LONDON and LILONGWE, MALAWI — AgDevCo, a not-for-profit distribution company in the United Kingdom, has made a $1.5 million debt and equity investment into Afri-Oils Ltd., a Malawian peanut (groundnut) processor that is building a facility for locally grown peanuts.
The country of Malawi produces more than 200,000 tonnes of groundnuts and exports once regularly exceeded 50,000 tonnes, according to AgDevCo, but the introduction of stricter international quality standards had a negative effect on exports starting in the 1990s. Afri-Oils plans to use farmer training programs and improved handling and sorting methods to show Malawai can meet international standards on the control of aflatoxin.
Shareholders for Afri-Oils include a Malawian farmers association called NASFAM and Exagris, which owns a ready-to-use therapeutic foods (R.U.T.F.) paste manufacturer in Malawi. The company also receives a Dutch government grant.
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| Jim Henderson, an associate director for AgDevCo |
“We are backing Afri-Oils to tackle the aflatoxin challenge and put Malawi back on the map as a major international peanut producer,” said Jim Henderson, an associate director for AgDevCo, which has invested more than $76 million in 53 agribusinesses in sub-Saharan Africa.
