Nigerian Agriculture has the potential to be the leading supplier of some of the world’s essential foods. Why should you invest in this sector of the Nigerian economy? Here are 5 reasons why you should invest in Nigerian agriculture:
According to the World Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly 50 percent of the world’s fertile, usable and uncultivated agricultural land. The size: over 200 million hectares! This is why the continent is now widely considered to be the future breadbasket of the world. It is this huge abundance of land resources that gives Africa the strategic potential to feed the world!
Most of Africa’s agricultural land lies in the savannah and tropical rain forest belt, which receives a favourable amount of rainfall and sunlight all year round. As a direct consequence, more than 80 percent of food crops consumed across the world can be produced here.
Interestingly, a large proportion of Africa’s agricultural land is located in the rural areas. That’s why they’re often cheap to buy or lease. On the average, one hectare of land (10,000sqm) can be leased for as low as $100 per year (depending on the location). This makes it one of the best land bargains you can find anywhere in the world!
Whether you own one plot of land or 10,000 hectares, agribusiness is one of few business opportunities that allow you to start on any scale, with whatever you have!
Entrepreneurs like South Africa’s Anna Phosa started her agribusiness in 2008 in her backyard with just four pigs. Today, she owns a 350-hectare pig farm and is a major supplier to Pick n’ Pay, the South Africa supermarket chain.
The opportunity to start small means that people with little capital can become part of Africa’s multi-billion dollar agribusiness industry. Because of the guaranteed demand for agricultural produce, that small vegetable or poultry farm in your backyard could just become a huge business tomorrow.
Every evidence shows that you don’t have to be a wealthy investor with millions of dollars in the bank or a highly-educated person in order to start a business in agriculture in Africa. You can start where you are and use what you have, and grow from there. You can start your agribusiness journey in your home backyard or do it on a part-time basis with your day job. It’s very flexible that way!
One of the reasons to invest in Nigerian agriculture as a farmer and an agropreneur is the support available for the sector through loans and customized farmer-focused programs. In 2016 the Central Bank of Nigeria, in conjunction with the Bank of Agriculture earmarked N200 billion in loans to support the input of farmers in Nigeria.
Food business is big business in Nigeria and africa as whole. In Nigeria alone, we have more than 200 million mouths to feed three times daily. The food supply is not even enough. You can be your own boss, employ people and live that amazing lifestyle you’ve dreamed of with agriculture.
There are so many areas of agribusiness you can venture in. Vegetable farming, poultry farming, fish farming, food processing, agro-distribution, agro-marketing, and all other animar husbandry just to mention a few.
When you buy a plot, two plots, or several acres of land for your agricultural business, years later, the value of your farm lands would be several times the original value. In the end, you don’t just make only revenue from your products, but your net worth also rises as the years pass by.
This is a win-win!
