Mr. Olabode Adetoyi is the Managing Director of Hi-Nutrient International Limited, a livestock feeds producing company. He believes the sector holds a lot of prospect for the country, in this interview with MAUREEN IHUA-MADUENYI

How would you assess the growth of the agricultural sector in Nigeria?

In recent times, the sector has been growing and those of us that started investing earlier are now happy that what people were rejecting has become ‘a corner stone.’

It is interesting to see that almost everything government is doing now is towards the growth of agriculture. Those of us in the sector believe that in the next two years, the country would be moving towards self-sufficiency in food production if we continue the way we are going now. There are challenges but we are moving up.

Do you think the sector still needs government intervention?

The most important intervention farmers need now is in the area of processing. After everyone has been encouraged to go into massive cocoa, rubber or maize production for instance, the area of processing is important. There should be an enabling environment for the importation of processing machines at a subsidised rate for processors.

Also, there should be an intervention in the area of agricultural financing. This is very important. If I have 20 acres of land and I have planted tomatoes on it, I need machines to process the products. I cannot use the 25 per cent interest rate being offered by the commercial banks. We need a special intervention in the area of agric financing by bringing out special funds. The Bank of Industry is giving funds but the process of accessing it is still very cumbersome. So the government should look into the area of funding, agro processing and training; we can have an agriculture institution.

The government should invest in agro entrepreneurship training so that people who are leaving the university will have a school that will serve as a base if they want to go into agriculture.

People are lacking the basic skills for farming. If we say the youths should go into farming because of unemployment, do we expect them to go in there without any prior knowledge? So agriculture entrepreneurship training should be encouraged.

We also need machinery; the spare parts have to be there and of course, there should be intervention in the area of energy. Energy is a serious issue because without it, processing cannot be done. I make use of two generators every day. How long are we going to continue this way? These are the areas the government needs to look into but there is a lot of prospect for agriculture in this country; agriculture is the solution to all our challenges. You can see the dwindling oil prices and the finance minister talking about austerity measures. If we invest more in agriculture, oil will only be an additional source of income or revenue to the country. We should go back to the sixties when agriculture was the mainstay.

A large percentage of farmers in the country still engage in subsistence farming, how will these proposed interventions trickle down?

I was recently in a programme where the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adeshina, talked about Machinery Fund. I believe this will be the solution. Although he said it was still being unfolded, I believe it will bring solution to the problem of subsistence farming. He said about 1200 mechanisation centres would be established and what that means is that farmers can approach the centres, make the officials to visit their farms to ascertain what they intend to do, and then bring the machines to work in the farm at a subsidised rate. This is expected to start as early as 2015. So we are still expecting that to start. If the government can do that, it will solve a lot of problems relating to subsistence agriculture.

A lot has been said about organic farming which reduces emission, do you think Nigeria is ripe enough for it?

It is good but I don’t think we need it here. When you look at the way it is done abroad, it is with the belief that most of the things they eat are polluted, especially the genetic modified products. But in Nigeria, most of what we do is even through organic process. It might not be popular in this part of the world for now because we have more than enough arable land we can plant on, so we don’t need such now. There is rain here, so we may not even need it. Those who do it abroad do so because of lack of land. So, the organic agriculture might not really be needed here, it is worth looking at but it shouldn’t be our priority now.

What investment opportunities do you think those who are willing to go into farming should explore?

Investing in maize is attractive now. Intending farmers can go into massive maize production; we need it for human beings and for animal feeds. What we have currently is not enough. This is what is generating a lot of scarcity in the poultry sector. Most food processing companies now make use of maize; so any investor that goes into it now has an already-made market.

I would also advise any intending farmer to try soya bean cultivation, which is a good investment. Cattle farming is also good. Nigeria is growing everyday and a population of over 170 million needs affordable meat. Anytime there is crisis in the North, there is shortage of beef, so farmers can look into massive investment in beef and dairy production.

And of course, you can go into all the aspects of tomato farming, and cocoa too. If we can generate more interest in growing cocoa, we will be able to surpass Ivory Coast and Ghana. Currently, Nigeria is producing close to 400, 000 metric tonnes of cocoa per year, up from 200, 000 to 250, 000 metric tones; so it is a good business. Cocoa has a yearly harvest and it is an international product. Also, investing in agro processing is very good; if one can establish it and buy raw materials from other farmers for processing, it is a good business. The area of transportation of agric produce to urban area is also another good business.

Where do you see the sector in the next few years?

In the next few years, if the Federal Government concentrates on the transformation of the agricultural sector in the areas of crop farming, livestock, poultry and cassava, I see the sector earning foreign exchange for Nigeria. It will make Nigeria another food basket like in the 1960s and we will commence exporting of food again. So I see more economic power and recognition given to Nigeria, if we become self-sufficient in feeding ourselves.

http://www.punchng.com/business/highflyers/govt-investment-in-agric-still-inadequate-adetoyi/