An Independent Agricultural Operation in the West African Forest Savanna Mosaic.
Abodunde Farms stands as the largest landowner and anchor in a network of smallholder family farms that has its roots in the early 20th century.
For thousands of years, West African farming systems have relied on enhanced human productivity and crop diversification, using time honored agro-ecological and socio-cultural processes, in the production of high-quality natural foods that retain essential nutrients - Superfoods.
The Eco-Region
Our eco-region sits where the forest meets the savanna across West Africa. It spans the Afro-Tropic nations of Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and Cameroon.
The biodiversity of Guinean Forest-Savanna Mosaic in the West African Coastal Forests & Savanna, is globally significant yet misunderstood. The area is mostly an agriculture-forest mosaic. These highly modified forests provide food, fuel, fibre and a range of ecosystem services for over 200 million people. The area consists of interlaced tropical forest, savanna, and grassland, that is typified by rolling plains and scattered clusters of inselbergs rising up to 1,500 m above the plains. This includes ‘Sacred Groves’ - or forest patches where communities actively seek to improve species richness through use of social or cultural restrictions.
Our Community
Akoko - Edo in Edo State, was one the first local government areas (county) established in Nigeria upon independence in 1960, precisely because it sits in the heart of the nations agricultural breadbasket.
Major agricultural activity in Akoko - Edo centers around the cultivation of Yam, Cassava, Plantain, Cocoa, Cashew Seed, Kola Nut, and Palm Oils. Live-Stock, and Tropical Fruits are also part of the mix.
Our Business
Nigeria
In Nigeria, we are an independent operation that cultivates, aggregates, processes and distributes agricultural products at farmers markets. We also sell branded and packaged agricultural products to urban distributors and retailers.
We are a NAFDAC licensed brand in Nigeria (National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control).
USA
We are a Pennsylvania - FDA registered agriculture importer and packaging company in the United States.
Packing African agricultural products in the US for US based customers, bypasses significant infrastructure deficits in West Africa, which, crucially, allows us to meet stricter US food processing quality standards.
NOTES
From The Forest
Sourcing
West Africa has an abundance of indigenous farming systems that utilize and manage the environment on a sustainable basis. The knowledge has been passed down to us over hundreds of years through family bonds and smallholder culture. These relationships give us direct and unmatched access to a variety tropical crops and fruits grown on thousands of acres of tribal land, giving us advantages in surety of supply.
Hygiene and Sanitation
We process, pack and store raw foods with process controls that are designed to exceed government regulations. Our quality standards are rigorous and include portable hermetic storage systems, as well as internationally accepted laboratory testing standards. Our processing efficiency and turnaround time are geared toward maximum product quality and freshness.
Logistics
Africa has the lowest road density of all the continents, this magnifies operating costs. As farmers, producers and traders we also contend with “Wild Wild West” type security issues. These challenges require informal logistics and security protocols, including the use of terrain-adapted delivery trucks, vigilante escorts for certain deliveries, and customized trikes for narrow dirt roads that were built during the colonial era.