(Reuters) – A group of U.S. seed, chemical and equipment companies will invest at least $150 million over the next few years into African agricultural projects and products, the companies said on Friday.

The investments pledged by DuPont (DD.N), Monsanto (MON.N), Cargill CARG.UL and others are part of an overall $3 billion effort by companies around the world announced by President Barack Obama.

Along with companies from India, Israel, Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom, and 20 companies from Africa, the corporations have committed some $3 billion for projects to help farmers in the developing world build local markets and improve productivity.

The United Nations has said that by 2030, the world will need at least 50 percent more food, 45 percent more energy and 30 percent more water. Absent these resources, it said, up to 3 billion people would probably be condemned into poverty.

Capitalizing on food demand in Africa also holds strong profit potential, corporate leaders said.

“It has been a bit chaotic. There are all sorts of issues around the countries in Africa. But the population, the economic growth, the quality of many of the soils is there,” DuPont Executive Vice President Jim Borel told Reuters in an interview. “The need is there, the potential is there.”

“We’re convinced we can take the base we have now, and accelerate that progress,” said Borel, who oversees DuPont’s food and nutrition businesses. Among DuPont’s units is its Pioneer Hi-Bred International seed company, which has operated in Africa for decades.

India and China are more stable and growing faster, but Africa is “not far behind,” according to Borel.

DuPont said it will spend more than $3 million over the next three years focused on Ethiopia, where the company is investing in seed production and storage facilities. It is also developing weed control for wheat farmers there, and creating a soil information system to address soil limitations and boost crop yields.

DuPont’s growth plans on the continent are aimed at growing revenue from African business to more than $1 billion within 10 years.

DuPont is also sponsoring development of a food security index, a ranking of 105 countries that analyzes the food security status of each. That index will be rolled out in mid-July.

Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, said it also was committing millions to Africa. Monsanto will invest about $50 million over the next 10 years in several countries to support African agricultural development and growth, officials said.

Monsanto’s plans include work in Tanzania on development of corn that uses water more efficiently, and support for development of a network of agro-dealers.

Cargill is investing in two projects in Mozambique focused on increasing grain yields for small farmers and on training and education in farm communities.

AGCO (AGCO.N), a U.S.-based farm equipment company, plans to invest $100 million over the next three years to improve farm operations in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and other African countries.

Among the international players, Norway’s Yara International (YAR.OL) is planning a $2 billion fertilizer production facility in Africa and is spending $20 million to build a port in Tanzania that will help expand its fertilizer delivery network throughout southern Africa.

The Swiss company Syngenta AG (SYNN.VX) said it would invest more than $500 million in Africa. Over the next 10 years, Syngenta expects to build a $1 billion business in Africa.

The push by global corporations to spend more money and develop new markets across Africa comes as an expanding world population and growing demand for quality food threaten to exceed existing limits of agricultural production.

Investors have been buying up farmland in Africa, hoping to make it more productive using modern agricultural technologies. That, combined with the rising interest of international agricultural corporations, has brought criticism.

Advocates for African farmers fear they will lose control over their food supply and markets. They say African farmers are being displaced and unsustainable farm practices are being introduced.

“The problem is all this is based on large-scale commercial agriculture,” said Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute, a policy think tank. “Who does it benefit? All of these things are supporting the formation of large-scale commercial agriculture, which will hurt small farmers. They could spend far less but focus on providing credit facilities, ensuring open markets and ensuring the rights of small holder farmers.”

(Reporting By Carey Gillam; Editing by David Gregorio)

Board of Directors of the World Bank (WB) has approved $50 million to the Government in the form of budget support for the implementation of the country’s Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (METASIP).

The WB programme known as the Agricultural Development Policy Operation, supports important policy and institutional reforms that will enhance the development and adoption of agricultural technology, such as improved seeds and fertilizer.

This is contained in a released issued to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Wednesday.

It said a key aspect of the programme was small-holder commercialisation and the development of a socially inclusive out-grower model that would attract increased private investment in the sector.

The release said the programme would support accelerated irrigation development, and improved governance of the fisheries sector.

“A key result of this facility, which is the second in the series will increase production and productivity through improved crop yields. This will enhance Ghana’s competitiveness in the sector, expanding export agriculture and local food production, while increasing farmer incomes,” it said.

Mr Jan Nijhoff, Agricultural Economist, based in the WB’s Ghana Office said, “Over the past few years, the World Bank has been scaling up its support to Ghana’s agricultural sector with strategic investments that ensure that the sector continues to grow and contributes to job creation and food security in Ghana.”

“In doing so, the sector is being increasingly modernised and commercialised. It is our expectation that these investments will help leverage additional investment from the private sector and bring thousands of small-holder farmers into commercial value-chains,” it added.

The WB’s current portfolio in Ghana consists of 31 International Development Assistance-financed projects, with a net commitment of approximately $2 billion.

(Reuters) – Deere & Co (DE.N) posted higher quarterly earnings and sales that topped estimates and raised its full-year profit outlook on Wednesday on rising global demand for farm equipment.

The U.S. farm sector is booming on higher worldwide food demand and as biofuels help drive up crop production. Companies like Deere are benefiting from record-high farm income that is spurring farmers to update their equipment.

“Deere is hitting on all cylinders,” said Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager at Hodges Capital in Dallas.

Sales increased by double digits in the agriculture, and construction and forestry equipment divisions during the quarter.

“Trying to feed everyone, and with more folks going into the middle class that want to eat more meat and protein, you need to feed more cattle and hogs and plant more corn, milo and wheat,” Bradshaw said. With commodities prices up, farmers’ “pockets are full and they tend to run and buy more equipment.”

The world’s largest farm equipment maker said fiscal second-quarter net income rose to $1.056 billion, or $2.61 per share, from $904.3 million, or $2.12 a share, a year ago. The results topped the average estimate of $2.53, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net sales of equipment operations rose to $9.4 billion from $8.33 billion a year earlier. Worldwide net sales and revenues increased 12 percent to $10.01 billion in the quarter, above the average estimate of $9.7 billion.

The company also raised its forecast for 2012 net income to about $3.35 billion from $3.275 billion.

Deere’s shares erased premarket gains to trade 0.7 percent lower at $76.04 early on the New York Stock Exchange.

“Overall, this is a good quarter, slightly better than consensus estimates, but not as strong a quarter as competitors have delivered,” William Blair analysts wrote in a note, explaining the fading share price.

“We still see moderate upside levers from European farm equipment, share repurchases, and construction volumes in 2012, partly offset by adverse currency.”

U.S. farmers planted the largest corn crop in 75 years this year, underscoring greater need for tractors and combine harvesters.

Loans to buy farm machinery and equipment stayed strong even as farmers also bought more equipment with cash, U.S. Federal Reserve data showed.

Deere said in March it plans to invest $70 million to expand large tractor production at its Waterloo, Iowa, facility, increasing its bet on growing global demand for agricultural machinery.

Moline, Illinois-based Deere is working on more than a dozen major plant expansions globally and plans to spend $1.3 billion on capital investments this year.

“Our extensive investments in new products and additional global capacity are moving ahead at an accelerated rate,” Samuel R. Allen, chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “They put Deere in a sound position to respond to a rising global need for food, shelter, and infrastructure in the years ahead.”

Competitor AGCO Corp (AGCO.N) scorched Wall Street estimates on May 1, with a 50 percent earnings surge in the first quarter on strong sales in North America and a pickup in European demand for agricultural equipment.

CNH Global NV (CNH.N) posted quarterly results on April 25 that blew past analysts’ expectations as strong wheat, corn and other commodities prices led farmers to buy equipment.

(Reporting By Lynn Adler; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Clean Seed Capital Group Ltd. (the “Company”) is a technology based catalytic agent in the sustainable agriculture industry. The Company is ready to commercialize and deploy  its proprietary No-Till precision planting agricultural technology and has an innovative approach to the agriculture industry where it creates Agricultural Research & Innovation Networks comprised of public and private strategic partners, (such as universities, farmers, associations, equipment manufacturers, agro-processors, and others) to help participants facilitate progress and sustainability in the global agriculture industry.

• During 2011 Clean Seed took important steps towards executing a vigorous commercialization plan, establishing itself as a catalytic agent, and bringing its first proprietary market launch equipment (a No-Tillage agricultural technology) to market.

• The Company was listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange on September 26, 2011.

• In October 2011, the Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with the University of British Columbia (which has high standing in the field of agriculture) to establish a long term, mutually beneficial collaborative relationship between the Company and the UBC Center for Sustainable Food Systems.

• In November 2011, the Company strengthened its executive management team and board of directors with the addition of Dr. Kwesi Opoku-Debrah, a highly accomplished scholar, educator, and entrepreneur with over 30 years of international experience working in No-Till Farming and Sustainable Agriculture. Accomplishments include serving as the Agricultural Team Leader of Evaluations for World Vision and USAID, expert consultant for the World Bank and the Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development, and was instrumental in the coordination of the No-Tillage Agriculture Program funded by the Howard Buffet Foundation.

• In April 2012, the Company made great strides in advancing its Developing Nations agricultural innovation networks (creating integrated sustainable agriculture programs in emerging nations) by signing a MOU to acquire a controlling interest in 3K&A Industries Ltd., one of the largest privately-owned agro-processing companies based in Ghana, Africa.

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U.S. soybean stockpiles are poised to drop to the lowest relative to consumption since at least 1965 after the worst drought in five decades decimated crops across South America, driving China to buy more from Midwest farmers.

Inventories will decline 20 percent to 172 million bushels (4.68 million metric tons) before next year’s harvest in the U.S., the largest grower, according to the average of 31 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. This year’s 21 percent rally may extend another 9.2 percent by the end of June to $16 a bushel, according to Linn Group, a brokerage and researcher based in Chicago. Prices reached a record $16.3675 in 2008.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its forecasts for the South American crop four times in as many months after predicting record supplies as recently as December. The estimates are scheduled to be updated May 10. Imports by China, where demand doubled since 2004, will advance to a record 55 million tons this year as farmers feed a hog herd expanding 4.4 percent to a record 690 million animals, USDA data show.

“Prices may top the 2008 peak if Chinese demand doesn’t slow or there are any threats to the U.S. crop this summer,” said Christopher Narayanan, the head of agricultural commodities research for Societe Generale in New York. “China’s soybean imports have grown at a rate of more than 17 percent annually the last 10 years, and the biggest risk is that demand won’t slow.”

World Index

Soybeans traded on the Chicago Board of Trade led gains in the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities this year and reached a 45-month high of $15.125 on May 2. The GSCI advanced 1.1 percent since Dec. 30, as the MSCI All-Country World Index of equities rose 7 percent. Treasuries returned 0.4 percent, a Bank of America Corp. index shows.

Production across Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia will drop 16 percent this season, the most since a drought in 2009, according to Newedge USA Clearing, part of the second-biggest broker on U.S. exchanges. Craig Huss, the chief risk officer at Decatur, Illinois-based Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Co., the world’s largest grain processor, told analysts on a conference call May 1 that fewer South American exports would make it “difficult to buy beans going forward.”

Before the 2013 harvest, U.S. reserves will be the equivalent of 2.6 percent of projected consumption of 3.363 billion bushels, said Roy Huckabay, an executive vice president at the Linn Group. The lowest stockpiles-to-use ratio was 4 percent in 1965, the earliest that government data is available, when production was 77 percent smaller than in 2011.

Smaller Inventory

The USDA probably will forecast on May 10 that global inventories will drop 23 percent to 52.96 million tons as of Oct. 1, the biggest pre-harvest slump in 16 years, according to the average of 18 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Hedge funds are making their biggest bet on higher prices since at least June 2006, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. They held a net-long position of 253,889 contracts as of May 1. Speculators were wagering on a retreat as recently as December, the data show.

The rally will spur farmers to plant more and importers to buy less, said Dale Durchholz, the senior market analyst for AgriVisor LLC, a consultant in Bloomington, Illinois. Production probably will rebound 21 percent in the year that starts Sept. 1 to a record 284.4 million tons, Memphis, Tennessee-based Informa Economics Inc. said in a report May 4. That would be the largest output gain in three years.

Financial Incentive

Shortages before the U.S. harvest starts in September mean futures for July delivery are trading at a premium of $1.41 a bushel to the March 2013 contract. That compares with 2 cents three months earlier, exchange data show.

“The market is telling U.S. livestock producers and Chinese buyers to slow purchases because there is little incentive to accumulate high-priced inventories,” Durchholz said. “China already has enough on the books for post-harvest delivery to get them through two months of consumption. We will shift from perceived tightness to burdensome supplies very quickly if Mother Nature cooperates for U.S. growers.”

Chinese farmers aren’t keeping up with demand for soy-based animal feed, vegetable oil and biofuel in the world’s most- populous nation, where the economy expanded 9.2 percent last year. The harvest was 13.5 million tons last year, down from a peak of 17.4 million in 2004. Consumption is up 36 percent in the past three years to an estimated 70.1 million tons, or 28 percent of global use, USDA data show.

The Asian nation bought 921,642 tons of U.S. soybeans in the four weeks ended April 26, almost three times the amount a year earlier, the USDA said May 3. About 7.12 million tons have been booked for shipment in the year that starts Sept. 1, 21 percent more than at this time last year.

Global Stockpiles

China has led an expansion of world soybean consumption that was almost four times the pace of population growth in the past decade, government data show. Global stockpiles will drop to about 51.4 days of use on Oct. 1, the lowest ratio in 15 years, according to Bill Gary, the president of Commodity Information Systems Inc. in Oklahoma City, who has worked in the grain market for a half century. Supplies may be tightest around March 2013, before the South American harvests, he said.

U.S. farmers probably will increase production by about 5.2 percent to 3.214 billion bushels this year, according to the average estimate of 24 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That may not be enough to keep up with demand. The ratio of U.S soybean reserves to demand will fall to 4.1 percent, the lowest in 48 years, predicts Doane Advisory Services Co., a farm and food- company researcher based in St. Louis.

Profitable Corn

Corn, the biggest U.S. crop, is still more profitable to plant than soybeans. Farmers are expected to boost corn planting to 95.864 million acres this year, the most since 1937, the USDA said March 30. That may limit gains in soybean planting while boosting corn output by 7.7 percent to 14.395 billion bushels, according to the average estimate in the Bloomberg survey.

“We need a big crop in the U.S. to offset losses in South America this year,” said Bill Nelson, a senior economist at Doane Advisory Services who expects prices to approach $16 no later than August. “There is just no leeway when there are any crop problems. The anxiety has never been greater.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net

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Clean Seed Capital Group Announces Positive Results from its Soil Disturbance Analysis Survey completed by the University of British Columbia.

May 03, 2012 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Clean Seed Capital Group (“Clean Seed” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: CSX) is pleased to announce it has received the results of the soil disturbance analysis conducted by  the UBC Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (UBC Farm).  The overall assessment of the Company’s patented Smallholder/ Developing Nations No-Till seeding equipment was exceptional.

This trial was conducted by Dr. Andrew Riseman, Associate Professor and Academic Director of the UBC Farm to independently assess the impact of this technology on soil disturbance based on the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service guidelines. The objectives of the analysis were to determine:

1. Whether the Company’s patented in-ground opener blade technology meets or exceeds the conservation tillage standard as outlined in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National Handbook of Conservation Practice.
2. Whether the Company’s Smallholder/Developing Nations equipment carrying the patented opener blades are in conformance with the standards outlined in the 2006/2009 NRCS Handbook of Conservation Practices and CCX Offset Project Protocol, namely through the verification of 30% or less soil disturbance.

Three locations within the UBC Farm were selected, each representing different soil compaction and/or cover conditions. Each site pass consisted of a straight run with the blades engaged to 1.5”-2” soil depth. Two tractor speeds were used on all three sites and the equipment performed equally well across speeds and degree of soil compaction. During all in-ground passes, blades maintained the set depth and ports remained free and open.

Video recording and photo data was made of the equipment to document physical soil throw as the blades passed through the soil and to visually record cover disturbance. Cover disturbance was measured both visually and by line-transect method (i.e. random transects were plotted with ten locations assessed for either cover present or bare soil) after the trials were completed.

The results concluded the Company’s technology performed exceptionally well across all soil and cover crop conditions used in this trial and produced an exceptionally low percentage row disturbance value of 0.21%, a value below other no-till planters in the RUSLE2 soil tillage intensity assessment program (http://fargo.nserl.purdue.edu/rusle2_dataweb/RUSLE2_Index.htm).  It also is in conformance with CCX Offset Project Protocols leaving an average undisturbed cover of 98% after planting.

CEO, Graeme Lempriere states, “The positive result of the soil disturbance analysis conducted by Dr. Andrew Riseman marks the completion of a milestone for Clean Seed Capital and validates our compliance with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National Handbook of Conservation Practice. We are delighted with a 98% undisturbed soil surface result and look forward to working with UBC in the coming months on our large scale commercial equipment. We are proud to be in collaboration with the UBC Centre for Sustainable Food Systems (UBC Farm) and look forward to the next phase of our development.”

For further information please contact Mark Tommasi (mtommasi@cleanseedcapital.com) or Ward Jensen (wjensen@cleanseedcapital.com) at 604-566-9895 and visit our website at www.cleanseedcapital.com.

On Behalf of the Board,

Clean Seed Capital Group

“Graeme Lempriere”

Graeme Lempriere

Chief Executive Officer, President and Director

Dear member,

It takes a universally unique company to standout in this market.

Every time the market has gone the way of uncertainty, we have stepped outside the junior resource sector to bring you a company in a league of its own. For those members who have been with Pinnacle for a few years now, you know exactly the types of opportunities we have brought forward. They’re typically companies with unique and patent protected technology or products operating in biotech, alternative energy or in our new Featured Company’s case, agriculture.

You see, in this kind of market environment, every public company is competing for the same investment buck. So in order to capture the investing public’s attention, it requires a story that is grossly unique – a story with a different kind of upside potential and operating outside the usual junior market we have all grown accustom to.

Before we get started explaining the ins and outs of our new Featured Company, a key fact we want you to keep in mind when reading this report is that it currently has a market cap of just $7.1 million. On top of that, management and insiders own roughly 46% of the outstanding 21.6 million shares.

We were introduced to this company a few months ago. It was through a contact we had made from a previous investment two years ago. He had informed us of a recent IPO – a company with a new agriculture technology, which is patent protected, that could provide huge benefits to a booming market which we will explain in detail. Most importantly, the company had finished all necessary development steps and was on the verge of bringing its product to market – the exact point in time we like to get involved.

After listening to our contact explain this company in great detail, including the players that were involved in its startup, we came to the realization that its management had ties to some of the largest agricultural initiatives in the world. The VP of our new Featured Company was responsible for the coordination and implementation of a No-Tillage Agriculture program funded by the Howard Buffett Foundation. He was also a team leader for projects with World Vision, USAID and a local consultant to the World Bank. After learning about the entire background of this company’s management, we went to its headquarters a few days later to see its No-Till farming technology for ourselves.

For our team, the timing of this meeting couldn’t have been better. As you may already know, we have been looking to step into the agriculture sector since July of last year (given the major wealth shift occurring in this industry). Many mining titans and fund managers, not to mention government organizations, are starting to dump billions into the sector and its supporting technologies. The agriculture sector has entered an era where true conservation of the world’s farmlands using sustainable agriculture methods is no longer an option, but a necessity. Global soil degradation has reached dangerous levels.

Industry analysts, governments as well as global food initiative organizations believe No-Till farming is at the heart of farmland preservation.

Our Featured Company’s No-Till planting system, comprised of patented technologies, took 5 years of development and roughly $6 million in R&D to create. This technology was developed by Dr. Noel Lempriere. Dr. Lempriere is an expert in the field of engineering and No-Till farming equipment. His expertise is so respected that he was invited to address the US senate special committee on sustainable agriculture. He is recognized as a pioneer in land restoration initiatives and conservation agriculture.

Without further adieu, our new Featured Company is Clean Seed Capital (CSX:TSXV). This company’s story, management, capital structure, price point and patented No-Till planting system, fit the investment opportunity criteria we work so hard to find in this market climate.

Clean Seed Capital has positioned itself within an ecological movement to balance productivity with sustainability in farming. At the core of this is Clean Seed’s advanced precision No-Till planting system comprised of individually patented technologies. This No-Till planting system combats soil erosion, increases yields, reduces seed and fertilizer use and can penetrate ground that many can NOT…one of its foremost advantages will be in restoring fallow ground.

Consider this:

* Clean Seed Capital is a very connected company. Its VP is Dr. Kwesi Opoku-Debrah, PhD. This man is crucial to our selection of Clean Seed as our new Featured Company. As we’ve always stated, the strength of a junior company’s management is its most valuable asset. And for Clean Seed to get its No-Till planting technology in front of large agriculture organizations, as well as governments in its target market, it needs a connected man like Dr. Kwesi Opoku-Debrah. It’s very important to note that prior to joining Clean Seed Capital, his most recent assignment was Regional Technical Advisor at the Central Africa Region Office for Agriculture and Environment of the Catholic Relief Services. In this role, he was part of an agriculture proposal review team and was responsible for the coordination and implementation of a No-Tillage Agriculture program funded by the Howard Buffett Foundation. Howard Buffet, as you may know, is Warren Buffet’s son. And No-Tillage farming is the focus of Clean Seed Capital. It is very rare to find a $7.1 million company with a VP of Dr. Kwesi Opuku-Debrah’s pedigree.

Among Dr. Opuku-Debrah’s many achievements, career highlights include serving as the Agricultural Team Leader of Evaluations for World Vision and USAID, local consultant to the World Bank and the Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development. He worked in similar capacities with a number of other major NGO and governmental institutions that specialize in providing development aid to African nations. This man is the VP of our new Featured Company, and as you will learn shortly, he has already opened doors in Africa for Clean Seed and its patented No-Till planting system.

* Just 6 days ago, thanks to the many connections of its management, Clean Seed Capital announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to acquire a controlling interest in the 3rd largest Agro-Processing Company in Ghana, Africa. The MOU is in place in order to incorporate commercial No-Till farming, agro-processing (vegetable oil, seed cake, poultry feed and other ancillary products) and the deployment of Clean Seed’s proprietary No-Till farming equipment. Remember that it was Clean Seed’s VP, Dr. Opoku-Debrah who was responsible for the coordination and implementation of a No-Tillage Agriculture program funded by the Howard Buffett Foundation.

* There has been roughly $6 million spent on R&D alone creating Clean Seed’s No-Till planting system comprised of individually patented technologies; yet, the company currently has a market cap of $7.1 million. Best of all, the R&D phase of the company’s No-Till planting system is complete. To be precise, Clean Seed has manufactured its machinery and is going to market with its advanced precision No-Till planting system right now – a technology we spent weeks learning about and witnessing its practicality at the company’s headquarters (more on this later).

* Stock Timing: Clean Seed Capital currently trades at $0.33 per share. It operates outside the resource market and despite the major sell-off in the juniors over the last two months, Clean Seed’s share price has held firmly. Aside from its patented technology going to market, this share price stability could be due to the company’s capital structure. It has a very tight capital structure. There are only 21.6 million shares outstanding with roughly 8.5 million in escrow. And as mentioned, management and insiders own roughly 46% of the outstanding shares. We are always looking to feature companies with a high degree of insider ownership and a low monthly burn-rate.

* Clean Seed Capital went public in September of 2011 at $0.30 per share and since that time, the company has developed at a rapid pace. The general market has yet to learn about its story, which is a key reason for our introduction at this time.

Now that we’ve touched on a few of Clean Seed’s highlights, let’s explain exactly what No-Till farming is, the dire need for it and exactly what Clean Seed’s advanced precision No-Till planting system could do for the industry. No-Till planting is a game changing movement.

What is No-Till Farming?

To understand No-Till farming/planting and why it’s desperately needed now more than ever, we must first explain tillage (or tillage farming). This is the way humans have been farming for the last several hundred years i.e. plowing a field. This age-old practice of turning the soil before planting a new crop is a leading cause of farmland degradation. Many farmers have already replaced plowing with No-Till farming. Tillage farming (plowing) has worked for farmers, but isn’t a sustainable way to farm and isn’t the most cost effective. As the industry has become more educated on the subject, a worldwide movement to No-Till farming has developed and is gaining momentum rapidly. The reason for this shift is simple; tillage farming dries the soil before seeding, causes the soil to lose a lot of its nutrients and ability to store water (erodes soil), increases the amount of fertilizer and chemical runoff (a very dangerous problem developing in our environment), reduces organic matter in the soil, destroys soil aggregates, compacts soil, can attract harmful insects to the field and hurts yields for farmers over the long-term. To sum it up, tillage farming is not sustainable and over time yields less food and a lower quality of food.

According to the GMO Quarterly Letter, written by Jeremy Grantham, the Co-Founder and Chief Investment Strategist of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo, a Boston based investment firm with over $97 billion in assets under management, “global soil is eroding at a rate that is several times that of the natural replacement rate. It is probable, although not certain, that the U.S. is still losing ground. The world as a whole certainly is.”

Jeremy Grantham is a legend in the investing world and has predicted several booms and busts in the past. He went on to state in his 15 page report titled “Resource Limitations 2: Separating the Dangerous from the Merely Serious” that “The one piece of unequivocal good news [in respect to farming and soil] can be found in the growth of no-till farming. In no-till, the residue of the previous crop is left on the ground and new seeds are planted without plowing. This technique reduces erosion by about 80%, reduces fertilizer run-off, preserves moisture, improves the soil (and, quite possibly, the quality of the food), and reduces the emissions of heat trapping gasses.”

Before we go any further in this report, remember that it was Clean Seed’s Vice President, Dr. Kwesi Opoku-Debrah, who was responsible for the coordination and implementation of a No-Tillage Agriculture program funded by the Howard Buffett Foundation. On top of that, Dr. Lempriere, the developer of Clean Seed’s No-Till planting system, is an expert in the field of engineering and No-Till farming equipment. He was invited to address the US senate special committee on sustainable agriculture and is recognized as a pioneer in land restoration initiatives and conservation agriculture. It is this No-Till technology, developed by Dr. Lempriere, that Clean Seed is taking to market right now…

Picture taken during one of our visits to company headquarters – Back view of Clean Seed’s Proprietary No-Till Planting Machine

Platform of Clean Seed’s Proprietary No-Till Planting Machine

In his report, Jeremy Grantham goes on to state “The growth of no-till has been very rapid in South America, rapid in the U.S. (which is now at 35%), and moderate in many other developed countries. But it is used on only about 5% of farms globally.”

What isn’t mentioned in Mr. Grantham’s quotes is the increased regulation coming into the farming industry that has already mandated the use of conservation or No-Tillage practices.

Clean Seed Capital has a patented No-Till planting system that can deliver measurable financial and ecological benefits to the world of agriculture.

Farmers are finding that environmental concerns are leading to legal and legislative impacts on their business activities. This fact was highlighted as long ago as February 11, 1996, in a New York Times article. The article noted “Farmers have received billions of dollars in income annually because of subsidies. Increasingly, though, the Government has sought to control these outlays with a complicated web of restrictions.” Regulation now dictates to farmers what land they can grow crops upon, what acreage must be reduced and even what crops can be produced.

In many countries, Brazil for example, legislation has already been implemented that mandates the use of conservation or no-tillage practices. Similar legislation is expected in Canada and the United States. In fact, legislation is proposed or has passed and is awaiting implementation, in many Provinces and States in Canada and the United States, which will affect a wide range of farming activities. The regulatory approach to improving the environment is a growing trend. It will benefit those farmers who comply with new regulations and will significantly benefit companies that offer the technology that will assist farmers to comply.

The US is a world leader in farming technology, infrastructure and productivity. It has rapidly adopted the No-Till method faster than any nation and for obvious reasons. The rest of the world is taking notice and starting to adopt the No-Till method of farming. This is a movement being endorsed by governments, non-profit organizations and most importantly, the private sector. No-Till farming is on the cusp of a huge global movement, already showing massive growth potential and one our new Featured Company, Clean Seed Capital (CSX:TSXV), is aiming to capitalize on through its patented No-Till Planting System.

Not all No-Till technologies are created equal…

Like any relatively new technology, No-Till farming equipment is still being developed worldwide and the door is wide open for a market leader to improve further on what the basic technologies accomplish. Despite already being miles ahead of tillage farming (plowing) in respect to land preservation, No-Till farming technologies are going to become much more productive both economically and environmentally. Until now, there have been a few economic drawbacks with many No-Till farming methods. It was vitally important that Clean Seed had its technology patent protected because of what it can achieve.

Clean Seed’s No-Till planting system, comprised of individually patented technologies, took 5 years of development and roughly $6 million in R&D to create. During this time, the company’s technology underwent extensive testing including approximately 5000 hours of bench and shop testing and over 500 hours of in-field testing – representing several thousands of acres under numerous soil, surface residue and weather conditions. These tests confirmed superior agronomic benefits including increases in crop yields, reduced soil erosion, reduced seed and fertilizer usage and increased soil moisture retention. Clean Seed’s No-Till planting system can also penetrate ground that many can NOT…one of its foremost advantages will be in restoring fallow ground.

From the beginning the team at Clean Seed took into account the massive stresses and strains on the frames of agricultural seeding equipment. Gord Wilson, Clean Seed’s Chief Technical Officer and Engineering Manager, explains key aspects of the companies commercial equipment.

Graeme Lempriere’s (CEO of Clean Seed Capital) family have been advocates of sustainable agriculture for over 25 years. The company’s technology was developed by his father, Dr. Noel Lempriere. Dr. Lempriere is an expert in the field of engineering and No-Till farming equipment. And as mentioned, he was invited to address the US senate special committee on sustainable agriculture. He is recognized as a pioneer in land restoration initiatives and conservation agriculture.

Clean Seed provided us pages of scientific data on the benefits of its technology and why it has several advantages over the competition. We have summarized our findings from our extensive research and equipment presentations at the company’s headquarters.

What Makes Clean Seed’s Technology Different?

Clean Seed has 3 distinct patents which provide competitive advantages for several reasons. The important in ground components of Clean Seed’s equipment are incredibly designed and manufactured out of the highest quality cast iron and steel. The patented opener blades can dispense 3 different products at any given time and the design assures optimal product placement, securing strong yields while simultaneously protecting the soil surface. Clean Seed’s technology is the only known integrated triple-shot seeding technology that places seed and fertilizer in the optimum relative positions whilst leaving over 90% of the soil surface undisturbed. To someone unfamiliar with this industry that may not mean much, but the scientific advantages behind that technology are significant. You have to keep in mind that soil contains thousands of living organisms which promote healthy crop growth. If disturbed, crop growth is hindered and yields for the farmers are shrunken (a major problem with plowing).

Clean Seed’s modular No-Till system of proprietary technologies is comprised of blade/opener design, opener assemblies, advanced electronic metering system, expandable frame design, advanced electronic control of seed/fertilizer feed, and a unique patented parallelogram system. Design of the opener – the keystone technology, provides for greatly reduced soil disturbance (resulting in elimination of soil erosion and enhanced carbon sequestration), provides for high moisture retention and superior seed and fertilizer placement (resulting in improved yields) and demonstrated increased durability and ease of use.

Clean Seed’s All Cast Assembly with hoses to dispense three different products (i.e. fertilizer, seed, soil conditioner)

Clean Seed’s Proprietary All Cast Assembly System

Clean Seed’s Proprietary Opener Blade Technology

If the in-ground components represent the heart of the Clean Seed Precision No-Till planting system, then the metering device is clearly the brain. Seeds and fertilizer are accurately fed to the openers through Clean Seed’s proprietary electronic metering system. The metering system embodies the concepts of gentle product handling through its unique delivery method, avoiding any unnecessary stress on the seeds.

Clean Seed Metering Control Device placed in tractor cab for ease of use

Clean Seed has brought farming and more specifically, No-Till planting into the 21st century.

We wanted to highlight just a few of the key advantages Clean Seed has created for the No-Till Farming industry through its patented equipment. To explain every advantage this technology has on the current market, would be a 16 page report of its own – which Clean Seed has created and we went through thoroughly before management walked us through the technology at company headquarters. The company provides extensive research and material regarding the technology on its website (which you can view at your leisure).

It is worth mentioning that Clean Seed’s Smallholder / Developing Nations equipment is capable of being towed and operated by tractor or by animal power such as oxen, with an easy to use “Nature Drive” conversion kit.

So What is Clean Seed Doing Right Now With Its Technology?

Last month, Clean Seed’s CEO, Graeme Lempriere and its V.P, Dr. Kwesi Opuku-Debrah travelled to Ghana to evaluate synergistic agricultural business opportunities in commercial No-Till agriculture and food processing.

Clean Seed CEO, Graeme Lempriere, with Dr. Kofi Boa (advisor to Howard Buffet) on the company’s trip to Ghana

The government of Ghana is currently implanting a nationwide Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy ( FASDEPII-2010-15 ) focusing on six priority themes: Food security growth in increased competitiveness and enhanced integration into domestic and international markets, sustainable management of land and environment, science and technology applied in food and agriculture development and improved institutional co-ordination.

During Clean Seed management’s business trip to Ghana, The World Bank approved a US$100m credit to support the government’s efforts at scaling up the development of commercial agriculture. The commercial agriculture project seeks to facilitate access to land, strengthen Ghana’s investment promotion infrastructure for attracting agri-business investors and promote linkages on the Accra Plains. It’s worth mentioning again that Clean Seed’s VP, Dr. Kwesi Opuku-Debrah, served as a local consultant to the World Bank.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Just 6 days ago, Clean Seed Capital Group announced that its recent trip to Ghana has resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with 3K&A Industries Limited (“3K&A”), the 3rd largest Agro-Processing Company in the country.

Both Clean Seed and 3K&A wish to collaborate together to achieve their mutual objectives in establishing an integrated sustainable agriculture program in Ghana, incorporating commercial No-Till farming, agro-processing (vegetable oil, seed cake, poultry feed and other ancillary products) and the deployment of the Company’s proprietary No-Till farming equipment.

CEO of Clean Seed, Graeme Lempriere, and Yaw Poku, CEO of 3K&A, examine 3K&A processing facility in Ghana

CEO Graeme Lempriere and VP Dr. Kwesi Opoku-Debrah on-site in Ghana at 3K&A processing facility – examining filtration system

Mr. Yaw Poku, CEO of 3K&A Industries, explains to Clean Seed CEO, Graeme Lempriere, the quality control process at the weighing station in production facility

Under the terms of the MOU, the Company intends to acquire a 60% controlling interest in 3K&A through a combination of equity and debt financing, in the amount of US$1,500,000. 3K&A would then be branded as Clean Seed Africa Ghana Ltd (“CSAG”). The funds, in part, will be used to upgrade and expand the existing infrastructure of 3K&A and begin the implementation of commercial No-Till agriculture and land restoration initiatives in Ghana.

Full details of the press release can be viewed by clicking here

This is not just any company that Clean Seed has a signed MOU with. 3K&A Industries Ltd. is an agro-processing company that commenced operations in April 2006 and is the 3rd largest producer in the country (Ghana). It currently operates a soy vegetable oil mill with a total designed capacity of 48 metric tonnes of raw material per day. In addition, the company operates an 18tpd (tonnes per day) Soy vegetable oil refinery.

Key Fact: 3K&A Industries Ltd. was invited to The World Business and Development Awards (WBDA) in New York City in 2008. These awards are held to recognize the crucial role of the private sector, large and small, in implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 3K&A Industries demonstrated that profitability and sustainability can go hand in hand.

In 2008, at the awards, 3K&A Industries was commended for improving local soybean production and processing capacity while boosting the local economy. The 2008 WBDA chose 10 winners after receiving an unprecedented 104 applications from 44 countries.

Mr. Yaw Poku Chief Executive Officer of 3K&A Industries Source: www.cardnoem.com

For Clean Seed to get involved with a company as established as 3K&A in Ghana, it came down to the advantages its patented technology can provide in No-Till farming and the connections of its management, which we’ve explained in great detail.

Also, during the trip to Ghana, Mr. Lempriere and Dr. Kwesi Opuku-Debrah (CEO and VP of Clean Seed) were invited to present the company’s sustainable agriculture initiatives to The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) – the most prestigious University in Ghana.

Clean Seed CEO Graeme Lempriere and VP Dr. Kwesi Opuku-Debrah with KNUST Agriculture Faculty

Graeme presenting Clean Seed No-Till technology to faculty at KNUST

Clean Seed Capital’s VP for International Development, Dr Kwesi Opoku-Debrah, made this statement in respect to the company’s trip to Ghana: “This is a unique opportunity for Ghanaian farmers to change from a subsistence farming attitude to a commercial, business approach to farming. It is my belief that the country’s youth and graduates will take advantage of this opportunity in sustainable commercial agriculture. What is unique about this program is the participation of agro-processors and other participants in the value chain, to ensure a win-win situation for all that results in an increased and stable incomes, while using No- Tillage and other sustainable farming practices.”

On the home front, three weeks ago Clean Seed announced the delivery of the Company’s final production model of its Smallholder / Developing Nations No-Till seeding equipment to the UBC (University of British Columbia) Farm.

The main objective of the analysis is to independently verify the Company’s patented Mark III opener blade assembly meets or exceeds the conservation tillage standards as outlined in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NCRS) and is in conformance with the standards outlined in the 2006/2009 NRCS Handbook of Conservation Practices and CCX Offset Project Protocol. Weather dependent, the Company anticipates preliminary results from this analysis near the end of April, 2012.

Clean Seed’s Smallholder/Developing Nation Planting System on the ground at UBC farm

The CEO

Graeme Lempriere is a corporate and financial entrepreneur who we’ve gotten to know very well over the course of our due-diligence process. He’s the type of CEO who gets to the office at 5 am and works late into the night. We know this from first-hand experience. On many occasions during our research process we would receive emails from him answering any questions we had at all hours of the day and night.

Graeme has many years of senior management experience in both the public and private sector. Graeme is the founder and CEO of Marvelle Capital Group, a private business development and venture management company that invests capital and management expertise into innovative early and mid-stage companies. Prior to founding Marvelle, Graeme was responsible for company restructuring, marketing, primary financings and market development for mid-tier companies. He has held senior executive positions and served on the board of several public companies dealing in the international market, including mining, engineering groups, leisure industry and real estate development. This is the man who put the wheels in motion for Clean Seed to get to where it is today. Graeme’s family have been advocates of sustainable agriculture for over 25 years. The company’s principal technology was developed by his father, Dr. Noel Lempriere, an expert in the field of engineering and No-Till farming equipment.

It’s not every day you come across a $7.1 million market cap company that went public only 8 months ago with the pedigree of Clean Seed’s management and technology developer. A member of this group was responsible for the coordination and implementation of a No-Tillage Agriculture program funded by the Howard Buffett Foundation, worked for World Vision, USAID and consulted for the World Bank. The man who developed this company’s patented technologies was invited to address the US senate special committee on sustainable agriculture. The company’s CEO has the robust hands-on operational experience in the formation, financing and running of publicly listed companies. The management and insiders combined own roughly 46% of the 21.6 million outstanding shares. That says a lot in the public market space.

The above mentioned points were a huge reason for our selection of Clean Seed as a client and now Featured Company. Introducing it to our members at this time makes sense to us from a risk/reward standpoint. We are bias when it comes to Clean Seed and will be adding to our equity position in the company following the release of this report.

Our team sees the company’s technology as innovative precision equipment, raising the bar in sustainable agriculture. The company went through 7 versions of design before perfecting its technology. Combine all the other parts of the puzzle, especially the metering system, and you have the Cadillac of farming equipment. Due to the robust design and patented features, Clean Seed’s No-Till planting system can penetrate ground that many can NOT…one of its foremost advantages will be in restoring fallow ground. This technology, along with the connections of its management, have already opened doors in one African nation through an MOU with the 3rd largest Agro-Processing Company in Ghana. Making inroads to Africa could be very significant for this new public company considering it’s the most underdeveloped agriculture region on the globe. Africa has ¼ of the world’s entire arable land.

Clean Seed has positioned itself to capitalize on the emerging agriculture sector as No-Till farming continues its worldwide expansion at the behest of billion dollar initiatives.

Our team at Pinnacle is proud to introduce you to Clean Seed Capital (CSX:TSXV) at this time in its growth curve. We will be relaying Clean Seed’s development to you over the coming weeks. This spring will be a crucial time for this innovative agriculture company.

All the best with your investments,

OUR VISITS TO CLEAN SEED’S HEADQUARTERS

(images not included above)

Clean Seed Headquarters – 7541 Conway Avenue, Burnaby, BC, Canada

No-till planting system equipment being prepared for commercial use – front view

Side view of Clean Seed’s No-Till planting equipment for commercial use

Close-up view – bottom of Clean Seed’s no-till planting system where all cast assembly system is attached

Mark Tommasi of Clean Seed explains exactly how patented seed planting technology works using model example

Wrapping up our second visit to Clean Seed’s headquarters with a Q&A with CEO Graeme Lempriere

PinnacleDigest.com is an online financial newsletter owned by Maximus Strategic Consulting Inc. We are focused on researching and marketing resource and technology public companies. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned anywhere in this newsletter (particularly in respect to Clean Seed Capital). This article is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The author of this article and its publishers bear no liability for losses and/or damages arising from the use of this article.

Cautionary Note Concerning the Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Clean Seed Capital and 3K&A Industries Limited:

The proposed transaction with 3K&A and Clean Seed Capital is subject to finalizing a formal agreement, Exchange approval, and the Company raising the necessary financing. Full details of the MOU press release can be found at this url: http://www.cleanseedcapital.com/news%20releases/News%20Release_April_12_…

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April 12, 2012– Vancouver, British Columbia – Clean Seed Capital Group (“Clean Seed” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: CSX) is pleased to announce that it’s recent trip to Ghana has resulted in the signing of a Memorandum  of Understanding (“MOU”) with 3K&A Industries Limited (“3K&A”), a private agro- processing company based in Ghana, Africa.

Graeme Lempriere – CEO – Clean Seed Capital and Dr. Kwesi Opoku-Debrah -VP- International Agricultural Development

Both the Company and 3K&A wish to collaborate together to achieve their mutual objectives in establishing an integrated sustainable agriculture program in Ghana, incorporating commercial No-Till farming, agro-processing (vegetable oil, seed cake, poultry feed and other ancillary products) and the deployment of the Company’s proprietary No-Till farming equipment. The Company is currently preparing a formal agreement that will specifically outline the details of the MOU and anticipates fulfilling the final document in the near future.

Graeme Lempriere with Mr. Yaw Adu Poku -CEO – 3K&A  Industries

Under the terms of the MOU, the Company intends to acquire a 60% controlling interest in 3K&A through a combination of equity and debt financing, in the amount of US$1,500,000. 3K&A would then be branded as Clean Seed Africa Ghana Ltd (“CSAG”). The funds, in part, will be used to upgrade and expand the existing infrastructure of 3K&A and begin the implementation of commercial No-Till agriculture and land restoration initiatives in Ghana.

3K&A Industries Ltd. is an agro-processing company that commenced operations in April 2006 and is the 3rd largest producer in the country, located near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, Africa. It currently operates a soy vegetable oil mill with a total designed capacity of 48 metric tonnes of raw material per day. In addition, the company operates an 18tpd (tonnes per day) Soy vegetable oil refinery.

About Clean Seed Capital Group Ltd.: Clean Seed has developed an advanced No-Till precision planting system comprised of individually patented technologies. These technologies include all-cast opener assembly systems, in-ground openers, proprietary seed and fertilizer metering and electronic control systems that together combat soil erosion, reduce seed and fertilizer use and nurture the subsurface biodiversity vital to producing healthy and sustainable crops.

Clean Seed Capital is at the forefront of an ecological movement that strives to balance productivity with sustainability. Our company is uniquely positioned to contribute to and benefit from a rapidly emerging market opportunity in the sustainable agricultural sector. Our primary initiative is predicated on identifying solution-driven, sustainable, environmentally responsible, agricultural-based companies that need a strategic partner to facilitate progress.

The proposed transaction with 3K&A is subject to finalizing a formal agreement, Exchange approval, and the Company raising the necessary financing.

For further information please contact Mark Tommasi (mtommasi@cleanseedcapital.com) or Ward Jensen (wjensen@cleanseedcapital.com) at 604-566-9895 and visit our website at www.cleanseedcapital.com.

On Behalf of the Board, Clean Seed Capital Group

“Graeme Lempriere”

Graeme Lempriere
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director

The World Bank has approved a US$100m credit to support the government’s efforts at scaling up the development of commercial agriculture. The commercial agriculture project seeks to facilitate access to land, strengthen Ghana’s investment promotion infrastructure for attracting agri-business investors and promote linkages on the Accra Plains.

Clean Seed Capital’s President & CEO Graeme Lempriere and V.P, International Agricultural Development Dr. Kwesi Opoku-Debrah, are currently traveling throughout Ghana to evaluate synergistic agricultural business opportunities in commercial No-Till agriculture and food processing.

Clean Seed Team with a group of Soy out grower farmers in Northern Ghana.

Graeme Lempriere & Mr. Yaw Adu Poku, a Soy agro processor.

The government is currently implanting a nationwide Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy ( FASDEPII-2010-15 ) focusing on six priority themes: Food security growth in increased competitiveness and enhanced integration into domestic and international markets, sustainable management of land and environment, science and technology applied in food and agriculture development and improved institutional co-ordination.

Mr Chris Jackson, a Senior Economist and project task leader, said, ‘’this project reflects the bank’s continued support for Ghana’s agriculture development.’’

He said focusing on socially inclusive commercial agriculture would improve the enabling environment for farmers, while making sure that local communities could participate in new agriculture-based opportunities.

On the Accra Planis, the area targeted includes 11,000 hectares mainly for irrigated cultivation. In both intervention zones, the project will project contract farming and support the establishment of out-grower schemes for various agricultural commodities.

Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, said the project directly supported the government’s commercial agriculture agenda and was pillar in efforts at modernising agriculture.

The Accra Plains, the SADA Zone and other ecological belts in the western and eastern corridors have huge potential which needs billions of dollars to fully harness.

Mr Ahwoi said while the project would be housed in the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, there would be an active partnership among the ministry, the Lands Commission, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, the Environment Promotion Agency and the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to ensure smooth implementation.

He said by supporting out-grower schemes and contract farming arrangements, the project contract farming arrangement, the project would help connect small farmers to markets and strengthen key value chains.

He said in addition to the US$100million being provided by the World Bank, US$45 would provide a grant of US$45 million to jointly support the implementation of the project by promoting inclusive market growth and leveraging the resources and expertise of the private sector towards the common pursuit of improving food security in the SADA region of northern Ghana.

Mr Yusupha Crooked, the newly appointed World Bank Country Director for Ghana, said he was glad ‘’we are scaling up our support for Ghana’s agricultural sector.’’

Clean Seed Capital’s CEO – Graeme Lempriere, stated:  “This announcement by the World Bank is extremely encouraging. Promoting sustainable food security both commercially and with small-holder farmers through improved access to education and training in agro ecology practices, technology and the establishment of farmer-producer supply partnerships is the corner stone of our philosophy.”

Graeme Lempriere, evaluating a potential commercial  farmland opportunity for No – Tillage.

“We have had the privilege of meeting with many farmers during our journey across the country and their commitment to farming in their communities are unmistakable. With the appropriate tools and necessary training, small-holder farmers can provide for themselves and advance their economic situations and that of their children while simultaneously preserving the most fertile lands for future generations by adopting No –Tillage farming practices.”

From food security to environmental degradation to resource depletion, attention is increasingly turning to sustainable agriculture as a solution to the many problems in the sector. Clean Seed Capital believes that the answers to a sustainable future and food security lie in uniting groups in business, academia and government in developing innovative solutions to intractable problems.

Clean Seed Capital was privileged to present the company’s sustainable agriculture initiatives to The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Clean Seed Capital management with the faculty of agriculture at ( KNUST )

Clean Seed Capital’s VP for International Development, Dr Kwesi Opoku-Debrah, stated: “This is a unique opportunity for Ghanaian farmers to change from a subsistence farming attitude to a commercial, business approach to farming.  It is my belief that the country’s youth and graduates will take advantage of this opportunity in sustainable commercial agriculture.  What is unique about this program is the participation of agro-processors and other participants in the value chain, to ensure a win-win situation for all that results in an increased and stable incomes, while using No- Tillage and other sustainable farming practices.”

Clean Seed Capital’s managment will be returning to Canada on April 3rd 2012.

For more information about clean seed capital visit: www.cleanseedcapital.com

By Kathleen Kingsbury | Reuters

March 15, 2012 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Clean Seed Capital Group (“Clean Seed” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: CSX) is pleased to announce the Company’s management team has elected to rename and rebrand its wholly owned subsidiary, Vesco Agricultural Technologies, Inc., to Clean Seed Agricultural Technologies Inc., launching in Spring 2012.

The Company acquired Vesco Agricultural Technologies in conjunction with its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in September 2011 and has since focused on building production models of its Smallholder / Developing Nations machine and Large Scale Electronically Controlled Commercial No – Till Farming equipment.

Below is a rendering of the company’s Large Scale Electronically Controlled Commercial No – Till Farming equipment that is in the final stages of production!

The Smallholder / Developing Nations machine has been completed and customized with the addition of hydraulics, allowing farmers in more developed countries the ability to pull/operate the machine behind a small tractor.  For Developing Nations, such as Africa, we have created a “Nature Drive” conversion kit, offering the ability to pull/operate the machine by oxen. Furthermore, this unit will be delivered to the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Sustainable Food Systems to assess and document soil disturbance and overall usage of its technology under working field conditions.

Below are photos of the final production model of the companys Smallholder / Developing Nations machine.

In addition, the Company would like to invite all shareholders, potential investors and strategic partners to visit our new website at www.cleanseedtechnologies.com. The website has been designed to unite all aspects of Clean Seed’s branding, provide detailed information on our No-Till seeding Technology, its manufacturing process, the Electronic Metering System and clearly defines the benefits of No-Till farming in combating soil erosion and climate change.

For further information, please contact Mark Tommasi, mtommasi@cleanseedcapital.com  or Ward Jensen, wjensen@cleanseedcapital.com Tel: 604-566-9895 and visit our website at www.cleanseedcapital.com.

On Behalf of the Board,

Clean Seed Capital Group

“Graeme Lempriere”

Graeme Lempriere

Chief Executive Officer, President and Director

glempriere@cleanseedcapital.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

By JIM ALGIE

Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and representatives of 11 Canadian farm trading organizations accompanied Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his recent panda acquisition trip to China.

It’s an odd bit of diplomacy that links future Sino-Canadian trade in agriculture to zoo housing for a breeding pair of Chinese bears, but then you do what you have to do, I guess.

In much of the analysis floating around these days, China figures as one bright spot in a gloomy outlook for the Western world’s economy.

Indeed, the increasing prosperity of growing populations in China, India and the developing world makes a potent potential export market for Canadian agriculture that has economists and traders all worked up. Conference Board of Canada chief economist Glen Hodgson told that organization’s recent Food Summit in Toronto he expects sustained growth at between 8% and 10% for China and India and similar performance for 130 other “emerging markets.”

That compares with Hodgson’s more modest estimate for North American growth in 2012 at about 2.4%.

Hodgson predicted rong global demand for food as well as gh prices. He also predicted global dietary adjustments well matched to Canada’s food production patterns in meat and milk as emerging market populations acquire higher average income.

“Strong demand, constrained supply and higher prices . . . as high as they’ve ever been, we think that’s what the future is going to be,” Hodgson told 600 Food Summit delegates.

Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development economist Wayne Jones — formerly of Agriculture Canada — brought a similar message to the conference board summit.

“The prospects of global agriculture are very good,” Jones said. “It’s an industry that’s looking at very strong demand. It’s looking at really high prices in real terms. It’s an industry that’s looking at increasing trade. It’s an industry that’s beginning to invest in the future.”

All that, plus mand for crops as source material for biofuel in Jones’s analysis means “average prices continue to be really high” and the global agriculture and food sector remains “extremely prosperous.”

Such advice can make for strange alliances on trade missions, such as the one led to China by Harper. For example, it put Canadian Wheat Board president Ian White on the same conference call with Gerry Ritz, the agriculture minister so famous for tinkering with wheat board powers, to talk about what was accomplished.

So what did they accomplish in China? Quite a lot, apparently.

One Reuters’ report quotes White to say he assured state grain traders in China that his Canadian Crown corporation hopes to maintain its historic sales relationship despite government-imposed changes that have dropped the wheat board monopoly on sales of western Canadian wheat and barley. Not only that, but wheat board officials hope to expand their trade to include pulses — legume crops such as peas, lentils and chickpeas that grow well in western Canada and have built-in demand in eastern diets.

For his part, the agriculture minister announced concrete developments involving renewed exports of beef fat used for cosmetics and biofuels, joint canola research, as well as major sales of canola meal and swine breeding stock. The tallow protocol represents another step in reopening Chinese markets closed to Canadian beef and cattle since 2003 following discovery of BSE in an aged Canadian cow.

Ritz also expects bigger things from agricultural trade with China, which was estimated in 2010 to be about $2.6 billion.

“They would like to do more with us,” Ritz said in a statement quoted in the Manitoba news website, Portage Online. The mission takes Sino-Canadian trade relations to “the next level,” Ritz said.

In matters of mutual trade between our two countries, China remains well ahead. Statistics Canada data shows our deficit in trade with China grew from about $3.9 billion in 1997 to $26.8 billion in 2006.

Added agricultural exports from Canada to China will help offset some of that surely, even if only imported panda feed.

China, the world’s biggest soybean importer and consumer, signed agreements in Iowa to purchase 8.62 million metric tons of the oilseed from U.S. suppliers in a deal valued at $4.3 billion.

Soybeans will be supplied by companies including Cargill Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM), Bunge Ltd. (BG) and CHS Inc., Iowa Soybeans Association Chief Executive Office Kirk Leeds said today in Des Moines, Iowa, during a U.S.-China trade cooperation conference. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad is hosting a two-day visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, 58, who is slated to become president in March 2013. Iowa is the biggest U.S. producer of corn, soybeans, hogs and eggs.

“It is phenomenally important to have Vice President Xi here because it says that Iowa is an important place to do business,” Leeds said yesterday in an interview. “These agreements are the direct result of activities by U.S. soybean groups in China since 1981 to promote soybean-meal demand in livestock, chicken and aquaculture feed.”

China became the largest buyer of U.S. farm products in 2010, and last year boosted purchases to $22.17 billion, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. The nation purchased 20.6 million metric tons of soybeans from the U.S. last year, or 60 percent of the total shipped overseas. China probably will increase purchases from all suppliers by 62 percent in the next decade to 90 million tons from a projected 55.5 million this year, the USDA said Feb. 13.

Feed Fish

“It would take half of the Iowa soybean crop just to feed China’s fish,” said Leeds, who will be traveling to China next month on a sales-promotion trip for the producer-funded organization. “Soybean profitability depends on international demand, especially from China.”

Additional sales agreements may be announced in Los Angeles on Feb. 17, bringing the total for this week above the 11.5 million tons reached during a similar trade visit in Chicago last year, Leeds said. The 2011 deals involved 21 purchase agreements valued at $6.7 billion.

Iowa farm exports to China in 2010 were 13 times larger than in 2000, data from Iowa Department of Agriculture show. Agriculture and related industries contributed 27 percent to the state economy in 2010 and 17 percent of Iowa workforce is employed in producing food.

Prices Gain

Soybeans have jumped 5.1 percent this year on the Chicago Board of Trade, partly as hot, dry weather damaged crops in Brazil and Argentina, the two biggest exporters after the U.S. last year. Today, the price reached $12.765 a bushel, the highest since Sept. 27, on speculation that China may increase purchases from the U.S. to rebuild inventories and cushion against any additional adverse global weather later this year.

Earlier today, the government reported U.S. exporters sold China 116,000 tons of soybeans for delivery before Aug. 31.

Chinese and U.S. officials will attend a symposium tomorrow in Des Moines sponsored by the USDA. Chinese companies intend to invest more on advanced agricultural technology and sustainable farming from U.S., Xinhua News Agency reported, citing an interview with Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu, who is accompanying Xi this week on his trip to Iowa.

“The conference will help to improve relationships to achieve mutually beneficial development in the future,” Bill Northey, Iowa’s secretary of agriculture, said in a telephone interview on Feb. 13. “At the end of the day, it’s all about getting business done company to company rather than government to government.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net

As we meet with companies in the rather ill-defined ‘agriculture’ sector we are acutely aware of just how broad-ranging the activities can be. For instance, we have recently been introduced to a small TSX-V listed company, Clean Seed Capital (CSX V), which is interested in sustainable farming practices in Africa. The company listed in September 2011, and at the time of writing has a market cap of around C$6m.

Clean Seed Capital is looking to make the most of opportunities in the sustainable agricultural sector, and particularly in emerging markets. Its first investment addresses the issue of whether current agricultural techniques can keep up with the need to feed a growing global population.

What’s happening, and what is No-Till?

At present Clean Seed has a single investment in Vesco Agricultural Technologies, a company that has developed a new form of No-Till machinery. The traditional farming techniques – ploughing and tilling of the land – degrade the soil quality by disturbing the top layer. This reduces moisture retention as well as making seed and fertiliser placement harder; with a consequence of this being lower yields from crops. No-Till technology addresses this by helping to keep natural soil structures; it doesn’t disturb the top layer and allows seeds to be planted underneath, as shown below.

Source: Vesco Agricultural Technologies

Vesco has developed a new approach to No-Till planting that allows the farmer to plant and fertilise in one pass of the field by cutting in a horizontal and not vertical plane. The diagram illustrates the seed placement (yellow dots) along the shelf, while fertiliser has been applied to the bottom cut. Vesco’s No-Till machinery requires fewer passes over a field from preparation to harvesting than other forms of tillage.

At present the closest competitor to the Vesco technology is from agri-machinery powerhouse John Deere, through a small number of different machines. However, these have not been specifically designed for less-developed economies.

Recent events

Vesco’s system is due to launch in Spring 2012 and feedback gathered from prototypes and trade shows has to date been positive. The company presented at the Pacific Agricultural Show on 26 – 28 January where it unveiled its No-Till technology to the farming community at large. The product had been designed for emerging markets (it is pulled behind oxen) and the focus is presently on Ghana. However, with a minor adjustment it can be pulled by a small tractor and this is why Canadian farmers at the above-mentioned trade show are said to have taken a liking to the machine. It has also opened up market opportunities which had not previously been considered.

Next steps for its No-Till machinery

The smallholder machine is expected to be launched in the next few months, and it is hoped that production will begin in the very near future. Work has also begun on a larger beast costing in the order of $65,000 that will be pulled behind a tractor and will be more robust and heavy duty with the ability to plant three seeds at once. This product should also be launched in the spring and is designed to compete with some of the big machines in the sector – like the John Deere 1590.

The next stage will be focused on the smaller machines, which we understand will be marketed for a price of around $14,000. It looks like there will be a limited initial roll out of around 10 to local customers in North America, and after this attention will shift to Africa and this is being underlined by the work of Dr Kwesi Opoku-Debrah (a brief biography is given below) who is focusing on Ghana.

It may be worth noting that to date no units have been sold and the company has been in an extensive research and planning phase. It would appear that if and when the preparations are successfully completed then the company will be seeking funding for a proper product launch.

So where is Clean Seed going exactly?

One difficulty which we feel is strikingly obvious is that of the target market. Agriculture employs 65 per cent of Africa’s work force (Source: World Bank), but there must be questions raised in targeting the world’s poorest continent. In Ghana alone 56 per cent of labour is employed in agriculture but at the turn of the millennium subsistence agriculture accounted for 36 per cent of GDP.

This has led Clean Seed to look at itself in a broader context. It appreciates that there may be limits to the returns it can earn from selling machinery into Africa and so it is open to the idea of diversification, and not purely in the agri-machinery sector, either. Some thought is being given to  a move to the commercial crop market, like soybean, which would allow the company to utilise its own technology while moving away from being a ‘one trick pony’.

Background on some of the team

Graeme Lempriere: CEO, President and Director

A corporate and financial entrepreneur by trade, Graeme is the founder and CEO of Marvelle Capital Group which is the company that founded Vesco Agricultural Technologies Inc. Prior to this Greame has worked for and held senior executive positions on several public companies involved in a variety of sectors from mining to engineering groups, the leisure industry to real estate development.

Mark Tommasi: Director

A former investment advisor, Mark has approximately 15 years’ experience with public companies in both the United States and Canada.

Dr Kwesi Opoku-Debrah, PhD: VP, International Agricultural Development & Director, Vesco Agricultural Technologies

An agricultural scholar, Dr. Opoku-Debrah holds degrees in both agricultural economics and international agriculture. He has worked as Agricultural Team Leader of Evaluations for World Vision and USAID, local consultant to the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development and has been appointed to help progress in Africa with the Developing Nations initiative.

Agri/ Timber Research

Stuart Davidson

020 3005 5017

sdavidson@vsacapital.com

Bruce Davidson

020 3005 5006

bdavidson@vsacapital.com

#VSA Capital Limited is Corporate Broker to Phaunos Timber Fund. It is therefore classed as a connected company. Please contact VSA on mail@vsacapital.com for our policy on connected companies.

By AFRICAN LAUGHTER