In 1940, the French family Vilgrain bought 20 000 ha of land in the territory of Nkayi, and created the "Société Industrielle et Agricole du Niari” (Industrial and agricultural society of Niari). Productions of peanut oil, sugar cane, and flour were developed, with installations of mills and plantations (but importation of corn to produce flour). In the 1970s, the agroindustrial complex was nationalized. When the production complex was later privatized in 1991, only the sugar cane production was still running. The industry went back to the Vilgrain family, under the name ‘Société Agricole et de Raffinage Industriel du Sucre’