Yemisi Izuora
Nigeria’s coffee export is gaining momentum as a Nigerian agribusiness company JR Farms is strengthening its footprint in the West African coffee industry.
After unveiling a major coffee development project in Nigeria in 2025, the company is now expanding into Liberia with a large-scale investment initiative.
On June 8, JR Farms signed a 20-year concession agreement with Liberia’s Ministry of Agriculture to support the development of the country’s coffee sector.
Structured as a public-private partnership valued at $60 million, the agreement includes a broad coffee development program that aims to bring more than 250,000 hectares of land into cultivation.
According to Liberian authorities, the initial phase of the project will focus on major coffee-producing areas, particularly Nimba, Lofa, and Bong counties. The initiative is expected to prioritize youth participation and rural economic development.
Liberia’s Ministry of Agriculture indicated that the investment would support coffee production, processing, farmer training, and value-chain infrastructure, with the objective of strengthening the sector’s contribution to economic growth, rural development, and export diversification.
For JR Farms, the agreement offers an opportunity to establish itself as a major player in Liberia’s coffee industry. Coffee is currently grown on fewer than 3,000 hectares across the country, with annual production totaling only 650 tonnes in 2024, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Although the company has not yet announced a timeline for implementation, the project could help position Liberia as an emerging coffee hub in West Africa.
The Liberia investment forms part of JR Farms’ broader expansion strategy in the African coffee sector. In March 2025, the company announced plans to develop 30,000 hectares of coffee plantations in Nigeria’s Cross River State over a five-year period.
Before launching its Liberia initiative, JR Farms had already established operations in Rwanda and Zambia. In Rwanda, the company produces and markets specialty coffee exclusively under its JR Coffee brand, working with a network of more than 4,000 farmers. In Zambia, its coffee business focuses on distributing and retailing JR Coffee products through café chains and company-owned coffee shops.
More broadly, the Liberia project highlights the growing influence of a regional agribusiness group capable of attracting large-scale investment to the coffee sector in West Africa, where coffee traditionally receives less attention than commodities such as cocoa, cashew nuts, natural rubber, and cotton.
According to the FAO, West Africa accounted for only 14% of Africa’s total coffee production in 2024, when continental output was estimated at 1.9 million tonnes. As investment in the sector increases, projects such as JR Farms’ Liberia initiative could contribute to raising the region’s profile in the global coffee market.