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A consortium led by women-owned investment group Wiphold and South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation is buying agricultural inputs business Zaad Group for R1.4 billion ($87 million), a deal the buyers are framing as a long-term play on food security and farm productivity.
Zaad is being acquired from JSE listed Zeder Investments. The buyers say the purchase gives them a platform in a part of agriculture that is often overlooked until it goes wrong: the supply of quality seeds and crop protection products that determine yields before a tractor even enters the field.
Wiphold chief executive Gloria Serobe, a veteran of South Africa’s investment industry and a prominent Eastern Cape business leader, said the group was drawn to Zaad because it operates at a critical point in the food system. Seed genetics, research and distribution, she said, shape what farmers can produce and how resilient crops can be in difficult seasons.
The consortium includes the PIC, the Industrial Development Corporation and the Phatisa Food Fund alongside Wiphold. In statements accompanying the announcement, the partners positioned Zaad as a business with the scale and technical depth to serve both large commercial farms and smaller growers across the continent.
PIC chief executive Patrick Dlamini highlighted Zaad’s research capacity and its work in developing intellectual property linked to improved agricultural inputs. He said stronger seed varieties and well targeted crop protection can lift yields, improve quality and reduce the risk of harvest losses, especially in markets where climate stress and input costs are rising.
Zaad’s footprint stretches beyond South Africa. The group owns, develops, imports and distributes a range of agronomy, forage and vegetable seeds into Europe, Africa and other emerging markets, and it distributes specialty agrochemicals into Africa. The buyers say the company supplies more than 100,000 farmers globally through its network, a reach they believe can be expanded with additional capital and partnerships.
The Zaad portfolio includes Agricol, a seed business, and Farm Ag, which focuses on crop protection products and agrochemicals. It also includes Bakker Brothers, a Netherlands based vegetable seed genetics operation that gives the group access to premium varieties and breeding expertise. Another unit, EA Seed, operates across East and Southern Africa, using in-country distribution to place seeds into markets where logistics can be as decisive as price.
The deal lands at a time when investors are taking a harder look at assets tied to essential services. Seed and crop protection companies tend to see steady demand because farmers cannot easily postpone purchases without risking their season. At the same time, the sector sits in the middle of debates over rising costs, regulation, climate change and the push to raise output without expanding farmland.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. If cleared, the consortium will take over a business that spans research, genetics, product development and distribution, with the new owners betting that reliable access to quality inputs will be central to the next phase of African agriculture.
