Presco scales up West African agribusiness training

Presco Plc, Nigeria’s leading fully integrated agro-industrial company and member of the SIAT Group, has scaled its agribusiness talent academy in West Africa following the graduation of 33 young professionals from the inaugural SIAT Academy Graduate Trainee Programme in Benin City.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by the firm on Thursday, where it also announced an expanded second cohort of 70 trainees, representing a 40 per cent increase in intake and reinforcing its long-term commitment to developing future leaders across the region’s agro-industrial sector.

Speaking on the milestone, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Adewale Arikawe, emphasised the company’s commitment to human capital development.

He said, “Our growth ambitions require us to invest as deliberately in people as we do in plantations, factories, technology and markets.

The graduation of our first cohort is an important milestone in building the talent pipeline needed to support our future.

“These young professionals have completed the first stage of their development, and we are committed to supporting their continued growth. Our ambition is not simply to build a bigger SIAT, but to develop the people who will build and lead it. The expansion of our second cohort to 70 trainees demonstrates that commitment.”

Highlighting the practical structure and progression model of the initiative, the Director of SIAT Academy, Reinout Impens, noted, “We began with 50 young graduates, exposing them to real operations, workplace responsibilities and clear performance expectations. Today, 33 have demonstrated their readiness to progress to the next stage. Their graduation marks an important step towards greater professional and management responsibility. With 70 new trainees joining our second cohort, we are building on this foundation to develop the capabilities needed to support the Group’s strategic ambitions.”

Reflecting on his journey through the initiative, Michael Omi, a graduate of the inaugural cohort, shared how the experience broadened his industrial capabilities: “Before joining SIAT, I knew very little about the agro-industrial sector. The programme has given me valuable technical experience and a deeper understanding of how the industry operates. Progressing to the Management Trainee Programme is an exciting opportunity to build on that experience and pursue my ambition of combining engineering expertise with business management.”

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Listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, Presco Plc said the initiative established in 2025 serves as a strategic training and development platform designed to strengthen technical, professional, and leadership capabilities across the SIAT Group and the broader palm oil industry. Its one-year Graduate Trainee Programme combines classroom learning, practical experience, and mentorship, offering training opportunities across the group’s operations in Edo, Delta, and Rivers states, as well as Ghana.

The inaugural cohort welcomed 50 graduates in July and September 2025. Following a year of structured training, practical assignments, and performance assessments, 33 participants completed the programme and will now progress to the Management Trainee Programme, taking on greater responsibilities toward future management roles.

The graduation event brought together senior leadership, academy representatives, and trainees to celebrate the graduates’ achievements and recognise outstanding performance and project delivery.

The SIAT Academy initiative aligns with Nigeria’s National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy 2022–2027 and supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly quality education, decent work, and sustainable industrial development. Through the academy, Presco Plc and SIAT Group continue to invest in the skills, expertise, and leadership capabilities needed to support long-term growth and strengthen Africa’s agro-industrial workforce.

SIAT Group is a Belgian-incorporated agro-industrial group specialising in tropical oil palm and rubber plantations as well as downstream processing, employing over 17,000 people across Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast. Presco Plc operates an integrated supply chain in Nigeria featuring oil palm plantations, a palm oil mill, a palm kernel crushing plant, refining and fractionation units, packaging operations, and West Africa’s first biogas plant built to treat palm oil mill effluent.