Ellah Lakes Builds Seedling Stock to Sustain Continuous Operations

Ellah Lakes Plc has moved to de-risk its plantation timetable by building up a robust stock of oil-palm seedlings ahead of a planned 2026 expansion, a strategy the company says will keep field operations uninterrupted and position its processing assets for full utilisation.

Chief Executive Officer Chuka Mordi said the company’s forward plan targets scale, integration, and yield stability across its Iguelaba holdings.

“In 2026, the company plans to plant an additional 1,500 hectares of oil palm, install a Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) mill, and allocate 100 hectares for livestock activities. This will bring all our land holdings in Iguelaba into active production and enable full capacity utilisation of our crude palm oil mill.

“We are currently building up our stock of seedlings to ensure uninterrupted operations. We are also exploring similar forward-planning strategies across other areas of our operations while working to optimise efficiency and productivity.”

Management framed the seedling build-up as a practical hedge against seasonal bottlenecks and nursery shortfalls that can slow estate development. By front-loading nursery capacity, Ellah Lakes expects to compress field planting windows, reduce transplant gaps, and maintain steady labour and logistics schedules through 2026.

The 2026 programme is anchored on three operating levers:

• Planting: An additional 1,500 hectares of oil palm to deepen estate scale and future fresh fruit bunch (FFB) throughput.

• Processing: Installation of a PKO mill to monetise kernel streams and improve overall oil extraction value, complementing the existing crude palm oil (CPO) mill.

• Diversification: Allocation of 100 hectares for livestock activities to broaden earnings resilience and fixed-cost absorption.

According to Mordi, the target is to bring all Iguelaba land holdings into active production, aligning field output with the company’s processing footprint. That alignment is critical for margin capture: higher and more predictable FFB supply supports stable CPO mill run-rates, while the PKO mill adds a complementary revenue line from kernels that might otherwise be sold as raw material.

On governance and operating standards, Ellah Lakes said it is aligning practices with Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) benchmarks covering community welfare, labour rights, and environmental stewardship.

The company views RSPO alignment as foundational to long-term access to capital, offtake relationships, and market acceptance—especially as global buyers tighten traceability and sustainability requirements across palm supply chains.

From a capital allocation standpoint, the company reiterated a shareholder-return pathway tied to cash generation. Management said Ellah Lakes remains committed to sustainable value creation and that once operations turn cash-flow positive, dividend distribution will be a top priority.

The company added that operational efficiency initiatives and disciplined expansion are designed to accelerate that inflection.

Sectorally, Ellah Lakes remains constructive on Nigeria’s oil-palm outlook, citing population growth and domestic supply gaps as durable drivers of investment.

Nigeria’s structural deficit in edible oils continues to support import substitution and local capacity build-out, particularly for players able to execute integrated field-to-mill strategies at scale.

Investor feedback has been supportive. During a recent visit, Habeeb Amole, Executive Director at WCM Capital, commended Ellah Lakes for progress in land acquisition, plantation development, and nursery establishment.

He highlighted the company’s young and visionary board and flagged the programme’s long-term growth potential for patient capital.

Execution now pivots to timelines and delivery: completing nursery ramp-up, phasing field planting to match rainy-season windows, installing the PKO mill, and commissioning livestock operations without disrupting CPO mill availability.

Management said its forward-planning approach—beginning with seedlings—aims to keep that sequence on track while containing unit costs and protecting yields.