Business: Agriculture a Gold Mine for Nigeria... PART 2

 

...........continuation of our previous post

Poverty Reduction:

It is eleven times more effective to alleviate poverty than any sector. So if you are someone who has the well being of the masses in your mind like me, agriculture is the best option. Evidence shows that investment in agriculture is more effective in reducing poverty, particularly amongst the poorest people, than investment in non-agricultural sectors. It is also up to 3.2 times better at reducing poverty in low-income and resource-rich countries (including those in sub-Saharan Africa) at least when societies are not unequal (Christiansen et al., 2010).

Land Appreciation:

 Land is a factor of production that appreciates faster over years. When you invest in agriculture, you are investing in a physical plot of land. This land’s value only appreciates, unlike stocks in businesses.

Investing in agriculture is typically a long term venture. Returns vary depending not only on commodity prices, but on how much and how fast the land appreciates. Depending on the farm’s location, current commodity prices and other factors, returns on investment range from 3-5% for commodity based land, or 10-15% for specialty crops. Because agriculture investments are long term, they can be set up to be kept in the investor’s family and passed down to future generations. Agricultural investments can appreciate indefinitely.

 

Easy to start up:

 It provides opportunity to start small compared to other business that requires large starting capital. It is also easy to start by getting a land and planting whatever you want to plant or rear animals on it.

Right now, the Nigerian government and several other governments in Africa are in desperate need of a lot of individuals and businesses to start agricultural businesses. This would ensure their countries have a steady flow of income even if the price of crude oil stays low or completely goes extinct.

With an economic recession and several other uncontrollable events, the government is making access to agricultural loans a lot easier. People investing in agriculture in Nigeria or across Africa now have easier access to loans for fertilizers, machinery, land, and a lot more.

Taking advantage of the government’s call for people to startup agricultural businesses now, is a smart move before the incentives get drastically reduced, after a reasonable number of agricultural businesses become successful.

Low number of investors:

 The sector presently is characterized with low number of investors which is a good opportunity to make wealth and also feed the nation as there will be low competition. It also creates wealth by selling agricultural products, creating new agriculture technology innovations as well as manufacturing and maintenance of machines and implements.

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