₦airaland Forum

In 2017, Mr Adesina, by then head of the African Development Bank, was awarded the World Food Prize "for driving change in African agriculture" and "his breakthrough achievements as minister of agriculture".

'We lost 300 farms'

All that progress now seems to be unravelling, with nearly 25 million Nigerians at risk of facing hunger between June and August 2023, according to the UN.

"We've lost about 300 farms," said Stella Thomas, who in 2011, at the age of 32, founded Techni Seeds. Based in the north-western city of Kano, the company applies scientific research to produce quality seeds that it then distributes to thousands of farmers across Nigeria, whose work they supervise from planting to harvesting, to ensure maximum yield.

"We call them 'out growers'. We found out that because most farmers use saved seeds - they recycle their seeds - [then] over time, they don't get enough output. So, we give them the seeds that they use, and we are responsible for ensuring that they do the right thing."

The insecurity has forced hundreds of her "out growers" to drop out of the network of supervised farms.

Mr Williams used to enjoy spending months at a time on his farm, organising barbecues for the farmers at the end of a hard day's work, complete with a stereo and loud music.

He is now in the process of moving his rice production to other West African countries, such as The Gambia and Senegal, which also consume rice in large quantities.

His current calculations show that transportation costs would make it unprofitable for him to supply rice to Nigeria from those countries, and he predicts that the rising food inflation in Nigeria will only get worse - if the government continues to slack in its handling of security.

"If there's no security, there's no agriculture," he said. "It's that's simple."

Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in at the end of last month as the new president taking over from Muhammadu Buhari - and the insecurity is his problem to solve.

"We all have hopes that this issue will be dealt with," said Mr Williams, reflecting on the future, "but we will see."

"There's nowhere else in the world where people require armed security to go to the farm," said Mezuo Nwuneli, the managing partner of Sahel Capital.

His agriculture investment firm is in its ninth year of a 10-year contract to invest $66m (£54m) in the farming sector on behalf of the government and its partners, including the UK government and some Dutch investors.

On one of Sahel Capital's farms, a security officer was killed during a kidnapping attempt.

"They used to be comfortable working till 10pm but because of the attack, they don't feel safe to work late. In other parts of the world, you can run a farm 24/7."

'Green revolution'

Prior to the discovery of crude oil in 1956, Nigeria was known for a long list of cash crops, such as palm oil, cocoa, and groundnuts, but the government's focus on the booming oil sector led to the underdevelopment of non-oil sectors, such as agriculture.

This began to change after Olusegun Obasanjo was elected as president in 1999, and made a push to revive agriculture. His government offered farmers improved irrigation as well as new machinery and crop varieties to help boost agricultural productivity.

However, the magic really began to happen when the subsequent administration in 2010 appointed the sleek, bowtie-wearing, charismatic Akinwumi Adesina, as the minister for agriculture.

"When Adesina was minister, he was able to communicate the opportunities in the sector in a way that was exciting for people," said Mr Nwuneli, a graduate of Harvard Business School, who launched Sahel Capital in 2010 when he was 35 years old.

"Around that time, there was a lot of excitement and interest in the youths and the many people coming into the sector at the same time."

The next few years saw the emergence of many young Nigerian agriculture entrepreneurs, like Mr Williams and Mr Nwuneli, in a period that many reports described as Nigeria's "green revolution".

"We had 20 million youths entering the oversaturated workforce from 1990 to 2010. For us, we are committed to unlocking the power of agriculture and job creation with the goal to create 10 million jobs by 2030," said Kola Masha, another Harvard graduate, who founded Babban Gona, which means "Great Farm" in Hausa, in 2010.

His firm uses innovative technology to help its more than 20,000 smallholder maize farmer members to improve crop yields, reduce the cost of production and increase the sale price.

In our series of letters from African journalists, writer and novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani looks at why some of those key to boosting agricultural output in Africa's most-populous nation are giving up.

Rotimi Williams was seen as one of Nigeria's most successful rice farmers seven years ago, but now the 42-year-old's land stands idle.

The problem: insecurity, which has ground his farms to a halt.

In 2012, Mr Williams left his career as a banker and ventured into agriculture. He was profiled in international media and described as the second-largest producer of rice in Nigeria, with thriving farms across the north.
But the threat to his life and the lives of his workers grew too much.

"There was a time my car was shot at on my way back from the farm," he said. "There were also kidnap attempts."

In the past three years, a sharp rise in insecurity has led to gangs kidnap hundreds of people for ransom in Nigeria, and staff of prosperous agricultural enterprises have been particularly targeted, forcing many farms to abandon or reduce operations.

More than 350 farmers were kidnapped or killed in the 12 months up to June 2022 alone, according to a Nigerian security tracking website.

The majority of attacks took place in the northern region where there is swathes of uncultivated land and some of the country's largest farms.

In January 2022, five people were killed in an exchange of gunfire between security agents and armed gunmen on motorbikes, gang members known locally as "bandits", who attacked the premises of GB Foods, a tomato-processing plant in the north-western state of Kebbi.

When the multi-million-dollar factory, partly funded by the central bank, had launched to great fanfare in 2020, it was described in the media as Nigeria's second-largest food processing plant and included the country's largest tomato farm.

Bandits then tried to kidnap some of the staff. They failed, but the plant has been out of operation since.

Brandiebird:
Damn! So effeminate! You can dish it and talk ill about “average Nigerian women” and this girl and the other, but when someone turns the tables on you, you cry and moan. I think you set such unrealistic standards for women so you can comfort yourself by believing that there are no women that meet your criteria, rather than living with the fear that there’s something wrong with you. Be a man and confront your demons instead of hiding behind unrealistic expectations. We all have demons and fears but the best of us confront them head on.

iInjureHerYansh:
You need game plus you also need to be going out. That's the only way you can meet women. Try to meet as much as possible and keep a few in your rotation. From there you will pick the best and settle down with her. This is why I say you need game cos without game you won't be able to achieve this feat cos this bitches are way too smart lately they always playing games so if you ain't ready then sorry for you.
Now to all the "hustle and make money then girls will come " gang shey una don dey see wetin op is passing through even with his money. Make all of una Deh play.
No go allow desperation make you settle with a damaged goods sha. Good luck

Shortcut2life:
Forget that internet yarn or going out to make friends and s[b]ocialize y’all make it sound so easy and just something that everyone enjoys doing[/b] .. That Nigga enjoys his privacy which I applaud humans are full of bullshit especially when you make yourself accessible to everyone some networking can go wrong and sometimes you end up meeting misery out there .
Having few selected individuals will save you from such stress and please don’t translate financial explorations to looking for a relationships they both differ.

Lexzeey:
I don't know where you got all this thrash from, I didn't insinuate I was the best thing since sliced bread, Green isn't a pretty color on you, I haven't shown any sense of pride on this thread or in person

I have a situation and I'm looking for a solution, how you interpret it is totally upto you, and about being rich, I have nothing to prove to you, I eat what I want, pay my bills, take care of the people dear to me and have a roof over my head, I'm not otedola but I am greatful for my shortcomings and inadequacies and whatever I ever had, so your attempt to make me feel bad failed woefully,

Lexzeey:
I am a hardworking guy, I hustle 24/7, I have no social life, few physical friends, some social media friends, I'm intelligent and I'm attracted to intelligent girls too, it's something I find attractive, and I love traveling alot, especially with a now all I want is something serious, someone to eventually settle down with and I feel the best time to start dating her is now before I clock 30, please I am open to suggestions, what tactics do I need to employ to get a serious girlfriend quickly

[b]all my life I've only dated twice and it's so depressing seeing people with Thier partners and I'm some lonely guy who only cares about work and video games.[/b]

the internet is a crazy place full of deluded individuals, any wise person wouldn't let people like you penetrate Thier skin, you know why? Because you're insignificant and inconsequential, so die on the thread or crawl back to wherever you crawled out of, because I won't indulge you anymore, have a great day sir.

chidifrank:
Dear op, it's okay with what you desire and seek . It's a sinful world and I like that fact that you are trying to at least live a nice life by getting married rather than just fornicating up and down. Just somehow difficult this generation getting such minded gender like you if sex or money spending are not involved to propel it. Some said we should find a truly God fearing lady. Many of them thinks that way too. Good luck Bro. you are not alone

Raalsalghul:
Ordinary 30 years and you're sounding desperate.

38 years folks like us nko still enjoying life and flexing on a low key.

Oga you better chill and stop rushing

Nigerian men and their desperation with marriage self.

garriAndsugar:
An intelligent girl below 30 might not be interested in you.

Lexzeey:
Lol, so in other words it's unrealistic? Why does everyone keep saying this? So being an intelligent girl that is below 30 is so rare that people see it as something special?

Lexzeey:
Then they'll like u because you have money, when money no dey again they'll japa, If it's about money I'll only looking for sex partner not someone to get married to, I can't marry someone who is drawn to my money, I rather die single please.

Jakumo:
You, sir, are a gentleman and a renowned scholar blessed with superb taste and great wisdom which means you will enjoy life to the fullest, all else being equal. There is nothing on God's green earth that sets alight a man's primal desires than the sight of a 23-year-young woman unclipping her bra to reveal Papa God's most breathtaking sculpture in all its irresistible beauty.

The desirability of FIT and TONED women aged 20 to 25 goes far beyond the fact that they just look better with nice full, upward-tilting breasts, firm midriffs, tight buttocks, and silky skin that does NOT hang loosely like that of an elephant. The major difference between the CHARACTER of young and old women is a direct consequence of the HORMONES that course through the bloodstreams of all women as they age.

The two key hormones in question are TESTOSTERONE, the male hormone, and ESTROGEN, the female hormone. As a boy becomes a man, the level of testosterone in his bloodstream gradually rises from age 16 and reaches a peak at age 19, before starting to taper off linearly for the rest of his life. Testosterone deepens a man's voice and increases his AGGRESSION, RISK-TAKING BEHAVIOR, and willingness to be confrontational. These male traits are essential for the battle of life, where the ability of a man to prevail in conflict and competition is VITAL to the survival of the species. By the time a man hits age 40, his testosterone levels have declined significantly, such that his basic character starts to soften to become more FEMININE and passive with each passing year leading towards a man's old age.

Testosterone, that key male hormone, also flows through the veins of WOMEN, gradually increasing in concentration as they age above 30 years, whereby the male traits that enable a man to be a good breadwinner, competitor, and warrior, begin to manifest in WOMEN as well. By middle age, above 40, women become progressively more MALE in demeanor each passing year, displaying aggression, short tempers, deviousness, vengefulness, greed, treachery, jealousy of younger women, and unwillingness to forgive petty grudges, while physically their voices deepen, and their faces become more masculine in appearance, such that many of them cannot be distinguished from men by the time they hit 60 years of age. Estrogen, the female hormone that softens a woman's character and gives her the alluring femininity that is so sexy and completely irresistible to men, DEPLETES gradually after age 30, as it is replaced incrementally by testosterone in the manner described above.

The above biological FACTS are the basis on which the vast majority of men CRAVE the company of under 25 women whose testosterone levels have NOT begun to turn them into honorary members of the MALE gender due to the passage of time. Opposites attract, and men are naturally attracted to feminine women with soft seductive voices, full breasts that defy gravity, toned midriffs, and vaginas that are tight and slippery for sex that drives men wild with desire. While married people may CLAIM to be perfectly happy and blissful in their marital unions, the simple fact is that the men in such unions ALWAYS desire younger women, and will take every opportunity that arises to approach those younger women for sex, regardless of what those men tell their aging wives to pacify them and preserve their marital unions for the sake of their offspring.

Of all the Nigerian married men that I know personally, not ONE of them is without a secretly maintained under-25 girlfriend whose feminine sexiness fulfills all the desires that can no longer be met by his old ball-and-chain wife, who he regards as necessary for rearing children, but singularly undesirable and utterly boring for sex. The above-delineated biology lesson will certainly enrage women over 30 years old, yet there is not a damn thing they can do to change the fundamental evolutionary FACT that men will ALWAYS crave younger women below age 25, just as they have for millennia, and as they most certainly will for the rest of all time. Personally, I have never felt any attraction whatsoever for women outside the age bracket of 20 to 25, and I do not see that preference changing until the day I die. God bless Nigeria.

obembet:
Maybe we should read her story first before we judge her

Nlfpmod

Gerrard59:
In simple terms, Nigeria is not for you as an Igbo person or ethnic minority from the south-south. The earlier you know this, the better for una.


1. As an Igbo person, the bulk of your investment should be outside Nigeria. Tinubu’s administration would deal with Igbos economically, just as Buhari did militarily.

2. Ethnic minorities from other parts of Nigeria, especially the south south and even Northern Christians, should expect strong and in-your-face discrimination during property search, job search and anything official. You would be regarded as an Igbo person. This is more peculiar to Ibibios and Efiks as they look like Igbos. Another close group is the Binis. You should prepare to be denied access to certain places and things because you would be categorised as an Igbo person. You don’t know how to speak Igbo and are not Igbo. In fact, you might even hate Igbos, but whatever ill treatment Igbos face, trust me, you would experience the same.

3. Igbos in Igbo-dominated markets in Lagos should be prepared for the mother of all economic destruction. Computer Village, Ladipo, Alaba and other markets would be converted to other uses by the government, forcefully or otherwise. There would be an increase in fire incidents across major markets, leading to loss of goods and properties. Your investments would be razed down, and no one would rescue you.

4. As an Igbo person residing in the south west, you would be excluded from ALL state and federal government assistance and policies.

5. In the next twenty years, Nigeria would experience another civil war. This time, your properties would not be seized but razed down. Last time, you got 20 pounds. By 2040-2050, one pound or even one kobo, you would not see. Again, as an Igbo person, move your wealth outside Nigeria. Open offshore accounts. [/b]Buy citizenships of other countries. In this case, do it strategically. Don’t buy that of St Nevis but Grenada as it leads to the EB1 visa of the US. Get insured, but this is for the short term. The long-term is offshoring every money you have. [b]Do not put all your wealth, savings and assets in Nigeria. It is better to live with racists in a prosperous place than reside with tribalists in the world’s poverty capital.

Tinubu is coming. Do not say I did not warn you. As usual, there would be some people who would say otherwise, but when it happens, I would always be here to remind you and gloat at you. I am very good at gloating. Ask around.

Lastly, YOU CAN NEVER LOSE BETTING AGAINST NIGERIA. NEVER HAS IT HAPPENED!

kingsceemark:
Ebi like say you be CULT guy? You want to run away from your members right?

jedisco:
This is something I keep pondering on. Many times, many second generational folks I've seen especially in less diverse cities have some identity crises. They're neither here nor there, worse still, they don't have enough numbers or a distinct culture.

Even on this thread, folks using denigrating words for new Nigerian legal immigrants are almost always second generation. Yet they strive to have some 9ja connection cos they want to be seen 'connecting with their roots'

Seems their thinking was their parents belonged to some 'prime stock' of Nigerians that the the white man gave the 'privilege' of immigration. Hence they want to set their own bar for immigrants. Fact is, their parents were just everyday Nigerians e.t.c with some opportunity.

mariahAngel:
Many men of this generation have successfully manipulated women into sharing their responsibilities equally with them, and so many women have fallen into that trap, trying to prove what they need not, thereby, overexerting themselves.

CuriousStudent:
Does one need to study before knowing approaching minors is indecency? Or sending people penis picture is indecency?

You make it seem like it is only when they are abroad they should be cautious. What about here,why can't they decent towards us all?

This is what we women complain of dailybut we are tagged bitter and man hating. @AdvancedDNA like I said in my last post to you, we women may be shameless, but I don't know of any Nigeria woman that goes abroad and disgraces the nation by sexual offence.

RaptorX:
Just another one in the long line of Nigerians going to the UK to do fake masters, this one is certainly an economic migrant not a student.

1Sharon:
Ndi "women are cheap" " team foreign women"

"Nigerian women are trash"


This man doesn't belong in the West. Who gave him a visa?

He doesn't even understand the gravity of what he's done, he's zoned out and looking off into the distance.

solmusdesigns:



Weyrey dey hungry for White kpekus

Na their type they insult Nigerian women on Nairaland


.

Goalnaldo:
He may not have known they are under aged. White people kids grow like agric fowls.

ahiboilandgas:
Good warm weather at no cost ! Low cost of living relative to income , ease of setting new business , more return on investment .prestige, culture , bigger houses (all paid ) zero racism and no glass ceilings. Natural organic food . For electricity we now have over 22 hours daily band A solar cover up for the rest .no student debt (70000 USD) per child, no 40 tax on incomes no inheritance levy no Mass shooting .family values ( state promoting gays and gay bishop) cheap subsided fuel .low debt burden car insurance is just 20k .no property sharing on divorce. Polygamy .community engagement (no invidualism) no old people home to dump me when am old ! no child care bills ( 400 USD per months ) .

womaniser:
We are in the gay pride month of June. See them everywhere. Men wearing mini skirts and shit. Boys in full make up walking like they got no spine.

God help.

ednut1:
yes o. I see them. There is a lgbt neighborhood near my gym self . To me dem be clowns. They are going after kids so they can transition before puberty . As those that transition in old age are ugly looking and ackward . Canada govt is offering 75k dols for anyone trying to transition for surgery. Even white people are complaining but scared of being cancelled. With time people will rise up to this shit

1Sharon:
.

seanwilliam:
I support the bolded. But divorce? Ha, provided there’s no domestic violence and the man is not a womanizer, she should devise other means to tackle the situation.
I’m telling you bro, single mothers are not finding it easy , infact , the stereotype is too much and believe me , she’ll regret 97% chances ( this is not dem say dem say ). Taking such risk doesn’t worth it especially since children are involved, and if God one punish her make her kids be girls .


She is a dumbas marrying him in the first place when she knew he’s irresponsible. This is Nigeria not yankee, she’ll turn a menace in the society if she becomes single mother

qtguru:
What's going on, why are men not hustling like before? Depression?

seanwilliam:
I don’t know if your story is true, but verily I say unto you , if you divorce him , even though I detest irresponsible men, I swear there are 95% chances that you’ll regret it .

Single mothers are finding it hard out here, prepare your puna for general shagging wether u like it or not for crumb . I know this won’t go down well with u and you’ll want to claim “ mrs capable” but trust me, a bird at hand is better than thousands in the bush. Dem go knack u so tey, at some point, you’ll even wish to only bare a man’s surname. And if you genuinely love your kids, single handedly raising them is the greatest disservice you can do to them .

Don’t be fooled by this woke generation .

ednut1:
Insurance stops to cover them, the infections get worse etc. see that one with artificial penis. It cant get erect,it cant hold urine, gets rotten too hahaha

they will still commit suicide.