I was scrolling through my twitter feed, when I stumbled upon this thread by @Lummydon. A thread about the benefit of Agriculture from a personal view. The benefit of Agriculture may seem far-fetched as the industry is under-appreciated but here is a testimony from a young agropreneur giving an insight about the industry. I hope you enjoy it and learn a thing or two. Drop comments to ask questions and share your own testimony. Have a good read.
“Earlier today, I had a conversation with an older acquaintance of mine. She asked what I studied in the University and what my interests are, I told her I studied Agriculture and that my interests are broad but I'm passionate about agriculture. Aunty got visibly angry oh!
She was saying stuffs about misplaced priorities and questioning why I chose to study agriculture in the University, she said all sorts. This is not the first time I get derogatory comments about my choice of degree. People make fun it and all. No biggie! But I don't understand why she was angry. So, I told her to chill and I decided to school her.
Please permit me to school you tonight. I get most people would love to work in an office environment and all. AC tight and all. Nice pay etc. Nobody wants the dirty jobs yeah? We need to understand that these collar jobs aren't white no more. We need to start changing our orientation. If you have a nice job, cool! But for me, agriculture isn't an exit strategy. It's what every youth should take interest in and exploit.
Fam! There's money in agriculture. 1000 layers (chicken that lay eggs) will give you an average of 20K worth of eggs daily. 10k goes back to feeding. 10k goes into your pocket daily. 10k times 30 days in a month = to 300k monthly as your personal income. You can pay 2 or 3 employees and still have 250K as your profit
I met a poultry farmer in Kwara state. He has 180,000 birds. Yes! A hundred and eighty thousand birds on his farm. He's not Isaac or Job oh, he's filthy rich & unassuming. A quiet billionaire. Nobody knows his name. No popularity, no fame. But he has done well for himself. Agriculture!
I have an informal experience of over 15 years of turkey farming. My parents started with just 2 birds, a male & female. Infact it was a gift. Farm grew through the years & when salary was pending, they paid our school fees from there. Secondary School to University. There's no value chain under agriculture that you can tap into. It's not even compulsory you farm.
People must feed no matter how bad it. During my NYSC days. I was buying bunches of Plantain in Osun, load them to sell in far North where I served E no easy but I no dey broke. I was buying kegs of palm oil (25litres) from Enugu to sell in Abuja, Kaduna
and Jos. Even far in Bauchi. Hustle na hustle. I dey grind.
I entered farms in Plateau state, I bought Irish potatoes, onions, carrot, cabbage, tomatoes etc. Sent them down South. It was tiring but I move. Fam! No too much talk. Just start. Garri is consumed almost every day. Do you know you can cultivate a cassava farm for less than 150k? Heard about animal husbandry? Pig farming? Snail farming? Cattle rearing? These aren't even cost intensive. You can start with just one animal. I know folks that buy Ileya rams 4-8 weeks before the festive period, they fatten them & sell at higher price at peak of the period. Agriculture!
Heard of organic farming? Plant your Ugwu, bitter leaves, tomatoes and okra in that space you call little in your compound. Start from there! Take advantage of that space, buy day-old broiler birds, feed them well. 8-9 weeks, they're good for sale. Start again! It's Little by little
There are technicalities to all these too. It is imperative you learn if need be. But trust in your grit & you will come through. There's space for all to thrive. Have this at the back of your mind that there's always a need to be met in your locality or area. Take advantage of it! People must feed. I repeat people must feed. Rich or poor. It is a must. They must feed. Take advantage of this & they will pay you.
Lastly, for most salary earners, their income over the years is in arithmetic progression (2, 4, 6 ,8...) For an entrepreneur, the beginning is always hard and slow but the profit is in geometry progression (1, 3, 7, 11, 17, 25, 37,)
Fam! Let's change our orientation. We can all win together. Just start already, the sky is big enough.”