Agriculture is one of the lucrative and profitable businesses you can do here in Nigeria. However, Agriculture is a big industry with various niches and areas. Just like other businesses, investing in agriculture requires experience, budgeting and proper planning. With this, you could make lots of losses from your investment.
Despite the oil boom, the agricultural sector was the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. It is still relevant in today’s world as it has produced food for the nation and provided jobs for the unemployed citizenry. Fortunately, the market value of oil took a nosedive and this brought back many visitors into agriculture.
Investment in agriculture is a lucrative one, it is sustainable and it offers profitable returns on your investment. If you are looking for a guide on how to invest in agriculture in Nigeria, we’ll provide you with some basic information to help you get started.
How to invest in Agriculture in Nigeria
Unlike other businesses like automobile or real estate, agriculture doesn’t produce quick profits. All agricultural businesses are long-term investments and as such, it demands patience.
Before investing in agriculture, you need to find the best areas to invest, the crops that are highly demanded, the livestock with market value etc.
The following sectors are great for investing:
1. Crop production
There are lots of potentials in the agricultural sector, you can plant crops for consumption, clothing, feed livestock etc. Investing in crop cultivation is a risky adventure but rewarding. When investing in crop production, also invest in build warehouses and storage facilities to store your crops.
You can also invest in trucks and haulage services to help you supply your farm produce to the market when they are in high demand. Below are some of the crops you can invest in:
Maize.
Sorghum.
Cassava.
Cocoyam.
Yams.
Palm oil.
Coffee.
Cotton.
Millet.
Sesame Seeds.
Soya beans.
Paddy Rice.
2. Animal Production
If you are not interested in cultivating crops, you can breed animals. Animal husbandry and breeding is a good investment which you can start with little capital. Besides, you can start on a small scale by setting up a poultry farm in your backyard. If you have a large investment, you can prepare a structure to breed animals.
You can get a quick return on investment if you invest in goat farming. Goats are suppliers of meat, wool and milk, so breeding goats is a promising investment.
You can also invest in breeding the following animals:
Turkey.
Catfish.
Pigs.
3. Invest In Digital Agricultural Platforms
Thanks to technology, you can invest in a digital agriculture website. You can find lots of agricultural platforms on the internet to invest in. Examples of such platforms are Farmcrowdy, Porkvest, ePoultry.NG, AgroNigeria.NG, PorkMoney.com, EFarms.com.ng, Kobo Farm, Thrive Agric, Farm4Me, Nigeria Farmers Group, Agritech Nigeria. Agrodomain.
In case you intend to invest in a digital Agric platform, ensure that the company or the parent company is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. Also importantly, you can inquire to know if their farms are insured by an insurance company. Read online reviews and visit their websites or office to know more about them.