How to Start Agricultural Business in Nigeria | Comprehensive Guide.

Can you imagine that though we have fertile soil, you discover that Nigeria is still importing rice from Thailand, snails from Ghana, wheat and other food stuffs from wherever we import them from
? This is preposterous! Yet in our coat of arm, we have a symbol representing “fertile land” which we are not using, who are we trying to deceive? It’s high time we got up to our senses and did something with our hands and stopped importing help from overseas.

Agriculture, no matter how you view it will always be the most important sector in our country, except if we all decide not to eat and clothe ourselves again which cannot be. People may decide not to buy clothes and become contented with the few they have, they may decide not to rent houses and live out in the cold under bridges and uncompleted buildings but people will never get tired of eating food except they wish to starve to death. You’ll notice that even when you have no money, you’ll still eat food either by stealing or begging, who wants to die?

Then if you are interested in starting up an agricultural business in Nigeria, good for you. Damn the rumors you’ll be regarded as a low class citizen. Those disregarding you will still be the ones coming to patronize you like the story of the “hardworking ant and the lazy grasshopper” by that time, you’ll become hot cake in the country, supplying to keep the nation from starving. You’ll be a savior to your fatherland.

Noteworthy, agriculture is not limited to farming and cultivation of crops, there are other fields to explore including;

Horticulture
Cattle rearing
Ostrich farming
Snail farming
Fish farming in ponds especially highly patronized catfish
Poultry farming
Livestock farming

•How to Start Agricultural Business in Nigeria
The process is actually easy and steady as drinking water from a cup, there are many things to put into consideration before you start like;

Capital
Where to situate the farm
What type of farming you’ll be going into
Disease and pest
Control of the disease
Cultivation and so on….
Once you are done considering these options, here are the steps to start a lucrative agricultural business in Nigeria.

•KNOW WHICH TYPE OF FARMING YOU WISH TO VENTURE INTO: From the aforementioned list, you can pick one of the options or research for more options. Go for the one you have passion for and will enjoy doing, the one that no matter the stress, you’ll endure because you like what you’re doing.

•MAKE A CONCISED BUSINESS PLAN: This is for direction and focus; you wouldn’t want to miss out on any step you’ve taken in your process of setting up a business, would you? In the plan, include your aims and objectives so you don’t forget why you started, your future plan for the company, expenses you wish to make and those you wish to control.

•CAPITAL: You should consider your source of income so you know how to control impulses.

•GET A LOCATION: It is advisable you choose locations with downstream water ponds or areas easily assesible to water so you don’t stress yourself each time you need to water your crops or feed the livestock. Locations with high rainfall and sunlight favorable to different crop type and areas suitable for livestock.

•GET THE NECESSARY EQUIPMENT: If you’ll be going for livestock farming, then you should erect a pen for them, for fish, you’ll need to build a pond and so on. Then you should get the equipment for management of the farm, hoes, tractors etc.

•GET STARTED: With the tractors, bulldoze the bulldozable and start planting. Do not mix plants together so you know where to and how to weed when you want to do so. You can employ the services of farmers to do the work for you. For animals, avoid crowding livestock in one pen so they don’t suffocate each other or die from strangling.

•APPLY PESTICIDE AND HERBICIDES: At interval, check the farm for traces of weed, pest and diseases, once noticed; actions should be carried out immediately to avoid further damage. Then for the livestock or beast, proper health measures should be employed to avoid premature death of animals.

•APPLY FERTILIZERS: For growth and development of seedlings, you are advised to apply fertilizers in ratios at intervals to enhance growth of plants and for the livestock; there should be steady supply of animal feeds to keep them alive and reproductive.

•HARVEST: It is good to harvest crops immediately they are due for harvest to prevent birds of the air from feeding on them. If livestock are due for sale, steps should be taken to prevent death.

•MEET POTENTIAL BUYERS: Immediately before or before harvest, you should meet buyers and negotiate on the cost of farm produce and the livestock. Negotiate the price in a way that will favor you and where you can make money from.

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