The untapped agricultural potentials of Nigeria

PROGRAMME ON SME OPPORTUNITIES IN NIGERIA

TOPIC: THE UNTAPPED AGRICULTURAL POTENTIAL OF NIGERIA

SPEAKER: African farmer Afioluwa Mogaji

            Looking at the history and development of agriculture in Nigeria, it is not a coincidence that virtually all the past presidents and Heads of state of this country had passion for agriculture. Knowing full well that the state of oil sector is not encouraging, therefore, it is high time we went back to the drawing board, which is agriculture in order to fix the crawling economy crisis in the country. This is not a one man game, we all need to work together so as to, fix it. Agriculture is the way to rise to do that. We need to focus on the following issues in agriculture;

1.      Prohibited items.

2.      Untapped land opportunities.

3.      Untapped crops opportunities.

4.      Untapped livestock opportunities.

5.      Untapped trading and marketing.

6.      Why agric projects fail.

7.      How to invest in agriculture.

Every year, we import about 150 billion dollars worth of rice into the country, but the Federal government has made a drastic move to stop the importation, as this, will give the local rice farmers opportunity to develop rice production in the country.

v  Untapped land opportunities in agriculture: the river basin development project is in every state with lots of land untapped by the farmers, lying fallow and some other benefits included. Accessing this is not difficult as people think it is. All you need to do is to go to the ministry of agriculture and ask for the department for the river basin project, they will guild you on how to access the lands. Most of these lands have irrigation facility that avails you to wet your crops in and out of the season, that is, dry wet and dry seasons. All these benefits by the government are just lying fallow because people are not aware about it. Some of the irrigation projects are found in Iseyin, Oyo State, about 700 Acres of land have not been used by anybody, also  in Sepete, Saki local government, Oyo State, there are about 300 hectares of land too there lying fallow to leverage on. We also have irrigated lands in Jigawa State, Kwara State and so on that are waiting for a potential farmer to leverage on.

v  Untapped crops opportunities in Nigeria

                                    i.            Corn: this is one the untapped crops in Nigeria, because from November to March, corns will be scarce, which means it will not be readily available. What is responsible for this is simply lack of water to wet the crop and could roast the seeds while growing. But with the help of irrigation which is readily available on government lands, this problem can be solved and we can have access to all year round corn production Over 60 trailers loaded with corns supply Ketu market on daily basis for six months, yet supply is always lower than demand. Looking at value chain of corns; the leaves of the maize can be shrewd to feed livestock, dried corn is also included in producing poultry and fish feeds. Sweet corn production is another area that is not tapped in this country, because there is no company producing sweet corn in Nigeria, despite the fact that sweet corn can grow very well in this country. The leaves of maize can also be used for decoration. At December, a kilogram of maize grains will be sold for about ₦ 30, but in six months later, this same kilogram will be sold for ₦ 60 to ₦ 80 because of the rain issues.

                                  ii.            Tomatoes: This is also one of the untapped agricultural crops in Nigeria. Every year, most especially in the months of May, June and July, the price of a basket of tomatoes usually shoots up from ₦ 5,000 to ₦ 20,000 due to lack of water and some other environmental factors. Some of the value chains in tomatoes left untapped are; tomato juice, ketchup, and pastes.

       

              

                                iii.            Onions: Onions can be cultivated anywhere in this country as against people’s notion that it grows only in the Northern part of the country. A growing research of onions was conducted in Osun State and it grew well, this proved that it can be grown in any part of this country. September and October are months we usually experience high cost of onions. A basket of onions will rise from ₦ 7,000 to ₦ 15,000. This is when importation of onions from abroad is massive. It is advisable for us all to leverage on this period and on this plant.

                                iv.            Cassava: In the hinterland of this country, most especially in the suburban area of saki, Oyo State, cassava is wasting right now in this region, but the price of garri is not dropping in any way. Cassava production will never reduce in this country because the basic requirements of cassava products are increasing daily, even with the value chains. Processing industries like Matnam and other processing factories are operating at just 40% capacity because they are not getting enough cassava they need for production in their company.  Research reveals that cassava stems sell better than even the cassava tuber, because farmers always want to get stem for production. Other value chains in cassava are: garri, cassava flour, starch etc.

                                  v.            Oil palm: This can be called retirement insurance. It is called ‘the tree of money’ because none of its products is useless. Cocoa production is also close to oil palm. There are species of cocoa that mature within 2 years now. Multitrex has a massive cocoa processing factory; therefore, they need lots of cocoa to meet up with their customers’ demands.

                                vi.             Rubber: This is huge, just like cocoa and oil palm production. It is a lifetime investment. Many people are not really seeing the opportunities in this, as it remained untapped in the south.

                              vii.            Vegetables: This is one of the projects that federal government will not be assisting in terms of forex because people eat lots of vegetables daily. Cucumber matures in just 45 days. Fluted pumpkin is a wonder source of money. From November to April, fluted pumpkin popularly known as ugwu will be expensive.

                            viii.            Rice: Government is putting in a lot of resources in rice production, because it is the most acceptable food in the country. Major setbacks in it are birds’ invasion, squirrel bits, and pests.

                                ix.            YAM: This is also a lucrative agribusiness when considered with a huge value chain.                            

                          

                           

  UNTAPPED LIVESTOCKS

POULTRY: This is also a big business channel that many people in this country have not really explored. Due to the hazards that the cancerous frozen poultry products have, that is why the Federal Government is putting a ban on its importation. With this, the farmers will be able to leverage on it by making a lot of profit from its production.

WHY AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS FAIL

When opportunities come calling in agribusiness don’t rush into it. Take your time to do the necessary calculations and research before going into it. Google farming without the practical knowledge is also part of the reasons agricultural projects fail. There is also big farm syndrome without knowing that the bigger the farm, the more the challenges. Market amputation is what dashes the hopes of all investors. This is because there are cabals in agriculture which is even worse than in the oil sector. You need to understand the market and the market linkages before you go into production. Some also fail because they don’t go for trainings, they lack agribusiness knowledge. They just venture into it because of the profit attached to it. Whatever you do in agriculture is profitable if you get the dynamics right. So engage yourself in a market driven production.

HOW TO INVEST IN AGRIBUSINESS

Define the purpose of your investment. This is because some people venture into agriculture without a purpose. Start small, grow big. It is better to start small and then scale up. Leverage on the existing farms. It is better to start by leasing a farm and then move up from there. Warehousing is also a good form of investment in Agribusiness. In conclusion, under the market flow in agriculture and keep yourself up to date about the latest developments in agriculture.