A'cplant Signs MoU with Zambian Agricultural Materials Firm

A'cplant (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Jong-Myung Kim) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on April 17, 2026, with AgriFocus, a Zambian agricultural materials enterprise, to distribute 'Skeepon,' a product that enhances plant tolerance to heat and dry stress, and to promote field trials among local farmers.

AgriFocus is a company dealing with agricultural materials in Zambia, holding a network of local agricultural cooperatives and farmers. Through this MoU, the company will proceed with initiatives toward widespread adoption in Zambia as a distributor of Skeepon. It will also support technical introduction tailored to the local cultivation environment by coordinating field trials with local farmers and brokering pilot introductions.

Zambia becomes the second country in Africa, following Uganda, for the deployment of Skeepon.

Expansion in Zambia initiated by efforts in Uganda

For the deployment of Skeepon in Africa, the company has previously been working on initiatives in Uganda. In August 2025, the company completed product registration for Skeepon in Uganda, and in September, it signed an MoU with the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), a government-affiliated agricultural research institution in the country, to proceed with farmer training and technology dissemination.

On June 26, 2025, A'cplant co-hosted an international symposium titled "African Agriculture in the Era of Global Climate Change and the Utilization of Japan's Latest Technologies" with the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo. Following the symposium, Zambian government officials who attended expressed interest in the Skeepon project in Uganda, initiating discussions with the Zambian government.

Subsequently, CEO Jong-Myung Kim visited Zambia in January 2026 to discuss the potential for utilizing Skeepon in the country with senior government officials. Currently, the company has started field trials with the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI), a government-affiliated agricultural research institution, to prepare for product registration. Simultaneously, it has been negotiating with the private firm AgriFocus with an eye toward farmer dissemination. This MoU signing serves to materialize these efforts.

Based on the MoU, AgriFocus will engage in activities for introduction and sales to agricultural cooperatives and farmers as a distributor in Zambia. Furthermore, AgriFocus will handle adjustments with farmers and secure fields for pilot trials, while A'cplant will provide technical support regarding usage and trial design.

Field trials using Skeepon have already begun with some farmers in Zambia, and video records of usage are also underway. Based on the trial results, the company will continue to move forward toward full-scale deployment in Zambia.

Comment from CEO Jong-Myung Kim

In Zambia, where arid regions are expanding, maize is the staple food, but recent trends of intensifying drought have made harvests unstable. In 2023-24, severe drought and heatwaves occurred due to the El Niño phenomenon during the rainy season, causing significant damage to maize production. As a technical response to support stable crop production even under high-temperature and drought conditions becomes an urgent challenge, the need for Skeepon, which improves crop tolerance to heat and drought stress, is very high.

I believe that signing this MoU with AgriFocus is a major step toward popularizing Skeepon in Zambia. We will continue to proceed with the introduction of Skeepon as a technology that supports agricultural production in Zambia, a country facing climate change and drought, by cooperating with local related organizations, companies, and farmers.