SIAT Group is preparing for a larger expansion of its integrated agriculture business across Africa, building on a model that combines plantation development, farming, processing and downstream manufacturing.
The group, whose major African businesses include Nigeria's Presco Plc and Ghana's Ghana Oil Palm Development Company (GOPDC), signalled the next phase of its growth during the SIAT Forward event held in Lagos in August. The company said its ambition was to build a “bigger, bolder and more impactful” agricultural group while continuing to sustainably cultivate, process and market agricultural resources.
SIAT currently operates integrated agricultural businesses in Nigeria and Ghana, with additional rubber interests in Côte d'Ivoire. Across its African operations, the group employs more than 17,000 people and supports thousands of smallholder farmers and rural communities. Its core activities are concentrated around oil palm and rubber, alongside processing and downstream operations.
Presco is central to that strategy. The Nigerian business operates a fully integrated oil-palm chain covering plantations, palm-oil milling, palm-kernel crushing, refining, fractionation, packaging, and biogas production. Its planted oil-palm area stood at about 26,566 hectares as of January 2024, while the company says it intends to continue expanding its plantation base and improving yields.
That expansion is already taking shape beyond Presco's established estates in Edo and Delta states. In July, the company announced plans to invest approximately US$100 million in Ogun State to establish new oil-palm operations, with the project expected to expand production and create jobs across farming, processing and logistics.
Presco is also pursuing a much larger proposed development in Abia State. The company has discussed developing about 14,000 hectares of oil-palm plantations within a larger 20,000-hectare concession, although the project remains subject to the formalisation of an agreement with the state government.
The broader SIAT strategy could therefore have implications beyond plantation acreage. By combining primary production with processing and downstream manufacturing, the group is positioning itself to capture more value from agricultural commodities before they reach the market.
For Nigeria, the expansion comes as the country continues to rely heavily on imported palm oil and seeks to rebuild domestic production. For the wider African market, SIAT's model points towards larger integrated agricultural businesses capable of connecting plantations, smallholder suppliers, processing infrastructure and consumer markets.
The challenge will be ensuring that expansion is matched by sustainable land management, strong farmer relationships, adequate infrastructure and sufficient processing capacity.
NBF Insight
SIAT's next growth phase is significant because Africa needs more agricultural businesses that can build the entire chain, not just produce the raw commodity. Presco's expansion shows where that model can lead: larger plantations feeding processing facilities, which in turn supply higher-value products. If SIAT can replicate that model across more African markets while bringing smallholders into the supply chain, its expansion could become part of a broader shift towards African-owned agro-industrial capacity.
