Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), the investment arm of the federal government, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Defence Agricultural Assets and Projects Development Company (DAPCO) and other military-linked investment institutions to provide security for large-scale agricultural investments as part of overall efforts to restore investor confidence in farming parts of the country affected by insecurity.

The MoU, which involves MOFI, Integranium Holdings, and DAPCO, supported by Defence Holding Company Limited, seeks to create a framework that combines investment mobilisation with security and project management.

It is expected to help unlock, among other agriculture projects, multi-billion-dollar soybean and sugarcane projects in Yobe and Jigawa states, where security concerns has made it difficult to attract the capital needed to develop them.

On the side-lines of the agreement signing ceremony in Abuja, Tuesday, MOFI’s Executive Director, Investments, who is responsible for the Integranium investment framework, Dr. Femi Ogunseinde, said the partnership would allow the institutions to return to prospective investors with a security arrangement that is fashioned to protect their investments.

According to Ogunseinde, security has constituted one of the major obstacles preventing domestic and international investors from committing funds to large-scale agricultural projects in Nigeria.

He said, “We have a soybean initiative in Yobe, we have a sugarcane initiative in Jigawa—all large-scale, all multi-billion-dollar projects.

“Without having that security anchor to ensure that whatever comes from wherever to invest, the investments are safe, it becomes very difficult for us to do anything.”

He submitted that attracting investors had been difficult without assurances that their money and agricultural operations would be secured.

He stated that the new partnership would provide a platform through which the government and its partners could approach prospective investors and demonstrate that arrangements were being developed to address their security concerns.

Ogunseinde disclosed that the initiative was intended to attract substantial private sector and international financing into agricultural production, rather than depend solely on public funds.

He said an estimated 30 million to 35 million hectares of farming land could be available, providing considerable scope for expanding large-scale agricultural production.

He explained that the partnership would help create a platform for investors interested in developing that potential, including offshore companies and financiers.

According to him, the intention is to achieve economies of scale by bringing together land, capital, agricultural expertise and the security arrangements needed to support commercial farming.

Ogunseinde hinted at the possibility of attracting investments worth between $1 billion and $2 billion from the initiative.

The agreement is expected to cover risk management, security planning, and project management, with DAPCO working alongside MOFI and its investment partners to develop and implement agricultural projects.

Although he made no reference to a particular project or provided any clue on the commencement date, Ogunseinde said the partners had already identified several opportunities and expected at least one project for ground breaking before the end of the year.

 Group Managing Director of Defence Holding Company Limited, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Anthony Victor Ndache, disclosed that the MoU signed by the institutions was a broad agreement covering agriculture, hospitality and other investment areas.

Ndache added that more detailed agreements would be developed for the individual projects as the partnership progresses.

He said the initiative was intended to benefit Nigeria by improving national productivity, stating that the President Bola Tinubu administration prioritises food security.

In his remarks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DAPCO, Aliyu Abdulhameed, said the defence establishment’s role was to ensure that financing reached agricultural opportunities in rural areas under secure and properly structured arrangements.

Abdulhameed stated that agricultural investments often took place far from major urban centres, making security a critical factor for investors’ consideration.

He said the partnership would enable the institutions to combine their respective strengths to develop agricultural projects across the country.

Managing Director of MOFI, Dr. Armstrong Takang, said Nigeria needed to make better use of its land, water resources and people to produce sufficient food for households and industries, while generating additional supplies for export.

Takang said the agricultural initiative was also expected to help address food inflation by increasing the volume of food produced locally.

The partnership, he stressed, would focus on developing bankable agribusiness opportunities capable of attracting funding from both public and private investors.

The projects are expected to support large-scale agricultural operators and encourage more investment across the farming value chain.

Takang also said the initiative could create additional demand for fertiliser supplied through MOFI’s holdings and produced by Nigerian companies.

He cited the PFI NPK, the Fertiliser Aggregation Company, as one of the businesses that could benefit from an expanded market for agricultural inputs.

According to him, increased agricultural activity could create a larger market for fertiliser and help improve soil productivity, culminating in higher food yield.

Among others, the initiative is equally expected to extend economic opportunities to communities around the farms, as surrounding communities would be involved in projects established in their areas, allowing the benefits of investment to spread beyond the immediate farm operations.

Serving military personnel and veterans would be among the groups the partnership intends to incorporate into agricultural projects.

The partners also plan to use technology, innovation and improved farming skills to increase productivity and make better use of available land.

The MoU was signed in Abuja, Tuesday, and the partners were expected to assess each project, considering its financial viability, investment potential, due diligence requirements and value for money before proceeding.

Specific production targets, the number of hectares to be cultivated under the programme, the number of jobs expected to be created or the total funding required will be unveiled as the initiative progresses.

The MoU establishes the broad framework for cooperation, while individual projects will have to undergo further assessment and structuring before their implementation.