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Current/New Projects BIOFUELS
Agland's approach is to build integrated plantation and plant operations that offer the ideal combination of lowest price and highest quality. This is accomplished by focusing on feedstocks such as sugarcane and palm oil that produce the best production yields per hectare and by developing processing plants using leading edge technologies and processes. Agland focuses on countries that offer optimal conditions for the growth of these feedstocks; most of these countries lie in the tropical belt. Agland is currently focused on biofuel projects in Egypt, Brazil, Peru, and Vietnam. PERU GREEN ENERGY CORPORATION The Northeast coastal region of Peru provides a unique and very productive environment for the year-round production of irrigated sugar cane, as well as other crops. The utilization of sugar cane for both sugar production as well as energy (ethanol) in recent years has focused increased attention on the area to both expand and modernize the sugar and energy sectors. Agland, along with a local Peruvian partner, identified an opportunity to acquire up to four distressed sugar production and processing companies in order to create a world class sugar and biofuel production company. Investment requirements are estimated at roughly $50 million for the initial acquisitions to provide immediate control over roughly 2.6 million MT of cane per year on 10,000 hectares. Annual production under the project would increase to over 6.7 million MT on 30,000 hectares. Projected yields are 165-170 MT/Ha/Year, among the highest in the world. INVESTMENT
VENTURE AND PRIVATE EQUITY CAPITAL ROUNDTABLE Agland continues its membership in a group of Silicon Valley venture capitalists and private equity fund managers that meet once a month to discuss new business opportunities. Agland was recently asked to make a presentation for the roundtable on international biofuel investment opportunities. TURKEY In October, 2007, Agland carried out initial studies on the feasibility of developing and operating integrated almond, pistachio, and pomegranate orchards in southeast Turkey (not far from the Syrian border) on lands currently owned by the Government. The Government of Turkey is anxious to attract private capital into integrated agribusinesses and financial returns on farming and processing operations that mirror California operations are very attractive. Discounted returns on equity of 35 to 45 percent are possible. ROMANIAN AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY (RADA) Agland is managing a multi-year contract in a joint venture with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Washington D.C., and Development Alternatives Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, to assist in the development of new agribusinesses and the expansion of existing businesses. Agland has an office in Romania and projects of particular interest are potato processing, expanded wine production and exports, grain handling and marketing, and meat processing. Other projects will follow. Romania has excellent agricultural resources, particularly for grain production. CORRIN TREE FRUIT INVESTMENT AND MARKETING PROGRAM
NORTHEAST BRAZIL Agland continues to focus on developing new grain and fruit enterprises, in partnership with ICF Kaiser Consultants. Currently Agland is working with packing and marketing operations in mangoes and papaya. CALIFORNIA STATE LANDS COMMISSION The California State Lands Commission, the state agency charged with managing lands owned and controlled by the State, asked Agland to research and evaluate the characteristics, financial returns and opportunities for investing in productive agricultural property in California. Financial returns derived from potential investments in agricultural property will continue to support California education. The results of this study may also lead to an increasing opportunity for the California agricultural economy to also benefit through new investment. AGRICULTURE, FOOD, AND THE INTERNET
Agland is working on several projects to utilize the Internet as a tool for linking the producer closer to the customer, as well as utilizing the Internet as a tool for expanding economic development in rural areas. Mr. William Mott, Agland's President, was recently moderating eFood panels made up of leading agriculture and agribusiness Internet companies at the "Thriving in a Global Economy" conference in Fresno, CA, and the annual International Food and Agribusiness Management Association meeting in Chicago. RURAL LAND USE AND PLANNING
HAWAII: KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS STRATEGIC AGRICULTURAL PLAN The Kamehameha Schools Foundation (KS) asked Agland to assist in preparing a long-term strategy for utilization of a wide range of agricultural lands owned by KS. KS is a private college-preparatory institution with a significant endowment…and it is the largest private landowner in the state of Hawaii! The decline of the sugar and pineapple industries in Hawaii has resulted in the fallowing of good agricultural land. Thus, KS was looking to re-evaluate the use of its agricultural lands. Agland consultants conducted an overview of the Hawaiian agricultural sector and made recommendations on specific crops/industries with a high potential for growth. In an effort to broadly cover various facets of agricultural value chains relevant to KS and Hawaii, Agland selected eight "marker crops" for value chain analysis: avocado, banana, tomato, taro, beef, dairy, aquaculture, and forestry. The end result was the development of a 20-year strategic plan that will position KS as an agricultural leader in Hawaii for decades to come. COAST DAIRIES PROPERTY Agland, in partnership with Environmental Science Associates, San Francisco, is providing input on the agricultural land uses of an 8,000-acre coastal property recently acquired by the Trust for Public Land. This is part of a long-term Resource Protection Plan. Currently the agricultural land is used for specialty vegetable production, particularly for Brussels sprouts and artichokes. WESTERN STATES LAND COMMISSIONERS- Trust Performance Measurement Twenty-two of the Western states in the U.S. have lands, originally granted to the states by the Federal Government, and managed by each of the states. Agland has been asked to prepare a manual that will provide guidance in the evaluation and performance measurements for these lands. The asset classes range from agricultural and grazing lands, to forests and commercial real property. INTERNATIONAL FOOD AND AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT
BRAZIL Agland was recently selected to complete a three-part export development project for the World Bank-sponsored Second Minas Gerais Partnership (SWAP) Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The project involves market research and trade promotion activities for tropical fruits and vegetables from the Jaíba Irrigation Project in northern Minas Gerais, a logistic study for exporting perishables and non-perishables products, and elaboration of the guidelines for the construction of one or more perishable air export or seaport centers. CAPE VERDE Agland is the main contractor for a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project in Cape Verde, 300 miles off the coast of West Africa. The project is a mixture of infrastructure development and training. Agland is working with farmers and micro-credit institutions to install drip irrigation so that farmers can sell high-value, high-quality produce into growing tourist markets. Agland is also designing and installing post-harvest facilities with packing, grading, and cold storage facilities on three different islands. EGYPT, ALGERIA, AND MOROCCO Agland was recently selected by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to travel to Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco to evaluate potential food and agricultural projects that will be of interest to U.S. equipment and services suppliers. Agland consultants conducted interviews with various organizations to evaluate the viability of potential projects and assess the mutual economic benefit for the host country and the United States, including the opportunities for commercial cooperation and export linkages with U.S. firms. Based on Agland's evaluations, integrated livestock production and processing projects potentially worth over $200 million were identified. MOLDOVA Agland reviewed, for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an irrigation modernization project in Moldova. In an effort to improve agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes in Moldova, the project focused on increasing rural farmers' access to water. Specifically, the project consisted of a feasibility study, coupled with environmental and social impact assessments of the Moldova Central Irrigation System. Agland consultants were responsible for an assessment of Moldovan irrigation sector institutions, including the centralized water agency and water user organizations; an assessment of operation and management (O&M) costs of both the centralized system and water user associations; and a financial analysis of both the old centralized and a new decentralized irrigation systems. MCC recently approved the project and implementation is in process. CHILE The Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO) asked Agland and Dalberg Associates to provide leadership in a new program to increase the competitiveness of the deciduous fruit and berry, wine, and natural meat industries (all key export agribusiness industries in Chile). Agland provided three senior consultants, each with over 25 years experience in these industries, to help develop and guide the clusters. Agland consultants were responsible for developing a competitiveness strategy for each sector for regions in Southern Chile. Agland also provided advice on benchmarking, undertook field research, and wrote a set of conclusions concerning each sector. GHANA WIDE AREA NETWORK Agland consultants are working for the Office of the Presidency in Ghana, conducting a pre-feasibility study of the Government's current information system capabilities for the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. This Definitional Mission is, potentially, a pre-cursor to a more extensive WAN feasibility study. HONDURAS Agland recently completed a Prefeasibility Study for the Implementation of a Logistics Platform for National and Regional Service in Honduras. The focus of the study is a definition of a refrigerated facility suitable for both export and import of perishables, coupled with space to carry out value-added products such as fresh cut fruits and vegetables. IRAQ Agland is currently working with Louis Berger Group, Inc. to implement the INMA Agribusiness Program. INMA, which means "growth" in Arabic, will work with the Government of Iraq to support the development of agribusinesses and agricultural markets. The project will help build meaningful linkages between farmers, agribusinesses, financial services, and domestic and international markets. PERU Agland was asked to participate in a due-diligence review of a leading Peruvian agribusiness company, Camposol S.A., along with several other international agribusiness consultants. Camposol is an impressive company that was built over a ten-year period into a leading producer and exporter of asparagus, sweet peppers, artichokes, avocados, and mangos as fresh, frozen, and canned products. PERU ALTERNATIVE CROP EVALUATION In partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Agland is evaluating an ambitious USAID program in the highlands of Peru, to provide new crops, particularly tree crops such as coffee and cocoa, to small Peruvian farmers as an alternative to coca cultivation and production. SPECIALTY COFFEE Agland is seeking opportunities throughout the world to develop vertically integrated programs for the production, processing, and marketing of superior quality coffee. TURKEY Agland developed an initial business model and pre-feasibility evaluation for the establishment of an agro-park at the Ceylanpinar Farm. The Ceylanpinar Farm is a large, state-owned farm located in the GAP region in southeastern Turkey. The purpose of the analysis was to provide the basis and direction for a further evaluation and preparation of a business plan for the project. |
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