Participants at the newly launched SIAT Academy undergo practical field training at Presco’s oil palm plantation, reflecting the company’s commitment to knowledge transfer and sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria
Presco Plc, Nigeria’s leading oil palm producer and member of the SIAT group, announces the successful commencement of the first batch of its inaugural cohort of the SIAT Academy Graduate Training program. This flagship program is a leadership development initiative designed to build a robust pipeline of future leaders in agribusiness.
The SIAT Academy, launched earlier this year, is a strategic development platform aimed at strengthening and streamlining professional training and development across the SIAT group companies and the palm oil industry at large through capacity building, leadership trainings and graduate trainee programs. The Academy’s graduate training program, a key component of this initiative, combines classroom instruction, on-the-job training and mentorship over one year to equip young African graduates with the skills, knowledge and real-world experience needed to thrive in Nigeria’s rapidly changing agricultural sector.
The first batch of this inaugural cohort, which began in July 2025, included 26 dynamic young professionals from diverse disciplines in agriculture, technology and business support functions. These trainees have completed their initial induction and will, over the course of the next 12 months, actively contribute to Presco’s operations in Nigeria and Ghana.
“This programme is not just about training—it’s about transformation,” said Reinout Impens, Presco’s Chief Operating Officer. “We are investing in the future of African agribusiness by empowering young talent and fast-tracking them into management roles. Those who meet our performance benchmarks will transition into assistant managerial positions, beginning their leadership journey within the SIAT Group.”
This initiative is part of Presco’s broader commitment to economic development and talent sustainability in Nigeria and across West Africa. A second batch of trainees under the same cohort is set to begin in September 2025, further expanding the program’s reach and impact.
By embedding the Academy within its operations in Nigeria and Ghana, Presco is laying the groundwork for a new generation of managers who will help shape the agricultural sector for years to come. The initiative is also designed to inspire students and early-career professionals to see agriculture not only as a field of study, but as a meaningful and rewarding career path.
The initiative reflects Presco’s broader engagement in advancing agriculture as a driver of economic opportunity, while opening new pathways for talent and institutional collaboration.
The SIAT Academy operates across Presco’s locations in Edo, Delta & Rivers state in Nigeria and Ghana, and is open to graduates from relevant fields who are passionate about making a difference in agribusiness.
About Presco Plc.
Presco is a fully integrated agro-industrial establishment with oil palm plantations, palm oil mill, palm kernel crushing plant and vegetable oil refining and fractionation plant. It also has an olein and stearin packaging plant and a biogas plant to treat its palm oil mill effluent – the first of its kind in West Africa. Presco specialises in the cultivation of oil palm and in the extraction, refining and fractionation of crude palm oil into finished products. As the Nigerian market leader for specialty fats and oils, Presco also supplies specialty fats and oils of outstanding quality to customer specifications and assures a reliability of supply of its products year-round. This is made possible by the integrated nature of the company’s production process.
