A pineapple may seem like an ordinary fruit, but for Dr. Segun Alabi, it became the beginning of an ambitious business idea.
What started as a setback in agricultural trading has grown into an attempt to change how Nigerians participate in farming. At Davidorlah Farms, the vision goes beyond cultivating pineapples. It encompasses land ownership, agricultural investment, processing, renewable energy and the ambition to take Nigerian agricultural products to the global market.
Davidorlah Nigeria Limited was founded by Alabi in December 2016, initially focusing on buying and exporting cocoa and cashew. But the business soon encountered the realities of commodity trading. A cocoa market crash in January 2017 forced the company to diversify into watermelon, vegetables and cassava.
Cassava brought another difficult lesson. According to the company, its price fell from N100,000 to N10,000 per truck, resulting in further losses and forcing the business to rethink its approach to agriculture.
Then came pineapple.
Davidorlah moved into pineapple supply, including importing the fruit from Cotonou, Benin Republic. In August 2018, a border closure disrupted the business and cost the company more than $20,000.
For Alabi, the loss became a turning point. Instead of simply importing pineapples, he began asking why Nigeria, with its fertile land, could not produce the fruit at scale and eventually export it.
That question shaped the company’s current direction.
Davidorlah now operates what it calls an “agro real estate” model, allowing people to own portions of agricultural land without personally managing the farm. Investors purchase defined portions of land while Davidorlah handles cultivation and farm operations.
A plot currently costs N3 million, an acre, equivalent to six plots, costs N18 million, while a hectare, comprising 15 plots, costs N45 million. Davidorlah says investors receive an annual rental return of 36 per cent of the purchase price and can recover their initial capital in approximately three years and a few months while retaining ownership of the land.
The model is designed for people who want to participate in agriculture but may lack the time, expertise or willingness to manage a farm themselves.
However, Davidorlah’s ambition extends beyond land ownership and fresh pineapple sales. The company describes its vision as moving from “farm to factory to global market”.
It produces pineapple fruit concentrate, which it says can provide a local alternative for Nigerian fruit companies that currently import the raw material. It is also planning pharmaceutical-grade bromelain production, targeting an enzyme derived from pineapple with commercial applications in international markets.
Even pineapple waste has a place in the company’s plans. Davidorlah says the waste can be converted into industrial fuel bricks, creating another use for agricultural residue.
The strategy is to extract value from several stages of the pineapple value chain rather than relying solely on fresh fruit sales.
Despite the risks associated with agriculture, especially climate challenges, Davidorlah has taken extra precautions by installing extensive borehole systems to reduce dependence on rainfall and provide a more consistent water supply for its farms.
The company also considers pineapple a strategic crop because of its demand locally and internationally.
For prospective investors, the financial side of the model deserves careful scrutiny. Davidorlah says it has maintained a 10-year record without missed payments and offers a 36 per cent annual rental return. Potential investors would need to examine the land title, contractual terms, payment structure, financial records and applicable regulatory requirements before committing funds.
The distinction between owning farmland and investing in an agricultural business is important. Farming remains exposed to crop, market and operational risks, while investment arrangements carry their own legal and financial obligations.
Davidorlah’s response has been to build greater control across the value chain. Rather than simply growing pineapple and selling it at the farm gate, the company is pursuing cultivation, processing and industrial applications.
Its approach speaks to a wider challenge in Nigerian agriculture. The country has significant agricultural potential, but much of the value from its commodities can be lost when production is disconnected from processing and export markets.
Davidorlah is attempting to occupy more of those stages.
The company’s journey from cocoa and cashew to pineapple shows how setbacks can force a business to rethink its direction. The cocoa crash prompted diversification. Falling cassava prices exposed the risks of commodity volatility. The 2018 border closure exposed the vulnerability of importing pineapples.
Today, those experiences have shaped a larger ambition to make Nigerian land productive, make agriculture investable and build a value chain that stretches from the farm to the factory and ultimately to the global market.
At Davidorlah Farms, the pineapple is more than a crop. It is the centre of a business model built around a simple proposition: that Nigeria can produce more of what it consumes, process more of what it grows and create greater economic value from its agricultural resources.
