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The agricultural potential of Nigeria is barely being tapped and this explains the inability of the country to meet the ever increasing demand for agricultural produce. Still, the agricultural sector remains a dominant employer of labour, thus opening windows of investment opportunities. With over 84 million hectares of arable land, abundant water and manpower, Nigeria can easily become a major player in global food and agricultural markets.
It is no longer news that Nigeria is currently in recession, which has made government and economic strategist turn to agriculture that was the country’s economy mainstay before the discovery of crude oil.
There are good reasons Nigeria is a haven for agriculture, and understanding these reasons will help any serious entrepreneur, farmer and agricultural firm (no matter where they are from) to think seriously about setting up or acquiring a farm in Nigeria.
There is no African country where farming is as viable compared to Nigeria in terms of productivity and profitability. My native community alone in Nigeria can feed the state.
Reasons Why Farming in Nigeria Is Irresistible
1. Nigeria has a huge population of over 150 Million people, twice more than the populations of Zimbabwe and South Africa combined. The entire population of Nigeria depends on staple foods produced from farms and other farm produces for their daily meals and sustenance — and more than 80 percent of Nigerians buy their Farm Produce from the market.
2. Nigeria has very large expanses of fertile farmlands laying fallow for nothing. Nigeria Land area when measured in sq km is about 910,770. The Land area of any country is the country’s total area, excluding areas that are considered to be water bodies. So, Nigeria has one of the biggest expanse of Land in Africa of which 70 percent is available for Farming.
3. Nigerians have very high purchasing power — we buy things here and we pay cash!
4. Farming in Nigeria is not only a foreign currency earner for the country, but for the investor as well.
5. Agriculture in Nigeria further open up more opportunities for the investor.
Furthermore, there are various area an investor can tap into such as;
· Crop: maize, rice, cassava, yam etc.
· Tree crop: oil palm, cocoa etc.
· Fruit and vegetables: Pineapple, tomatoes, vegetable etc.
· Livestock and fisheries.
Lastly there large privately owned farms available for lease and outright purchase, and also government agriculture initiatives.
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