Agribusiness giant Olam Group has closed down its digital farmer services platform Jiva Ag citing the “expected continuing investment” needed to sustain the business during “these challenging times and difficult marketing conditions.”
The closure impacts 606 employees, the bulk of whom are in Indonesia as well as some in India, Australia, and Singapore. The company says it is working with those employees on redeployment within Olam or severance packages.
AgFunderNews has reached out to Olam Group for further comment.
Launched in 2020, Jiva served smallholder farmers across Asia and Africa, offering agronomic advice, credit facilities for farm inputs, and access to helpful ag technologies, among other things.
The decision to close down the platform is part of Olam’s Updated 2025 Re-organization Plan to de-leverage Olam Group’s balance sheet and make the company debt-free and self-sustaining, and to responsibly divest all of its assets and businesses over time, the company said.
‘Re-organisation Plan’ in motion
Singapore-based Olam is one of the world’s largest suppliers of coffee, cotton, rice, and cocoa beans.
It launched its its Re-organization Plan back in 2020, separating its business into three different entities in the process: Olam Agri, ofi (Olam Food Ingredients), and Remaining Olam Group.
This year, Saudi Arabia’s agricultural and livestock investment firm SALIC agreed to purchase a 44.58% stake in Olam Agri for $1.78 billion. According to Reuters, Olam said it “will divest its remaining 19.99% stake in the unit three years after the completion of the first phase,” which would then give SALIC full control of Olam Agri.
Meanwhile, Olam Group reported “a loss of S$13.2 million [$10 million] related to the impairment of intangible assets within the Incubating Businesses segment – this was primarily associated with Jiva Ag.”
Six months ago, Indian agribusiness marketplace DeHaat acquired Jiva’s AgriCentral business, an India-focused farmer app that came under the Jiva umbrella in 2021. [Disclosure: AgFunderNews’ parent company AgFunder is an investor in DeHaat.]
Intellectual property associated with Jiva Ag will retained by Olam Group or one of its subsidiaries.
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