TIDMAGTA
RNS Number : 2816I
Agriterra Ltd
29 May 2014
Agriterra Ltd / Ticker: AGTA / Index: AIM / Sector:
Agriculture
29 May 2014
Agriterra Ltd ('Agriterra' or the 'Company')
Board & Management Appointments
Agriterra Ltd, the AIM listed pan-African agricultural group, is
pleased to announce appointments to the Board and management of
Agriterra as the Company builds on its established agricultural
platform in Mozambique and Sierra Leone.
Overview:
-- Mr Daniel Cassiano-Silva, a highly experienced financial
professional with a background in African focussed publicly listed
companies, appointed as Financial Director with immediate
effect
-- Mr Gert (George) Naude, a highly experienced agricultural
manager with a proven background in large scale commercial
agri-operations in Mozambique, appointed as Chief Operating Officer
(Mozambique) with immediate effect
-- Mr Naude replaces Mr Euan Kay who is retiring from day-to-day
management but will remain as a consultant to the Company in
addition to providing senior level guidance and support through his
retained non-executive position on the Board
Andrew Groves, Agriterra CEO said, "This is a period of
significant growth for Agriterra. I am delighted to welcome Dan to
the Board; his extensive financial background, combined with his
experience in Africa, and in particular in Mozambique, will be of
significant value as we look to maximise our operating margins and
create sustainable long-term cash generation and profitability.
"We are also very pleased to have secured the services of George
Naude. George has a proven background in international
agri-operations and in excess of 13 years' experience leading
projects in Mozambique. As such he has the requisite skill set to
continue driving our expansion plans in Mozambique. We remain
particularly excited about our beef business where we are
increasing the carrying capacity of our ranches through phased
irrigation programmes, rapidly expanding the breeding herd, and
optimising the feedlot and the established retail operations to
build both critical mass and increase earnings visibility.
"Euan has been instrumental in the growth of the business over
the years. The Board thank him for his many invaluable
contributions, and are pleased to have secured his on-going
expertise."
Daniel Cassiano-Silva:
Mr Cassiano-Silva has over 13 years' financial experience and a
wealth of operational expertise gained in Mozambique, South Africa
and the Democratic Republic of Congo with AIM quoted Paragon
Resources PLC ('Paragon'), where, between 2010 and September 2013,
he held senior positions as Group Controller and Compliance Officer
and Chief Financial Officer. During this time he was resident in
Mozambique for two years and, being bi-lingual in Portuguese and
English, played a pivotal role in implementing Paragon's business
plan both within the administrative and finance functions as well
as operational matters. Dan joined Agriterra as Chief Financial
Officer in September 2013 and has contributed significantly to the
operations and strategy of the Company at all divisions. He remains
on the Board of Paragon as a Non-Executive Director. Prior to
joining Paragon, Mr Cassiano-Silva worked with Deloitte LLP as a
Senior Audit Manager until 2009 and is a chartered accountant.
Mr Daniel Lawrence Cassiano-Silva (age 36) has or held the
following directorships and/or partnerships in the last five
years:
Current Past (within the past five years)
------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------
Paragon Resources Plc HAMC Minerals Limited
------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------
Highland African Mining Company HAMC Investments Limited
Limited
------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------
Speciality Minerals Corporation African Speciality Minerals Holding
Limited Limited
------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------
HAMC Project Services (PTY) Limited
------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------
Highland African Mining Company
Limitada
------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------
Mr Cassiano-Silva does not hold any ordinary shares in the
Company.
There is no further information on Mr Cassiano-Silva required to
be disclosed under Schedule Two, paragraph (g) (i)-(viii) of the
AIM Rules for Companies.
George Naude:
Mr Naude joins Agriterra from Tongaat Hulett, a leading Southern
African focussed agricultural and agri-processing business, where
he led the Mozambican operations as Agricultural Manager. During
his six year tenure, Mr Naude transformed the operations under his
care, which included 10,000ha of irrigated land producing annual
yields of up to 600,000 tonnes of cane, maximising efficiencies and
implementing policies and procedures to enable further expansion.
In addition to being responsible for all standards associated with
his designated agricultural operations, including land preparation,
irrigation and drainage, Mr Naude also managed the operational and
capital expenditure budgets for the business, led a team of 55
managerial staff and 5,000 employees and formulated medium to long
term growth plans.
Prior to joining Tongaat Hulett, Mr Naude held the position of
Agricultural Manager at Companhia de Sena, a major sugar cane
producer based in Mozambique. Mr Naude spent seven years with
Companhia de Sena during which time he advanced his skills in
infrastructure development and oversaw the rehabilitation of newly
acquired acreage into high quality commercially viable arable land.
During his career, Mr Naude has also spent time on agricultural
projects in Mauritius, Brazil, Tanzania and Malawi and has
developed his foreign language skills, now being fluent in English
and Afrikaans and proficient in Portuguese and Sena.
** ENDS **
For further information please visit www.agriterra-ltd.com or
contact:
Andrew Groves Agriterra Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408
9200
David Foreman Cantor Fitzgerald Europe Tel: +44 (0) 20 7894
7684
Rick Thompson Cantor Fitzgerald Europe Tel: +44 (0) 20 7894
7653
John Beaumont Peat & Co. Tel: +44 (0) 20 3540
1723
Susie Geliher St Brides Media & Finance Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236
Ltd 1177
Charlotte Heap St Brides Media & Finance Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236
Ltd 1177
Notes
Agriterra Ltd is an AIM listed agricultural company with three
core divisions: beef, maize, and cocoa. Its cattle ranching
business, Mozbife, has an established breeding herd in excess of
4,800 head, a land holding of over 19,850 hectares, a 1,800 head
feedlot, and established abattoir and retail operations. In
addition to selling meat from its own herds, throughput for the
feedlot and abattoir is supplemented with cattle bought in from
local communities.
The Company's maize buying and milling operations, DECA and
Compagri, are located in Chimoio and Tete in central and
north-western Mozambique respectively. These collect maize from
circa 350,000 farmers using the Company's own vehicle fleet,
process it into maize meal, the African staple, and then sell it
back to the local market, into supermarkets and to the World Food
Programme.
Agriterra's cocoa business is centred on its 3,200 hectares of
plantation, which includes a 1.7 acre nursery, located 35km
south-east of Kenema. Its strategy is to establish itself as a
secure, sustainable and traceable source of supply to meet the
requirements of the major cocoa consumers who are placing increased
emphasis in this area.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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