigeria being a global major cassava producer understands that while China is our major international market, it however buys more from Thailand due to the lower moisture of Thai cassava.
One of the reasons we also yearn for Chinese investors in our company is that we know they are good at producing deep expertise and machinery for such a quest. And we hope to see that happen soon.
Our business plan which has been acceptable to the Bank of Industry and Bank of Agriculture is advanced and refined, and whatever investment we seek from Chinese companies with interests must be clearly defined and executed on professional terms.
The initial phase of our growth and development plan will be the acquisition of processing machines and infrastructure within the farm to ensure that every waste generated in the farm is recycled and re-processed for further use as fuel and animal feed.
So, even though our bulk investment target is US$50 million, starting the next phase with 10% of this will be good enough. Already, we plan to take the development of the farm in five phases, and the phases already executed will most likely power the next stage through backward integration and our projected profit line.
We met some agricultural machinery and research and development groups at the exhibition. While we discuss, we seek more parties to express interest. We have the backing of the government of Nasarawa State which provided us with the land to ensure the stability of the company and a smooth execution of its business plan.
Whoever partners with us is sure to invest in a business where confidence is key and the execution so assured.”
He called that soon, there will be Chinese investors with interest to pen agreements on the execution of the mega farm and agric industrial park business plan.
