occam:

Agribusiness in Nigeria is clearly overlooked given the immense opportunity. That said, the risks can be very high at the beginning, so it must be a long term venture.

Also, specialization is key given the various aspects of agribusiness: input production (seedlings), animal husbandry, farm production, processing, storage, packaging, export and so on

The huge investments in Fixed assets (land, building, farm equipment, milling equipment, generators etc) can be leveraged as collateral for future expansion.

adelegan1:

My friend do not be deceive please do not invest in agriculture you will fail. try and see for yourself if you ask me i will tell you. Im taking from experience most the rich nigeria that invest in nigeria are regreting they never did

goshen360:

You can email me and I will love to connect you to my Dad back home so both of you can work together. We've got so much breeding stock for sales. You know what am talking about. Mine is goshen360@yahoo.co.uk. God bless you bro.

Fhemmmy:

This is one of the most negative post i have ever seen in my life and yet no real reason given.
At least if you know real reason why you saying it or evidence or experience, share with him and let him use that to know if he wanna go ahead of listen to your advice

nyxus:

Have you done the feasibility study? A lot of factors play into your plan, are you aware of them? Integrated pest management, middlemen elimination, innovative packaging for effective marketing. I am a graduate of Agricultural Economics and Extension services finished NYSC oct 2011 currently unemployed, I can be part of your think team. oniayomidejohnson@gmail.com

goshen360:

You can email me and I will love to connect you to my Dad back home so both of you can work together. We've got so much breeding stock for sales. You know what am talking about. Mine is goshen360@yahoo.co.uk. God bless you bro.

oyb:

ya oga get im own runs

chreld_b:

This is my own 2 kobo

1). Farming looks very attractive theoretically on paper, but practically there are always unforseen detriments. And it takes a great deal of experience to bypass these obstcles.

2). Do not trust wholheartedly any agricultural policy concerning agricultural development. Year in year out the government always comes up with the same old story of how it intends on developing the nations agricultural industry, but nothing is ever done practically. A very good example is the 2 billion dollar agric loan that was released during the Yaradua's administration. Till today I am yet to see anyone come out to claim that they were beneficiaries to that loan scheme. So what happened to the money? If you have been priviledged to challenge government officials on why the state of agriculture is so pathetic. I can assure you that the response you will get is that they know what to do but are not been given the chance to because the government simply does not care.  

3). Even in developed countries, grains such as rice and maize are subsidised by the government to encourage the farmers to continue production and strengten food security for the populace

4). Lastly I am glad for you that you are in correspondence with some research scientists at IITA very necessary. But however, take cognisance of the fact that field or laboratory reseach breakthrough does not necessarily equate to commercial benefits. Pilot programmes have to be set up to verify the scientific findings commercially wise. That's why agriculturally related scientists seldom own farms cos they know this fact. But they will encourage people to go into farming because of their potential consultancy benefits.


In conclusion I think you should take your time and do not be in a rush to establish your dream farm in order to avoid making any mistake. Try and dialogue with an older and experienced non professional farmer. Such a persom would be more pragmatic in his advise than an enthusiastic young scientist. The agricultural industry in Nigeria is truly a sleeping giant but to succeed you have to find a way to beat the system. Everything I have said is as a result of experience, practically and scientifically.  

occam:

Agribusiness in Nigeria is clearly overlooked given the immense opportunity. That said, the risks can be very high at the beginning, so it must be a long term venture.

Also, specialization is key given the various aspects of agribusiness: input production (seedlings), animal husbandry, farm production, processing, storage, packaging, export and so on

The huge investments in Fixed assets (land, building, farm equipment, milling equipment, generators etc) can be leveraged as collateral for future expansion.

moremi2008:

I still can't imagine a scenario under which large-scale commercial rice farming can be successful as an entrepreneurial endeavor without large government subsidies and large financing. You just can't compete with the costs and quality of rice from Asia. They have been growing rice for centuries and have this thing down to nuclear science. Do you have access to a HUGE supply of labor that you'll require to farm rice? Or are you planning on buying large, expensive machinery that can cost millions of dollars? Besides, how do you intend to process yields properly? Rice needs to be milled and polished. Or is your plan to target the local rice market where some dirt and husk is permissible? Please thread cautiously; don't allow your researcher friends form IITA mislead you with assurances based on lab experience. Rice farming is too labor-intensive/capital intensive to be handled on a small scale and without sound government subsidies and you don't want to build your business on the feeble assurances of a government that will be gone in a few years.

Plantain farming is potentially lucrative if you can figure out a way to get your goods to the market in excellent condition and if you can secure your yield from thieves. Please before you start any serious investing, talk to other farmers that have tried and failed (I am sure there are many and they aren't all stu-pid/incompetent. Don't rely on the well-publicized success stories of Obasanjo Farms (that farm is just a hobby; Baba made all his money from thief-thief). Good luck!

adelegan1:

My friend im going to advise you and other person on this forum why not to invest in agriculture. I believe this will help you and others


They are alot of factor affecting agriculture in nigeria and i will list them.

(1) Unavailability of labour

(2) lack of appropriate techonology

(3) poor transportation network

(4) unstable price of product

(5) theft and non compliance of labour to instruction

(6) failure of government
and more

Now im going to tell you how this will make you fail no matter how smart you are, listen

Unavailability of labour; people in the rural area are not willing to farm. if they agree to work for you will have alot to face with them they not follow your instruction  and you cant say much to them because they will tell you they are not working anymore. so you dont have choice than to be romancing them with more money. and they will still not do the proper thing and they will be alot of neglegence on their part that will affect your business.

if you bring in hire labour or contract laborer from the north they are more dangerous. most of this things you might not see as big deal now until you start you farm. agriculture is labour and capital intensive and you might make back your money talk-less of any profit be warned



Lack of appropriate techonogy:

only the approriate techonology will help to reduce the cost of labour and cost of production generally. you have to share tractor with hundred of people if you dont have your tractor and you might not have it on time from the government agency to do your job.

If you can purchase hand tractor it will help you alot you can google what hand tractor is or see how it work on youtube. you can use it  to  do everything in the farm from plowing,harrowing,discing,ridging,harvesting,irrigation, transport and alot more. If you have this hand tractor it make agriculture more profitable and reduce cost of labour.

the hand tractor is not expensive about $3000 in nigeria. but big and small farmer in nigeria do not have this simple machine that can do more it price

if you dont have the appropriate technology please dont invest in agriculture you will cry.

poor transport network;

after producing you will be responsible for transportation factory the road are bad and cost of transportation is high and the price of produce is not stable

see the list go on. i cant just keep writing you might not take my advice but surely eveybody will do their mistake. things might look normal when you start real farm you see the great problem and challenges.

If agriculture is so profitable in nigeria why is government not running a state farm

I will advise you to into processing of farm product instead of farming ask me how and i will tell you

occam:

Some of the problems you listed aren’t peculiar to agriculture alone but are experienced in other industries in Nigeria.

Agribusiness (I deliberately use this term) encompasses seed supply, farming, food marketing, packaging and exporting. Sadly, most people only understand the farming aspect and spend all their energy and time cultivating large hectares of land without proper planning and strategy on getting the food to consumers.

Like any other business, understanding consumer needs is the first step to success. A detailed marketing analysis will help identify key segments (direct consumers, food industry, Poultry farms, industrial users and exporters) and size of each potential segment. For instance, maize is consumed as popcorn, cereal, ogi, eko, used for feeding animals etc. So these are your products; not maize. Farming is only the means to an end and not your end goal.

Don’t simply start rice; maize; cassava farming etc rather develop a detailed business plan on how to serve potential customers and which aspect of the agribusiness you want to start with. As your business grows you can integrate vertically or horizontally.    

Agribusiness can be capital intensive and not for the faint hearted. However, it can be very lucrative; albeit a long term venture.

[b]@OP I'll be very wary of rice production because of Nigerians' fondness for polished, imported rice. Ensure you develop a solid plan with risk assessment before you invest your capital.
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