Olam Agri in Nigeria, an agribusiness in food, feed, and fibre, has recommitted to strengthening the local agriculture value chains, as its robust investment was recognised at the Nigerian Business Leadership Awards (NBLA).

The NBLA was organised to recognise remarkable business leaders and organisations that have sustained a commitment to excellence in enterprise across the country. At this year’s edition of the awards, Olam Agri Nigeria’s Country Head, Ashish Pande, was recognised as the Most Admired CEO in the Agriculture sector in acknowledgement of the business’s positive impact on the sector, and support for the Federal Government’s economic development agenda.

Commenting on the recognition, Pande, who was represented by a strong team of top-level executives from Olam Agri at the event, said: “We are grateful to the organisers of the awards for this recognition. The award underlines Olam Agri’s rising investments across the agriculture value chains. These investments are part of our pursuit of food and nutrition-secure and sustainable Nigeria under the Seeds for The Future (SFTF) initiative.

“The SFTF initiative is our social sustainability investment vehicle with five levers, namely, supporting farms and farmers, enabling wider education and skill development for young people, empowering indigent women, promoting health and nutrition across the country, and reducing carbon emissions in our business operations.”

He explained that the business’s investments continue to enable improved productivity in rice milling, wheat milling, animal feed and poultry, edible oil, tomato, and cotton production segments, in addition to generating thousands of employment opportunities for the teeming local population.

Speaking about the rationale behind the awards, Frank Aigbogun, the organiser of the awards and Publisher of Businessday Newspaper said: “A top rating agency, Moody, recently raised Nigeria’s economic outlook for next year to be positive. This news provides a reason for us to hope. In this context, we are glad to recognise the leaders and the companies that daily strive to put their businesses at the forefront to successfully navigate the operating environment and contribute to the growth of the economy.

“We celebrate these businesses and their leaders. I salute their courage and resilience. They deserve to be recognised.”