The Alliance for Agriculture Corporation™ (AFAC) is located in the agriculturally-rich San Joaquin Valley of Central California in the City of Visalia in Tulare County, operational base of the International Agri-Center (IAC), the organizers of the World Ag Expo (WAE), the largest agricultural trade and equipment show in the world.

In line with our stated mission and working closely with the IAC, the Alliance facilitated the visit of top policy makers from Nigeria in 2006 and 2007 to the World Ag Expo. The reason for this initiative was two-fold: to expose Nigerian stakeholders and decision makers to the institutions, systems and agricultural efficiencies that could boost agricultural productivity, alleviate poverty, revitalize the agricultural sector and create economic opportunities and, showcase the numerous agricultural opportunities found in Nigeria to the 1,600 exhibitors and the over 100,000 national and international attendees at the expo with a view to stimulating direct foreign investments.

As a result of the 2006 encounter, Valmont Industries of Omaha, NE, in conjunction with Interunion Comércio of Sao Paulo, Brasil formed a consortium with a local company in Nigeria to develop an integrated biofuel project that will develop 20,000 hectares of sugarcane and an ethanol crushing plant with electricity cogeneration capabilities. The capital investment for this project is $380 million. A Memorandum of Understanding with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been signed by the consortium.

Encouraged by the aforementioned, and with the successful political transition in Nigeria which ushered in a new administration that identified agriculture and food security as part of a national seven-point agenda; we raised the stakes by taking the message to a globally respected platform and have Nigerian entities exhibit their potentials with a view to attracting the direct foreign investments needed for agricultural and agro allied development.

For the very first time since the inception of the 40 year expo, Nigerian entities would be exhibiting at the 2008 event under an aggressive marketing campaign on the expo grounds and beyond titled “Nigeria Opens Up”.