The Commissioner for Agriculture for the Edo State in Nigeria states that over 300,000 hectares of land will be made available for agricultural development within the state in the next three years. Four companies, Ekha Bio-Chemical Nigeria Ltd, Industrial Development Group, Obax Worldwide, and Wibahi Investment Ltd. have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the state government for an investment of $500 million into the production of oil palm, rice, cassava, and sugar cane for the production of ethanol and the establishment of an ethanol refinery. The state is also signing an MOU with the Dangote Group for the agricultural development of 50,000 hectares for rice cultivation and has signed an MOU with a South African company to produce sugar cane. If realized, these deals could make the Edo State account for over 25% of the country’s food exports.
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