Actually, I am very surprised that you think you can make it in Agriculture at all let alone making it big — what happened to being a pilot or a doctor or even a legal luminary?. Economy is harsh fa, some distasteful law firms now pay lawyers 50k/month, even Doctors are not left out (take your sub in peace) and Agriculture is “stone which the builders reject is now the head of the corner?” . Okay o. Keep at it!
I have read too many articles about agriculture in the past even up till recently, everyone kinda has hot-takes about Agriculture. Mr. Authority kept quiet all this while looking at all of you. Those of you reading all those articles and went into farming based on that, how market now? For some of us, like Naira Marley said, ‘Atilo atide’.
Before you accuse me of denigrating your choice, let me also say that I believe in you, in your might and capacity to make it in Agriculture for those of you who have not jumped into the green ocean yet, my only worry is that you don’t drown in the algae green ocean of Agriculture.
Call me prophet of doom but on this mountain of Agriculture, I got some very clear revelation, just humble yourself and listen to Mr. Authority. Mr. Authority is not doing hot-takes but reality check.
I hope these revelations may help you to swim through the green ocean and make it big as you have dreamt.
Don’t go to farm: You heard me right? Farming is not for the weak or the quick money seekers. If you’re not ready to lose your fortune, do not go to farm! Don’t let anyone deceive you, many retires have died of hypertension because they put their money into backyard or commercial farming that went down the drain. In 2019, my family put 10 million naira into livestock farming and in 2022, nothing to show for it. In 2020, we did snail and poultry farming with my father’s gratuity, under 1 year, it went down the drain (I will discuss the why in a separate article) but it was all Hard lessons learnt, I will do it better now if I have the chance. See why I said don’t go to farm. Run for your life. Go and eat, drink and be merry; Ecc 8:15 — Preach it Pastor!
Don’t borrow money for Agribusiness: This is not applicable to everyone. Nigerians generally have a ‘loan default’ tendency. Napoleon Hill and Robert Kiyosaki (my role models) once postulated that Other Peoples Money (OPM) is the best for business, while this is true for fast growing businesses, startups make a mess of this. That’s why many crowdfunding companies crashed recently. Some of them fell prey of ‘funding mismatch’, when you use inventory financing to purchase assets. This will inherently disrupt your repayment plans. Some even do outright diversion, the outcome is always a disaster. That temptation is always there to poorly or wrongly utilise borrowed funds but resist the urge if you have already leveraged bank facilities or the goodwill of friends and if you can’t resist the urge, don’t take OPM. Defaults on loan repayment facilitates your ability to drown in the green ocean just like the Titanic.
Sell farmers produce: What most agripreneurs do is experiment instead of really doing business. Oga, find a market for farmers and sell their produce. Befriend farmers, support them with your resources (inputs and what not) and get their produce. If a monkey holds something you want, give it banana and he will release your stuff to you. It’s same with our dear farmers (not comparing them to monkeys, focus on the analogy) You support the farmers, they give you their produce and you sell. Money is made and you’re happy, everyone is happy. You may sell here in Nigeria or even abroad where you even earn FX in this our dwindling economy.
Leverage Technology: Technology is the focus of the fourth industrial revolution and it cuts across all sectors especially Agriculture. The nations that will feed the world in coming years will be big on technology and you my friend must understand the technology that works and the ones you should focus on.
Learn: Personally, i think this is the most important skill in 21st century, the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn anything. You must know the green ocean quite well, learn about its value-chain and know where you want to play effectively. If you think learning is costly, then the result of your ignorance will be costlier.
A word is enough for the wise. Don’t say I didn’t help you. However controversial this might be, I’ve explained the gospel truth of this green ocean called Agriculture to you in this short piece. Don’t take my advice for it, feel free to defy me bro, you will still be my G!
Author : Femi Royal – https://arabfields.com/7BoU6Ws
