RMG Concept

About RMG Concept

RMG Concept is a Swiss-headquartered agribusiness group founded in 2007, operating across the agricultural value chain in West and Central Africa. The company has a physical presence in seven countries and operates in 17, focusing on key crops such as cocoa, maize, rice, and cotton. RMG's CEO is Daniel Ruegg. The firm's business model is built on vertical integration, encompassing the distribution of agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and crop protection products, as well as commodity trading and processing. A core part of its strategy involves creating niche markets by developing associations of smallholder farmers.

The company provides farmers with technical advice and training through its extensive field staff to improve crop yields and quality. It operates a system where it supplies inputs on credit against a contract for a portion of the farmer's harvest, which serves as repayment for the loan. This model guarantees RMG a supply of commodities and provides farmers with access to essential inputs and a reliable market for their produce. Through its subsidiaries, such as ALSA Ltd in Ghana, RMG manages outgrower programs that offer input credit and other services to thousands of smallholder farmers. For instance, ALSA's program supports over 10,000 farmers and aims to expand significantly by 2025. RMG also engages in transforming raw products, such as processing paddy rice and selling it under its own brands in local markets.

RMG serves both smallholder farmers, which account for a significant portion of its business, and large commercial farms producing fruits like bananas and pineapples. The company has made strategic investments to bolster its integrated model, such as the 2016 acquisition of a 70% stake in the Babator Farming Company in Ghana, a large-scale irrigated farming project initiated by AgDevCo. This partnership enhances RMG's capacity for local production of high-quality seeds and food crops.