Maize Farm
Agricultural activities have, for ages, provided modes of living and economic survival to people in rural environments. In the pre-and post-independent Nigeria, the nation‘s economic and developmental activities revolved basically around agriculture. Then, investments in agricultural production and similar activities provided good job opportunities for young graduates. The trend continued with agro-allied activities breeding entrepreneurship activities, until the early 1970s, when the discovery of crude oil upstaged the great role of agriculture. For over three decades, there has been a declining interest on the part of our young graduates as regards making careers in agriculture.
Today, most graduates would rather look for jobs in the financial sector or other areas. Hardly do young people take cognisance of the fact that agro-allied business can also be very lucrative. Everybody eats as many times as possible daily, thus underscoring the all- pervasive role of agriculture. Yet, individuals and the government have continued to pay less attention to the sources of these foodstuffs.
But the neglect of the agricultural sector, which has continued to hike food prices in the market, has been described as an opportunity for discerning young men and women to make headways. An enterprising individual can start by making the known challenges in agriculture and agro-allied sector his stepping stones to success. A known factor that scares young people from farming is the fact that the quantities of products farmers produce are usually limited by the prospect of problems that make them perishable. For instance, food stuffs easily get spoilt and are usually sold at ridiculously low prices, thus making operators not to break even. This problem itself offers a business opportunity for thinking minds that would see one in creating a storage bridge between products and the market.
To experts in modern day farming, good entrepreneurial spirit will eclipse all these challenges and even turn then into stepping stones to success. According to them, what a discerning young man needs is to have a good plan of action, which can attract the needed fund from financial institutions. With a determined mind, a good focus and a good entrepreneurial spirit, young people have a lot to do and attain success in the different aspects of agriculture, they say. Some of the challenges, they say, include lack of access to credit facilities, land and office space, among other relevant facilities.
However, Shehu Mikail, as a thriving entrepreneur, says he has a strong passion for the development of agriculture in the country. He is the Chairman of Mastel Limited, a company that has agro-allied products as key aspects of its operations.
He believes that before a country can be counted as one of the developed nations of the world, the country must be able to conveniently feed its population. Therefore, he says direct farming offers different business opportunities for people, who genuinely have the interest.
Mikail adds that the business of agro-allied is one area that involves the provision of chemicals and equipment that can enhance the productivity of agriculture. According to him, this is one area a young man can go into and be successful. Marketing agro-chemicals, he says, can be more thriving than going into farming operation.
The Mastel Limited boss, who says he is passionate about seeing young people aspire to become agricultural entrepreneurs, says he decided to set up consultancy services in this field, teaching people the technicalities involved in agro-allied business. His vision, he says, has always been that once they know these intricacies, they can start different ventures in the sector. He adds that the preoccupation of his firm is to bring more youths into the terrain through systems and structural incentives.
To do this business, the expert says that a major thing that an intending entrepreneur needs is a fair knowledge of the processes. The most important thing are your business plan, finance sourcing skill and a good marketing startegy, he says.
He says that an intending entrepreneur may also need to understand the farming occupation and the different types of products available, including fertilizers of different types, equipment and products to venture into.
Chief Executive Officer, FarmerAgro, Mr. Chinedu Ibe, notes that though the agro-allied business is still much undeveloped in the country, it has the potential for growth.
Despite the general outlook, he says marketing of agricultural products alone can even generate business for young people. For instance, a young man can decide to explore the business of dealing in wholesale yam marketing. He observes that most of the perishable crops available in the market are produced in the rural areas.
”These are areas, where yam species are farmed and cheaply traded. What a young discerning entrepreneur needs to do is to raise some capital and make enquiries on where the produce can be cheaply sourced. Another aspect is to identify markets in cities, where the products can be sold, and there are many of such in Lagos and other cities,” he says.
He, however, notes that there may be the need for an intending entrepreneur in this business to have a good idea of agriculture, backed by good marketing strategies. His worry is about the deficiency in road infrastructure in the country, which hinders the transportation of agricultural products.
He also expresses worry that agriculture is being neglected by youths, while the technical schools are also not developing this sector as expected.
”Yet, the aspiring young man should be able to look beyong this, as all businesses have their challenges,” he says.
Source:Punch
No comments:
Post a Comment