December 11, 2023

photo credit: African Agriculture

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

African Agriculture focuses on harnessing the vast agricultural potential in Africa to secure food and protein for the coming century. The continent is home to 60 percent of the world’s remaining arable land, and the company’s mission is to leverage its untapped resources, fertile soil, abundant rain and favorable climate to optimize alfalfa yields and harvests while supporting local communities. 

As it continues to pursue strategic growth with an eye toward capturing a meaningful stake in the $21 billion global alfalfa market, African Agriculture has completed its merger with publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp. and has listed on the Nasdaq as of December 7, 2023 – making it the first pure-play U.S.-listed agriculture company operating in Africa. 

“We are excited to complete the merger with African Agriculture and bring a pure-play Africa listing to the U.S. public markets,” said Hans Thomas, chairman and CEO, 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp. II. “According to current World Bank data, approximately 60 percent of the world’s arable land is in Africa yet it only represents 4 percent of the world’s food production. We believe African Agriculture is extremely well positioned to capitalize on the growing global demand for alfalfa and other key agricultural goods that can be cost-effectively produced in Africa.”

African Agriculture manages extensive farmland in West Africa including a 750-acre alfalfa farm operating in Senegal, and the company stated that it believes this transaction will leave it in a well-placed position from which to achieve its mission of ensuring food security to farmers and consumers via access to feedstock, dairy, and animal protein.

The company will be led by CEO Alan Kessler who has more than 25 years of experience as an operator, advisor, and investor in commodities and emerging markets, having previously led IPOs for multiple African commodity companies. Joining Kessler in the role of chief financial officer will be Harry Green, who also brings decades of multi-industry experience in senior investment, corporate finance, and accounting roles. 

“African Agriculture brings an exceptional management team with decades of experience on the African continent, in spheres of agronomy, financing, management, auditing and systems management, farming management, farming operations, agriculture, aquaculture, commercial operations, export and diplomacy, making the team well suited to execute on the vision of establishing the company as a leading player in the African and global agricultural markets,” said Hans Thomas.

Kessler explained that prior to this SPAC merger and public listing, the company initially secured 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres) of farmland in Senegal, one of the most stable countries on the continent.

“Considerable effort has been expended on preparing the land for commercial operations, including ensuring the integrity of the water channels and other water assets, as well as conducting soil analysis and feasibility studies,” said Kessler. “We then began preparing the soil, land, pivots, irrigation, and infrastructure to begin our alfalfa program, which was successfully launched in early 2022 across 750 acres.”

​​Kessler continued, “As a result, we believe we have developed a highly efficient and scalable operation, poised to capture a meaningful share of the global alfalfa market, as we increase production on our existing farmland over the next two-to-three years.”

“In addition, we look forward to extending our operations into other agricultural goods, as well as expanding our geographic footprint on the African continent. Most importantly, we are committed to supporting the local community through sustainable land development, employment, health programs, infrastructure development, educational support, and much more.”

Africa is home to 60 percent of the world’s arable land, according to World Bank data. It is also home to eight out of the world’s 10 fastest growing cities and a total population expected to reach 2.5 billion people by 2050, leading the company to believe that the continent is the world’s next major breadbasket. 

Despite these advantages, Kessler explained that (excluding South Africa), Africa is under-indexed in terms of exposure by institutional investors, as defined by Morgan Stanley’s emerging market index. 

 “Driving investment into the African continent is a priority” noted Kessler.
“Looking ahead, our strategy not only involves increasing alfalfa production on our 25,000 hectares of fertile farmland, but also broadening our product offering and expanding our geographic footprint.”

Kessler concluded, “We could not be more excited about the outlook for the business and look forward to empowering local communities, through sustainable impact investments, to help address the global need for food security.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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