Olam Agri to invest $400 million in African food processing, plans new feed mills

Olam Agri plans to invest about $400 million in African food processing through 2028, including the construction of new animal feed mills in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast, as the agricultural commodities trader expands its presence across the continent.

Olam Agri disclosed the investment in a statement on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, outlining its plans to expand food and feed processing capacity in response to changing consumption patterns across Africa.

The investment will also support increased grain processing, wheat milling and pasta production across selected African markets, building on approximately $115 million the company has invested in West African processing operations since 2024.

What Olam Agri plans to invest in

The investment aims to capitalise on Africa’s growing population, rising incomes and changing dietary preferences, which are increasing demand for processed foods, meat, fish and other sources of animal protein.

• “Populations are growing, incomes are rising and diets are changing,” Saurabh Mehra, Olam’s head of food and feed processing, said in the statement. “Demand for food, feed and protein will keep climbing.”

In Nigeria, Olam Agri plans to establish a third animal feed plant to increase the production of poultry and fish feed. The company also intends to expand its semolina production capacity and add 850 trucks to its distribution fleet to strengthen the delivery of its products across the country.

• In Cameroon, the company plans to establish a 300,000-tonne poultry feed plant, which is expected to become operational in early 2028.
• In Ghana, the investment will support an expansion of the company’s pasta-making capacity to increase production.
• In Ivory Coast, Olam Agri plans to enter the country’s food and feed processing markets for the first time, with investments in wheat milling, animal feed production and poultry breeding.

The company is also exploring opportunities to expand into southern African markets, including Angola.

• “We believe in Africa’s long-term growth,” Mehra said. The investment “will expand local processing capacity, support government priorities on value addition, and help strengthen food security.”

At full capacity, the new feed mills planned for Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast are expected to generate annual purchases of more than 500,000 tonnes of corn and soybeans from over 130,000 smallholder farmers.

Nigeria steps up efforts to boost domestic food production

Olam Agri’s planned investment comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to increase domestic agricultural production, improve food processing and reduce dependence on imported food commodities.

• In October 2026, the Federal Government disclosed that Nigeria’s annual wheat production had increased from about 120,000 metric tonnes to 420,000 metric tonnes following the implementation of the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP).

The development followed the Federal Government’s launch of the 2025/2026 dry-season wheat farming initiative under NAGS-AP in November 2025, targeting 80,000 registered farmers nationwide and an expected output value of approximately N160 billion.

• In September 2025, the Federal Government also unveiled a $3.14 billion agricultural investment portfolio in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) under its Hand-in-Hand Initiative. The programme targets five value chains: tomato, cassava, maize, dairy and fisheries.

More investments target Nigeria’s agricultural value chain

Beyond government-backed programmes, Nigeria’s agricultural sector has continued to attract investments from foreign companies, development finance institutions and local agribusinesses seeking to expand production, processing and distribution capacity.

• In September 2026, EU-funded Agriculture Financing Initiative (AgriFI) invested $2.5 million in Tomato Jos to expand climate-smart tomato production and processing in northern Nigeria. The funding is expected to support factory upgrades, packaging equipment and expanded irrigation infrastructure.
• In March 2026, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) signed an agreement to develop a $500 million integrated dairy project combining large-scale farming, milk production and processing. The proposed facility is expected to include a 10,000-cow dairy operation and processing capacity for fresh milk, milk powder, butter, cream and infant formula.
• Earlier, in December 2025, Belgian agro-industrial company SIAT NV announced a $100 million foreign direct investment in Presco Plc as the first tranche of a $1 billion commitment towards Nigeria’s agro-industrial development over the next decade.

These investments reflect growing interest in expanding Nigeria’s agricultural value chain beyond primary production into processing, manufacturing, storage and distribution, areas that remain critical to improving domestic food supply and reducing reliance on imported food products.