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By Faheem Lawal
The Managing Director, Fair Consulting, an agribusiness and finance consulting firm, Dr. Oluwafemi Adejare, has urged students from different schools in Lagos State to take advantage of the billion dollar opportunity in agriculture and get involved in the sector.
He made the call yesterday in Lagos at the grand finale of an event, tagged, ‘AgriQuest’ hosted by Paradise Dynamic Farms Limited.
The event held at the LCCI Conference and Exhibition Centre in Alausa Ikeja, Lagos, attracted students from different schools around Lagos.
Adejare, who was also the guest speaker at the event reiterated his belief that the youth could become very rich through agriculture.
“Some students in the room will become millionaires from agriculture, but the only question is whether they will realise it early enough to act.
“Nigeria’s agriculture sector is valued at over $100 billion, with the African Development Bank projecting a continent-wide trillion-dollar industry by 2030, just four years away,” he stated.
He explained that many Nigerians earn their living through agriculture, and even compared the number of people earning through agriculture in Nigeria to the population of Germany, saying, “Nearly 90 million Nigerians earn their livelihood through agriculture; that’s roughly equivalent to the entire population of Germany.”
He also noted that modern agriculture is data driven, noting that while technology powered drones monitor crops, AI detects plant disease and satellite data predicts planting seasons.
“You can use drones to monitor your crops. You can use mobile apps to predict planting season from satellites and data. You can use solar power irrigations that run through whether there is electric light or not,” he said.
On how much money one can make through refined products, using cassava and cocoa as examples, he said:
“Raw cassava worth N100 per kg can become flour worth N800 per kg; an eightfold increase through processing alone. Cocoa, when processed into chocolate, can multiply 50 times in value.
“Nigeria needs the most money in the post harvesting handling. We lose an estimated N3.5 trillion worth of food every single year to spoilage, poor storage and lack of refrigeration,” he stressed.
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In his closing, he charged the students to project what their involvement will be in 10 years time.
“Ten years from now, Nigeria will still need food. Will you be producing it, processing it, financing it or just consuming it?” he asked.
The organiser of the event and brand director of Paradise Dynamic Farm Limited, Mrs Gloria Robson, in her opening remarks, expressed support for the youths who want to go into agriculture to become successful, stressing that the future of agriculture is in their hands.
“The future of agriculture is in your hands and the world is waiting for your own ideas,” she stated.
She advised them to compete with confidence, learn with humility and most importantly, enjoy every moment. “Agriculture is not just about the soil. It is about solutions. It is about feeding nations, creating wealth, and transforming the community,” she added.
One of the judges of the competition, Mr Alfred Konaughe noted that the purpose of the event was to ignite the passion of farming in the students. He also noted the significance of agriculture in Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP), saying, “The goal is to ignite a passion for farming in students because agriculture accounts for 25 to 30 percent of Nigeria’s GDP.”
He added that young people now prefer law, medicine, and other professions without realising that farming is one of the oldest and greatest professions.
He noted that the event aims to encourage students to embrace farming as a career.
The high point of the event was the AgriQuest competition where students from different schools participated. The competition was for students in junior and senior classes.
In the junior category, Topfield Secondary school came first, with Rosebud High School grabbing the second position, while the third position went to Danson High School.
Also, in the senior category, Fountain Height Secondary School clinched the first position, Angus Secondary School trailing second while Mictec International High School came third.
Dr. Adejare emphasised that agriculture is not just a last resort but a goldmine waiting to be tapped. “With the right knowledge, technology and mindset, Nigeria’s youth have everything they need to turn seeds into millions,” he submitted.
