An Alberta-based investment company is selling more than 19,000 acres of farmland in Saskatchewan.
Calgary-based Agcapita is in the process of winding up Farmland Fund I, the first of four farmland investment funds under the company’s management.
The RRSP eligible fund was launched in early 2008 and deployed roughly $10 million in investment capital, which was used to purchase cropland throughout the province.
The fund matured earlier this year, meaning assets in the portfolio are being liquidated and proceeds returned to fund investors.
Karim Kadry, investment manager with Agcapita, said Fund I holdings include roughly 19,300 acres of cropland located in 16 municipalities across the province.
Read Also
Canadian crop outlook has improved since January says FCC
Canadian farmers’ overall new crop outlook has improved since the beginning of the year, says Farm Credit Canada.
The company is soliciting bids for the entire portfolio or for individual parcels of land, he said.
“When we first launched the fund, we purchased farmland at an average of around $439 per acre,” Kadry said.
“We believe that … as per figures released by Farm Credit Canada, the value of the farmland has roughly doubled.”
Kadry said interest in the holdings has been “amazing,” adding that market values still show Saskatchewan farmland selling at a comparative discount to land with similar productive capacity in Alberta.
“I think the interest has been really amazing,” he said.
“As soon as we announced that we were starting the wind-up process, within a couple of hours we received a lot of inquiries from different entities.”
Kadry said land within the portfolio is geographically diverse and is located in different regions of the province so as to minimize risk.
Despite the liquidation, Agcapita still sees Saskatchewan as a solid investment.
All told, the company’s four farmland investment funds have acquired close to 45,000 acres of agricultural land in the province.
AgCapita is continuing to raise additional investment capital through its latest offering, Farmland Fund IV.
That fund aims to raise roughly $20 million.
