Crops

The Seattle-based global coffee chain is proving $2m to an Inter-American Development Bank program providing loans to female smallholder coffee farmers in the South American nation.

The deal comes one year after CITIC Agri Fund Management was established together with Yuan Longping High-Tech Agriculture and two other listed agricultural companies.

The firm co-led the round in biologicals start-up NewLeaf Symbiotics alongside Otter Capital, bringing capital raised by the company to nearly $50m.

While the drop is significant, production is expected to remain close to average levels in 2017-18 given that last year was a record-breaking season.

The Vietnam-focused private equity firm is selling its shares in Vietnamese crop chemicals company Loc Troi in a listing that will value the company at $200m.

The Enhanced Smallholder Protection Programme will look to encourage Zambia’s 61,000 smallholder farmers to transition from subsistence to market-oriented agriculture.

The Singapore sovereign wealth fund and the French agri-business investor were joined in their backing of the French malting business by sugar co-operative Tereos.

Agriculture is among the target sectors for Horizon Capital’s Emerging Europe Fund III, designed to support export industries in Ukraine and Moldova.

Equity Group Investments has acquired a stake in ILTA Grain, a Canadian processor and exporter of pulse crops backed by Tillridge Global Agribusiness Partners.

The vehicle will target net returns of 15% over its 12-year life with agriculture to account for up to 20% of investments.