I have seen many passionate young graduates of agricultural sciences resign to fate and lose hope on their dreams of becoming a self sufficient farmer and employer of labour someday. I have also had the privilege to talk at an orientation program, at the faculty of agriculture in the university I graduated from, where I asked the students why many agric graduates end up doing something else instead of practising, 99% responded it is due to lack of start up capital and no single person mentioned PLAN. There and then, I knew there is a big trouble.

More than 94% of the 98% desiring to be a farmer end up settling for a different career far away from their vision, and by that kiss the world of self sufficiency an eternal good bye.
Like most of the victims, I am often caught up in the worries of this dilemma, so I took my time to study the few successful ones (about 5%). I studied what they do differently and with certain practical on-farm experiences, I am able to come up with the following deductions. It may not be very perfect, but I bet if you are one of the victims or potential victims, you will be guilty of one of the deductions.

The major and most prevalent cause of this menace is lack of a feasible farm/business plan by would-be farmers. Of every 20 willing young farmers, 15 will give you good verbal ideas on successful agribusiness but less than 5 of them can produce a ready working farm plan. To be successful in life, wishes are not enough, we have to be disciplined enough to put our thoughts to words on paper. A farm plan is the foundation and starting point. The plan is what gives potential investors a clear idea of your intention and serve as a guide to executing your ideas.

According to Strive Masiyiwa, a successful business educator, he pointed out that your business plan is as good as your ability to market and sell your products. I understand that the greatest worries and question of many, including myself is “how do I get my farm produce sold”? The good news is that somewhere, someone is desperately in need of that produce in your store and as far as it has to do with what human consumes, you will sell. How?
There are many online marketing platforms that specialize in bringing buyers and sellers together and successful transactions take place. A recent of such platform is KOBOFARM which importantly deals with sales of agricultural products and services strictly and incredibly for FREE!

Furthermore, many young farmers take management and entrepreneurial training for granted. The truth is no matter how experienced you are, irrespective of your farm size, you must have basic management knowledge and give attention to every detail. You must also learn to be innovative-entrepreneur, you must be able to reach out and be abreast with current threats and opportunities in the business or potential business.

The unwillingness to start small is another reason why many do not start anything. Even God recognizes the essence of gradual building when he taught us from the scripture not to despise the days of small beginning. Unfortunately, our generation is one that love to make the already hard life harder for ourselves by bearing unnecessary burdens that is not ours, we also compare ourselves with our colleagues who does white collar jobs without security, and then conclude that starting small is a waste of time forgetting that the most peaceful life to live is in self sufficiency. As a farmer, you must discard that mindset of make it “quick quick”, you must be ready to invest time in building gradually. A perfect time or perfect start up capital will never come. We must be willing to rise through the thick and thin and remain persistent, consistent and patient even in the face of daunting challenges.
Another problem is Loss of ethical values and morals which has led to lack of trust in our community. Amidst this, young people even at university levels invest unwisely. I have seen undergraduates with dull brains using smart phones of between 80–100 thousand naira worth just to see movies and do some unreasonable internet stuffs. What the hell? They spend exorbitantly for parties that will finish in a night, and eventually graduate to begin job hunting. If that phone is not bringing you at least #5000 income a month (directly or indirectly), I bet you need to visit a psychiatrist. Imagine if 5 friends with such devices can raise #100,000 each to set up a poultry/rabbitry business, they will sell eggs to their colleagues and rabbits to final year project students and researchers constantly. Don’t get me wrong here, your parents may be so rich to be able to afford all these, but you must not be prodigal.

Dangote is an example of a young investor from a wealthy home; He is now making a huge difference in his life and setting the pace in Nigeria.
Like every entrepreneur, a would-be farmer must be willing to take risks. Don’t be soaked with the fear of failure; it is fallacy to think everything will be alright. You must be willing to face the realities in other to beat the hurdles. We must strongly and of utmost importance decide if we want to be something or anything. That decision will be our driving force in the storms of uncertainties and fainting hopes. Strives Masiyiwa resigned from a gainful employment at age 26 to start his dream career realizing the most resourceful part of his life should not be used for someone else. I bet you won’t dare to do that.

Having emphasized on the individual factors, it is necessary to note that the government also have roles to play. Resources must be directed and efforts intensified towards empowering and helping the willing young minds to farm. Incentives should be given and soft loans made available.
Also, banks and other financial institutions should be encouraged to lend funds to people in this category at a very fair interest rate.
The problems in this topic are mostly attitudinal and without doubts, a positive change in attitudes can make a lot of differences in providing solutions and our fertile lands can be put to massive productive use once again!

What other causes or suggestions do you have? Comments will be appreciated to help others grow. Thanks


Culled from: https:///hbPP1j
https://medium.com/@Kobofarm/5-causes-of-passion-mortality-of-young-potential-farmers-811ca19c455f#.3tph18s4a