The Real Good Food Company said it is now seeing the benefits of its self-help programme coming through as it posted a strong set of interim results.

Agriterra has a bold strategy to grow its pan-African agricultural business. The acquisition in December of 45,000 hectares of brownfield land in Sierra Leone that is ripe for development into a palmoil plantation illustrates the plan, it said.

Agriterra has taken an important step in developing its cocoa operations in Sierra Leone by acquiring a five acre site in Kenema, the country’s third largest city, in order to develop a processing and management facility.

The agriculture and logistics specialist Agriterra said this morning that its aggressive expansion strategy means its Mozambique beef herd now numbers 3,750. It is on course to be 10,000 head by 2015.

Food producer Agriterra said this morning it plans to expand its Sierra Leone cocoa trading business Tropical Farms Limited to 40 locations this year from 12 currently as part of an aggressive growth strategy. 

The market is underestimating the earnings potential of Associated British Foods, which owns such well-known names as Primark and Silver Spoon Sugar, according to Nomura analyst Alex Smith.

Palm oil is an important constituent of food products and demand for it is increasing - not only in developing economies like China and India - but also in established markets like the US, where it is being seen as a suitable substitute for soya bean oil. Here, we profile a firm hoping to play a part in satisfying this demand: AIM-quoted Equatorial Palm Oil.

Firm increases overall sales by 21 per cent during the first half to £110 million while profits at the EBITDA level more than quadrupled to £2.7 million. Merchant Securities rates the shares as a ‘hold’

Imperial Tobacco is continuing to push ahead with its strategy of organic growth based on ‘unlocking the potential” of its brands and innovation. Analysts are encouraged by the commitment but caution challenges lie ahead in actioning the strategy, with competitors already ahead of curve.

Trading on a forward multiple of 10.9 times earnings (the sector trades at 10.4 times), it would appear that Real Good Food’s current valuation is up with events. But first impressions can be deceptive. For chairman Peter Totté has set his team a three-year growth plan that could utterly transform the company.

The ingredients supplier is expecting to exceed market forecasts significantly as sugar prices continue to rise and its other businesses continue to strengthen. The shares added more than 5 percent this morning, marking a near three-fold rally since January.

The company has successfully, and more to the point profitably, negotiated possibly the trickiest period in its recent history. However the mood was dampended somewhat by a bout of profit-taking after an 82 per cent rise in the share price in the past three months.

The company is building a sustainable agricultural business in Mozambique. However, unlike many similar projects its success can only benefit the local community.

the group described the involvement of Tullow in the Ethiopian block as a significant step forward to accelerating exploration in the area. Under a farm-in deal the FTSE 100 oil explorer becomes a 50 per cent stakeholder in the prospect as well as taking operational control.

The African agriculture group unveiled plans to take the business in a new, but complementary, direction this morning. It has been looking at ways to expand and it has now agreed a deal to build a 30 hectare expansion to the Port of Conakry in Guinea. The new development is expected to open up new opportunities in the agricultural logistics sector.

Shrewd management during three years of chaos in the sugar market has perfected the business model. The outlook is far more certain now, with the price of sugar rising, and the trading statement scheduled for the third week of November will be eagerly scanned for a possible upgrade to the 2011 forecasts.

The Siva Group, who is already the company's largest shareholder, will invest US$22.5m into the joint venture, and provide a US$30m loan. The deal is expected to 'fast-track' the development of palm oil plantations in Liberia.

The mill for its Libarian rump operations has been delivered on schedule and should be up and running in the final quarter of the year. The company is currently in the process of reactivating 3,000 hectares of palms and will plant up to a further 1,200 hectares next year.

The country is slowly emerging from a troubled past, and it is early days for the economic recovery. However, the company believes there's no better time than now to get started with re-establishing oil palm plantations on its land  parcels. It plans to be well established when Liberia's economy starts rolling.

Growing revenue, net income and dividend, coupled with moderate gearing and market specialisation, would present a solid text book investment-grade business. Cranswick ticks these boxes.

Will Britvic be bought out by Pepsi as some investors hope, or will it go on to build a large European business with a portfolio of well-known brands?