{"id":5363,"date":"2022-10-04T19:32:42","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T19:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/?p=5363"},"modified":"2022-10-04T19:32:42","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T19:32:42","slug":"how-to-set-up-agricultural-company-in-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/2026\/2022\/10\/04\/how-to-set-up-agricultural-company-in-nigeria\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW TO SET UP AGRICULTURAL COMPANY IN NIGERIA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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INTRODUCTION<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agriculture is a business, a wealth creating sector. It is estimated that Africa may spend close to $110 Billion importing food unless food production is prioritized. According to Statista<\/a>, Nigeria has vast potentials for thriving agricultural business with an arable land area of 34 million hectares: 6.5 million hectares for permanent crops, and 28.6 million hectares on meadows and pastures.  In 2021, agriculture contributed around 23.36 percent to Nigeria\u2019s GDP whilst 31.41 percent came from industry, and 43.79 percent from the services sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The foregoing\nattests to Nigeria\u2019s leadership in various types of agricultural production,\nsuch as palm oil, cocoa beans, pineapple, and sorghum. Nigeria is undoubtedly the\nlargest producer of sorghum<\/a> in the world just after the United States,\nand ranks fifth in the production of palm oil<\/a> and cocoa beans<\/a>. Nigeria is also a large global exporter in agricultural\nsector with oil, fruits, nuts, seeds are among the ten best performing export categories<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting up an agriculture business in Nigeria requires knowledge of the requirements, procedures and cost as well as the of funding opportunities and regulatory compliance matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus of this article is solely on the incorporation requirements and costs and other mandatory post incorporation registrations for setting up an agricultural company in Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the general requirements for setting up an agricultural\ncompany in Nigeria?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, a company seeking to engage in agricultural business may be registered as a Business Name (\u201cBusiness Venture\u201d) or Private Limited Liability Company (\u201cCompany\u201d) with the Corporate Affairs Commission (\u201cCAC\u201d) with at least one proprietor or shareholder\/director as the case may be. It is advisable to register a private limited liability company if the business must take advantage of some of the agribusiness funding opportunities by the Nigerian governments and international organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please\nnote that where the business has a foreigner, then it must be registered as a\nCompany with not less than N10,000,000 share capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The requirements for incorporation of a company include the\nfollowing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

i. Proposed Business Name or Name of the Company;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ii. Address of the Business Venture or Company;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

iii. Amount of Share Capital (for a Company);<\/p>\n\n\n\n

iv. Registered Address, Email and Telephone Number of the Business or\nCompany; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

v. Particulars (names, address, means of identification,\nelectronic signature) of proprietor (including proprietor\u2019s passport\nphotograph for Business Venture) or shareholder, director and company secretary (for Company);<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can see our article for the general requirements for\nincorporation of company here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nis the required share capital for registering an agricultural seed company with\nthe CAC?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally,\nthere is no minimum share capital requirement for incorporating a company\nseeking to undertake agriculture business which means such company may be\nregistered as a Business Venture or a Company with just N100,000 share capital,\nbeing the lowest for a Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nnot all agricultural businesses can be registered as Business Venture or\nCompany with N100,000 share capital. Where the farming activities involves the preparation\nof agricultural seeds or production, processing and marketing of agricultural\nproducts, then the business must be registered as a Company with N10,000,000\nshare capital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also,\nwhere there is any foreigner amongst the promoters of the agricultural business\n(either as a shareholder or director), then the minimum share capital of the\nCompany must be N10,000,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nis the cost of registering an agricultural company with the CAC?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost of registering a\nBusiness Venture is less than N20,000 (Twenty Thousand Naira) whilst the cost\nof a company\u2019s incorporation depends on its share capital. The total payable\ncosts for registering an agriculture seed company with the CAC is about N130,000\n(One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Naira) excluding professional fees. The\nbreakdown of the foregoing sum is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n