In addition to Senegal, the Company has signed agreements for approximately 500,000 acres of arable farmland in Niger. In the West African region, AAGR is strategically placed to take advantage of a growing market, conveniently located near its key consumption markets.
AAGR is actively seeking additional farmland across the Senegal-Mauritania river valley and the rest of the African continent, especially in the areas of primary production of cattle feed.
Logistics
Expanded port access within reach of the alfalfa farm greatly expands AAGR’s ability to export product, and aligns the pricing of its alfalfa products to global pricing, especially in the area of the member states of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. The LFT AAGR farm is located less than 85 km from the city of Saint Louis in Senegal, which is situated on the Atlantic coast of the country and includes port facilities, and approximately 300 km from the Port of Dakar, which is managed by Dubai Ports World.
Food Security
Global food security is increasingly in focus. Several stressors on the food supply chain ranging from urbanization, to soil degradation, water insecurity and fragile logistics systems, require diversification of sources of feedstock for farm animals and shorter distances to offtake markets. AAGR believes it is uniquely situation to become a primary producer of a key strategic crop and minimize of supply chain disruptions, which if achieved, have large value creation potential.
Impactful Nature of Business Operations
By virtue of its geographical proximity to its consumption markets, the Company is greatly reducing the global carbon footprint of alfalfa. The nautical distance from Dakar to the Persian Gulf is approximately half the distance from the western United States to the Persian Gulf (7,346 nautical miles vs 14,602 nm). Protein access, nutrition, employment, sustainable irrigation, fertilizer and power programs further enhance the Company’s aspiration to adhere to every one of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Together with its academic partner, Louisiana State University’s Agcenter, AAGR is further exploring mechanisms to reduce scope 3 methane emissions in cattle via feed based techniques.
Experienced Management Team
In addition to CEO Alan Kessler, the African Agriculture management team has extensive experience in global markets and operating businesses at scale in Africa.
Harry Green, AAGR’s CFO, brings decades of multi-industry experience, including with various private equity and hedge fund platforms. Mr. Green began his career at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette (DLJ). Mr. Green has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. Mr. Green was born and raised in South Africa.
AAGR’s team on the ground in Africa is experienced in operating at scale on the continent, with decades of industry experience in the region. Gora Seck, the President of AAGR’s Senegal operations has decades of experience in Senegal. Edward Meiring, AAGR’s Head of Farming, brings over 40 years of multigenerational experience in the farming sector as an agricultural specialist focused on quality control for large multinational exports. Kiran Shylaga, AAGR’s Chief Technical Officer, brings over 15 years of experience in the field of plant tissue culture, specializing in horticulture and floriculture crops, aligning with the greenfield development of the Ethiopian Sugar Institute. Elad Harzahav, AAGR’s Head of Logistics, and Technology Integration, brings more than 20 years of military experience and expertise, serving at the highest levels of Israel’s security and intelligence and responsible for safeguarding both internal and external state security. Javier Orellana, AAGR’s Chief Operating Officer, Senegal Operations, brings operational experience in agronomy from Bayer CropScience.