[img][/img]By Ifechukwu Nwobodo-Anyanwu

No one understands more than me the lure of banking, not only for its professionalism but because of the prestige and attractive remuneration that comes with it. Migrating from this employment to another is almost always very hard and is mostly done for higher callings. It is worthy of acclaim then when someone moves from such a highbrow white-collar job to embrace the all-time blue-collar primitive employ of farming.


Ayotomia Yinka Ogunsua is a 29-year-old smart young man from the Southwest region of Nigeria, who got a job after his university education at a Microfinance bank as a loan officer. He was happy with this milestone but little did he know that it would not last for long. He had nursed farming as a hobby before now so when he spotted an online advertisement for a youth agricultural training program, he promptly signed up for it and was selected to interview for a place in the poultry rearing course. It was at this stage that Yinka made a life changing decision and quit his banking job.


In March 2020, Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation, or TAAT, organized a program of the African Development Bank and partners including the CGIAR, a global research partnership. TAAT works to harness high-impact agricultural technologies to boost crop output and create viable opportunities for workers and entrepreneurs. Ogunsua won a place in the course and immediately bought 50 chicks and started a poultry business. This was how the success story of Atop Farms began.


It will be recalled that Yinka’s first attraction to the agricultural course was as a hobby but after the training, he began to see agriculture as a proper business and not just a passion, a means of building an enterprise. The training also gave him the technical know-how to expand his start-up from water, agricultural and environmental services into livestock production. These include rearing turkey, rabbits, goats and venturing into other commodities such as Orange-fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) to generate cash flow and build his agricultural business.
By early 2021, the initial 50 chicks have grown to 500 birds which were sold out during Easter. Yinka admitted to making more money from agribusiness than he did while working as a loan officer in the banking industry.


As head of Atops Farms, Ogunsua does his part to advocate for Nigeria’s agriculture sector, appearing regularly on radio and television programs, and working to change society’s perception of farming as a pastime. He said “If we must satisfy Africa’s food security with our growing population, then there must be high commercialization of agriculture. That is modern farming.”


He has also moved from an employee to an employer of labour in a short period as he now has two support staff and exports his products across Africa and to the United States. Ayotomiwa Yinka Ogunsua could boldly declare that he was better off as a farmer than a banker.