Activities
Land Acquisition
Feronia is focused on acquiring land that has previously been engaged in agricultural production. Political unrest and turmoil in past years has in many cases caused a deterioration of infrastructure and decapitalization of the agricultural sector that has led to a virtual halt in the production of cash crops and a return to subsistence farming to meet local needs. With improved stability, opportunities now exist to acquire control of pre-existing plantations and bring production back online by investing in modern machinery and techniques. Feronia is currently assessing acquiring land from individuals and corporations in a number of African countries.
As Feronia acquires land an emphasis will be placed on restoring and improving its condition to ultimately result in higher yields and value creation. Feronia will conduct soil testing and implement best practices through extensive training of its workforce. Farming will be highly mechanized with modern machinery sourced from international companies to achieve economies of scale.
Crop Production
Feronia will engage in crop production to supply both export and local markets. Soybeans grow quickly and easily and are an immediate means of bringing newly acquired land back into production quickly, with secondary crops of maize, sunflowers and rice planted where applicable. Over the medium term high value crops such as onions and potatoes will be added while over the longer terms traditional plantation crops such cocoa, rubber, coffee and palm oil will be brought back into production. Feronia plantations will also have on-site processing facilities.
When selecting the appropriate crops to plant Feronia considers local and export market pricing and demand, crop rotation requirements, usage and availability of appropriate machinery and the prevailing weather and climate conditions in a particular region.