Potato

ZAMBIA SEED POTATO KEY FIGURES

Saise Farming Enterprises, Zambia’s first commercial seed potato producer, now operates 285 hectares of irrigated land in Mbala, Northern Province, following impact investor AgDevCo’s successful exit in March 2025 through an equity sale to Buya Bamba, Zambia’s largest potato trader and its original joint venture partner.

AgDevCo had committed USD 2.88 million to establish the farm since 2016, creating 112 jobs of which 47% were held by women, with Saise’s seed potatoes previously targeting up to 50% substitution of Zambia’s seed potato imports, which had until then been entirely sourced from abroad.

Building Zambia’s Seed Potato Value Chain

Saise Farming Enterprises Limited was established in 2016 near Mbala in Zambia’s Northern Province as the country’s first commercial seed potato producer, purchasing varieties from German potato breeder Europlant and cultivating them on fully irrigated land, with production exceeding 1,800 tonnes in 2018^[1]. AgDevCo, the impact investor behind the venture, committed USD 2.88 million to build a fully operational early-generation seed potato farm, including land development, irrigation infrastructure, staff housing, an electricity connection and equipment, creating 112 jobs of which 47% were held by women^[2]. As of 2018, the operation directly benefited 475 smallholder farmers, 67% of them women, generating USD 260,000 in total smallholder income and USD 80,000 in total employee income in Northern Province, a region where rural unemployment was estimated by Zambia’s government at around 75%^[1]. Because seed potatoes had previously been entirely imported, Saise’s production was expected to substitute up to 50% of Zambia’s seed potato imports, with a further ambition to export up to 30% of production to regional markets near Lake Tanganyika^[1]. AgDevCo’s wider investment strategy for the region committed USD 14 million and was designed to catalyse an additional USD 23 million in third-party investment into Northern Zambia’s agricultural hub^[1].

AgDevCo’s Exit and Consolidation

AgDevCo announced on March 13, 2025 that it had successfully exited Saise Farming Enterprises through an equity sale to Buya Bamba Limited, the leading Zambian potato company that had been AgDevCo’s joint venture partner in Saise from the start, consolidating full ownership of the farm, which by then operated 285 hectares under irrigation^[3]. AgDevCo’s South Region Managing Director Sean Carey said Saise was in excellent hands with Buya Bamba, while Buya Bamba Managing Director Anthony Barker said the acquisition further strengthens the Zambian potato value chain^[3]. The exit followed AgDevCo’s closing of a USD 85 million fund raise in 2024, part of a portfolio that by 2025 had made more than 88 investments and grew AgDevCo’s assets under management to USD 340 million^[3].

Investment Opportunities

With Saise’s seed potato substitution target set at only up to 50% of a previously 100% import-dependent market, and a further 30% export ambition still to be realised, meaningful headroom remains in Zambia’s seed potato supply chain even after AgDevCo’s successful exit, a segment where Buya Bamba’s consolidation of the country’s leading seed producer under its own ownership now gives a single, vertically integrated route to market for further expansion^[1][3]. AgDevCo’s broader Northern Zambia strategy, which set out to catalyse USD 23 million in third-party investment on top of its own USD 14 million commitment, points to continued donor and impact-investor appetite for further agribusiness ventures in the same agricultural hub^[1].

Last Update: September 2026

References

1. AgDevCo, Stimulating the Potato Value Chain in Zambia: Case Study of AgDevCo’s Investment in Saise Farming Enterprises Limited, March 2019
2. AgDevCo, Saise Farming Enterprises Ltd (SFEL), Investment Profile
3. AgDevCo, AgDevCo Successfully Exits Saise Farming Enterprises, Strengthening Zambia’s Potato Industry, March 2025