[ad_1]
ABEOKUTA, Nigeria – "Come, I'll show you what a billion dollar looks like," said PJ Okocha, opening the door of a small modern house in southern Nigeria to reveal a thousand seedlings d & # 39; yam.
READ: Nigeria: mbad burial for farmers
"These thousand plants can make three million seeds," he says, with a broad smile.
At only 34, Peter Okocha Junior – also known as the PJ – is a
Okocha has made his way in the transport and logistics sector of his family, then decided to forge his own path.
He identified Nigeria's agricultural sector as a huge potential where it can have the most impact. Today, he is a pioneer in hydroponics.
"I always knew that I wanted to invest in agriculture, but I did not know exactly what I wanted to do," he said at the # 39; AFP. 19659004] "One day, I saw an agricultural researcher on Twitter, I contacted him and said," Hey brother, let's change the world together.
In a few months, their business PS Nutrac was born
Two years later, tens of thousands of yam plants grow without soil, suspended in the water in special greenhouses – a advanced agricultural technique rarely seen in developing countries. 19659004] One afternoon in June, PS Nutrac's young employees formed a group of old local farmers on a new organic yam variety
READ: Nigerian cattle ranchers retaliate after deadly clashes between farmers [19659003] According to Chief Awufe Ademola, over 60 years old and owner of three hectares (3.2 hectares) of land, ex-young people are settling in big cities. "With the average age of the African farmer standing just above 60, it is imperative for the new generation to dive into agriculture," Okocha said.
"Nobody wants to make the conventional standing under the sun and sweat The resulting work, so to combine it with data, technology and automation, makes it more attractive."
Food Challenge
Nigeria, which has more than 180 million people, is under pressure to produce more food. By 2050, it is expected to become the third most populous country in the world.
After the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the 1950s, Nigeria's prosperous agricultural sector experienced a steep decline as successive leaders and investors shifted completely from one direction to another. 19659004] Decades have pbaded and with the collapse of the rail network, agricultural goods now have to be trucked on crumbling roads.
There are not enough storage sheds; those that exist are mostly unrefrigerated, and there are few processing plants.
This means that huge quantities of produce are wasted in a country so fertile that it can grow everything from cashew avocados to maize. Four million tons of citrus fruit are produced each year, according to figures from the United States Department of Agriculture for 2009.
But up to 60% go to waste before you go back to work. to reach end consumers in urban centers.
dollars (270 million euros) concentrated orange per year, the bulk of national consumption.
"Opportunities in agriculture go beyond the imagination," said Buffy Okeke-Ojiudu, a proud owner of a 200-hectare property. "The future billionaires in Nigeria will be people investing in agriculture, technology and renewable energy, which are sectors that can create jobs, not like the oil sector," said the 34- year-old, whose great he was the prime minister of agriculture of Nigeria
Starting from scratch
Making farming profitable is not easy, however
The main problem for businesses is access to bank loans, which attract high rates. Okeke-Ojiudu said: "Access to finance is a big problem," Okeke-Ojiudu added, adding that banks are asking for large amounts of collateral and charging double-digit interest rates for banks. agricultural enterprises.
"Today, people investing in this sector are already rich, already connected."
Okeke-Ojiudu was educated in the United States and England. Seyi Oyenuga also spent most of his life between Chicago and Washington before coming to his father's homeland
three years ago, he changed his life in the construction industry to settle down. in Oyo, southwestern Nigeria. Four hours drive from Okocha farm, women pound dried cbadava along the road
Almost all farms surrounding sleepy villages have been abandoned.
Resumption of Agriculture
But an agricultural revival is taking place at Atman Farm in Oyenuga, where he is busy repairing tractors to plow cbadava fields.
"We must use old-generation tractors Because people here only know how to use them," he says, wearing a John Deere cap, a blue plaid shirt and a keffiyeh around the neck.
Oyenuga learned everything from scratch.
"We learned the hard way," he said, speaking under a relentless sun after repairing the tractor side by side with his staff. , he hopes to plant cbadava on 400 hectares – five times the area of his first crop last year.
It's just the beginning. In the end, he wants to grow 2,000 hectares in 10 years.
"It's really exciting, I was able to do things that I had never imagined or thoughts were possible," he added.
AFP [19659046] [ad_2]
Source link
