Invest in Delta State

Agriculture and agro-processing

Agriculture is the largest part of Delta's non-oil economy, about 32% of it by the state government's figures. The state has set aside 12,000 hectares of farmland for commercial agriculture, with openings across cassava, rice, oil palm and potato, and a $100 million fund to share the risk on new investments.

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Rows of oil palms on a plantation near Kwale

Farmland set aside: 12,000 hectares for commercial agriculture
Risk-sharing fund: $100 million viability gap fund
Value chains: Cassava, rice, oil palm, potato

Value chains

Cassava can feed starch, animal feed and ethanol plants; rice has land to grow into and demand at home and abroad; and oil palm is drawing interest from Malaysian agribusiness firms looking at cultivation and processing partnerships.

Palm fronds

Every oil palm plantation produces fronds, and most are burned or left to rot. Research on Nigerian palm fronds shows they can be turned into bioenergy, composites, pulp and a growing medium for mushrooms, which makes frond conversion a small-scale opportunity with a large and steady supply.

Where in Delta

Sources

Last checked 10 September 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us on WhatsApp.

Opportunity areas in agriculture and agro-processing

Agriculture and agro-processing
Turning palm fronds into products

Fronds from every oil palm plantation, mostly burned or left to rot today, as feedstock for bioenergy, composites, pulp or mushroom growing.

StatewideIndicative scale: Small

Basis: Nigerian oil palm frond biomass research (Caritas Journal)

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Agriculture and agro-processing
Cassava processing: starch, feed and ethanol

Processing for a crop the state grows at scale, on land set aside for commercial agriculture.

AniomaIndicative scale: Medium

Basis: 12,000 hectares and a $100m risk-sharing fund (Channels TV)

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