CLUSTER 01 · NORTHERN HIGHLANDS
Protected horticulture
Tomato · cucumber · pepper
Selected for cool nights, strong solar yield and direct access to the largest city.
- CAPITAL
- €42M
- REVENUE / YR
- €18M
- FOOD / YR
- 16k t
- DIRECT JOBS
- 520
From national strategy to farms in the ground.
One operator-led programme to map the opportunity, prove what works, train the workforce and build the commercial farms that make affordable fresh food a domestic industry.
DELIVERED BY PRACTITIONERS INAGRONOMYENGINEERINGOPERATIONSCAPITAL
00THE PREMISE
Food security is an operating system, not a collection of projects.
Most agricultural development programmes stop at distributing inputs or supporting individual growers. Those interventions have a place—but they rarely create the reliable volumes, skilled careers and investable assets a national fresh-food system needs.
We build the commercial backbone: region and crop strategy, proven production, workforce development, market access and long-term operation in one connected programme.
PROGRAMME OBJECTIVESThree outcomes, designed together
01 / SUPPLYAffordable fresh produce
Reliable domestic volumes, closer to cities and less exposed to imports.
02 / WORKStable skilled employment
Year-round careers, clear learning pathways and operational standards.
03 / VALUEAssets the country can own
Commercial farms structured for local capital and eventual local management.
01STRATEGIC REVIEW
Know where to grow—and what the country should grow there.
We translate national goals into a spatial, crop-level plan. Climate, water, energy, soil, logistics and market demand are modelled together, then matched to the right production method: open field, low, mid or high tech.
PAID HOST-COUNTRY ENGAGEMENT · 3–6 MONTHSCROP × REGION × SYSTEMMODELLED OUTPUT
FIT SCORE0–1 · WEIGHTED
REGION A0.86
REGION B0.74
REGION C0.68
01 / MARKET PULLFresh produce import gap
0.88
0.79
0.71
02 / CLIMATE FITHeat · humidity · irradiance
0.86
0.74
0.72
03 / RESOURCE FITWater · energy · logistics
0.84
0.69
0.61
SYSTEM SELECTIONPOC SCOPE
MID / HIGH TECHSELECTED
LOW / MID TECHCONDITIONAL
OPEN FIELDCONDITIONAL
THE HOST RECEIVES
01National opportunity atlas
02Crop × region × technology plan
03Market and import-substitution study
04Cabinet-ready investment roadmap
02TRAINING + PROOF OF CONCEPT
VARIETY TRIALS
HANDS-ON ACADEMY
ROOT-ZONE DATA
LOCAL OPERATING TEAM
POC TRAINING IN OPERATION / ILLUSTRATIVEBuild the evidence. Build the workforce.
The proof of concept puts every target crop and technology into operation under local conditions. Alongside it, a practical academy trains people in crop work, technical maintenance, packhouse operations, food safety and team leadership.
01Prove agronomyYield, quality, resource use and crop cycles.
02Prove economicsCapex, labour, energy, inputs and realised price.
03Prove the marketRetail trials, offtake and domestic demand.
04Prove the teamLocal capability to operate at commercial standard.
INSIDE THE ACADEMY
How people are trained
SELECT A TOPIC
Solid grounding in science and agronomy
Trainees start with how a plant actually works: light, water, nutrients, temperature, humidity, and the pests and diseases that turn up in a protected crop. The teaching follows Het Nieuwe Telen — the Dutch “Next Generation Growing” method — which treats a greenhouse as one system of plant, climate and energy instead of a list of separate jobs.
On top of that we teach the methods Drylands Farms has developed for hot, dry places: how we set the climate, how we schedule irrigation, and how we hold quality when it is very hot outside. People leave this stage able to explain why they are doing something, not only what to do.
WORKING REFERENCE · GROOTVLEI, SOUTH AFRICA
We have already taken a climate-smart facility from ground-break to national retail shelves within a season. The country POC turns that operating experience into a local institution—not another temporary demonstration plot.
1 seasonGROUND-BREAK TO RETAIL
Year-roundSKILLED EMPLOYMENT
Academy-ledLOCAL CAPABILITY
03COMMERCIAL ROLL-OUT
Scale only what the proof says will work.
POC results determine the crop, technology and location mix for commercial farms. Bosman Van Zaal implements the technical systems; Drylands Farms and Holland Greentech manage and operate the production platform.
FARM-BY-FARM CAPITAL · LOCAL PARTICIPATION BUILT IN
01
02
03
04
CLUSTER 02 · CENTRAL RIVER PLAIN
Hybrid field systems
Onion · chilli · brassica
Selected for reliable surface water, deep soils and a strong regional labour base.
- CAPITAL
- €21M
- REVENUE / YR
- €11M
- FOOD / YR
- 28k t
- DIRECT JOBS
- 780
CLUSTER 03 · SOUTHERN TRADE CORRIDOR
High-value production
Berries · leaves · seedlings
Selected for logistics access, cooler elevation and high-value export connectivity.
- CAPITAL
- €34M
- REVENUE / YR
- €16M
- FOOD / YR
- 9.5k t
- DIRECT JOBS
- 440
CANDIDATE 04 · EASTERN DRY BELT
Not advanced
OPEN FIELD · ONION · MELON
The POC exposed unreliable water supply and a logistics penalty that erased the crop-margin advantage. The site remains outside the commercial portfolio.
DECISION GATENO-GO
Evidence prevented capital being committed to the wrong location.
PROGRAMME MODEL TOTAL€97M CAPEX€45M REVENUE / YEAR53,500 T FOOD / YEAR1,740 DIRECT JOBS
FIG. 03 — VALUES ARE AN ILLUSTRATIVE PROGRAMME MODEL, NOT A FORECAST. FINAL CLUSTERS, CAPITAL AND OUTPUTS ARE DETERMINED BY THE STRATEGY AND POC.
OWNERSHIP PATHWAY
International capability. Increasing local ownership.
- 01Host commitment
- 02Blended risk capital
- 03Local co-investment
- 04Management transfer
We co-invest selectively, help raise capital for the wider portfolio and create room for domestic institutions—and, where feasible, employees—to own productive assets. Facilities we do not own are designed for an orderly transfer of management over time.
04DELIVERY + FINANCE
One programme. Three operators. A credible path to blended finance.
The delivery team joins African operating experience, local horticulture networks and Dutch greenhouse engineering. The host country remains a committed partner at every phase.
Programme lead, developer, co-investor and long-term farm operator.
In-country horticulture platform, inputs, agronomy and practical training.
Greenhouse engineering, technical systems, construction and commissioning.
CATALYTIC FINANCE PATHWAY
Share the early risk. Unlock the commercial case.
The programme is designed to pursue Dutch and European instruments that can support advisory fees, project development and part of the POC capital—so public support unlocks operating evidence and private investment rather than replacing them.
POTENTIAL INSTRUMENTS · SUBJECT TO ELIGIBILITY, DUE DILIGENCE AND APPROVAL
THE HOST COMMITMENTFund the strategy.Enable land, utilities and permits.Co-invest in the proof.
START WITH A WORKING SESSIONTell us the national goal.
Tell us the national goal.
We will map the route to production.
A first briefing aligns food-security priorities, target regions, institutional roles and the route to a paid strategic review.
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