Nigeria’s agriculture sector is brimming with untapped potential, presenting vast opportunities across various domains. With a population exceeding 200 million, the country’s internal market for food and agricultural products is immense, spanning staples like cassava, maize, yams, and rice. This burgeoning population also provides a large, affordable labour force that can drive mass production of cash crops in high demand globally, such as cocoa, oil palm, and cashew. Additionally, Nigeria’s youthful demographic and expansive arable land lay the groundwork for innovative agricultural practices and agribusiness entrepreneurship.
Folusho Olaniyan, an Independent Director of ODU’A Investment Company Ltd. and agribusiness investment and advocacy specialist with 33 years experience, in this interview with Oluwafemi Mayowa Olusola, BusinessDay Opinion Page Editor, delves into the key areas where Nigeria’s agricultural sector is poised for growth and explores how strategic investments and policy support can catalyse a revolution in food security, economic diversification, and rural development. Excerpt:
As a respected expert in the agricultural value chain, could you provide an overview of the key opportunities you see in the different areas of Nigeria’s agriculture sector today?
Nigeria’s agriculture sector offers significant opportunities across various areas, driven by the country’s large population of over 200 million people. This creates demand and a massive internal market for food and agricultural products, particularly staple foods like cassava, maize, yams, and rice. Nigeria’s large population also provides a large and cheap labour force for large-scale farming, enabling mass production of cash crops like cocoa, oil palm, and cashew, which are in high demand in international markets.
Rising urbanisation in Nigeria has shifted dietary preferences towards more processed foods like noodles, tomato puree, powdered milk, bread, etc.
Nigeria’s youthful population, which is 70 percent of the national population, can be tapped into for innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture. With the right policies and support, youth can be massively mobilised. Engage in more agribusiness startups, technology-driven farming, and agro-processing.
Our Arable Land Nigeria is endowed with a total of 80 million hectares of agricultural land, with only 30 million hectares being cultivated. That creates an unutilised potential of almost 60 percent.
The country’s vast arable land means there are opportunities to create jobs through smallholder farming, commercial agriculture, processing, and storage facility management. With our arable land, we can reduce importation by investing more in local production of key staples such as rice, wheat, and poultry.
Rural development and infrastructure expansion
The large population and available land also present an opportunity for rural development. Expanding infrastructure such as roads, storage facilities, and rural energy would reduce post-harvest losses, increase market access, and encourage more farming activities. Improved rural infrastructure will also enhance connectivity between farmers and urban markets, enabling better access to inputs, advisory services, and market information.
These opportunities leverage Nigeria’s demographic and land potential to drive agricultural growth, improve livelihoods, and stimulate economic diversification.
Crop production remains a cornerstone of Nigeria’s agriculture. What specific opportunities exist for new entrants, and what innovations are driving growth in this area?
Nigeria is one of the largest consumers of rice in Africa. Expanding local rice production to meet demand presents a major opportunity.
Maize, cassava, and yam are staples that have high demand domestically and regionally, with opportunities for mechanised farming, value addition, and export. Cash crops like cocoa, oil palm, cashew, and rubber offer substantial export opportunities. Investments in processing facilities and improved farming techniques could drive growth.
Fruits and vegetables (such as tomatoes, peppers, and onions) offer high profitability with year-round demand from local markets and agro-processors.
Specific opportunities for new entrants into the agribusiness terrain include the following:
Nigeria relies heavily on rain-fed agriculture, leaving much of its agricultural potential untapped. Irrigation projects, especially in the northern region, can open up new land for cultivation.
Technologies like drip irrigation and water-harvesting systems present opportunities to optimise water usage, especially in drought-prone areas.
There’s a rising demand for sustainable agricultural practices that promote eco-friendly techniques like crop rotation, agroforestry, and conservation tillage.
Opportunities exist in developing and promoting drought-resistant crops, improving soil management practices, and providing climate information services to help farmers adapt to changing weather patterns.
Bioenergy: Agricultural waste can be used for bioenergy production (e.g., biogas from animal waste, biofuels from crops), presenting opportunities for energy generation in rural communities.
Solar Energy: Solar-powered irrigation systems and storage facilities for agricultural products can address the electricity challenges in rural areas, reducing post-harvest losses.
Training and Education: Providing extension services to educate farmers on modern farming techniques, pest control, and the use of new technologies can boost productivity. As farmers become more business-orientated, demand for consulting on agribusiness strategies, marketing, and financial management is increasing, thereby creating opportunities for agribusiness consulting. These areas offer great potential for investment and innovation, particularly with government policies supporting agricultural development and the increasing involvement of the private sector.
Animal husbandry and aquaculture are becoming increasingly important for food security. How can individuals and businesses tap into the potential in these sectors, especially with the growing demand for protein?
High demand for eggs, chicken meat , and processed poultry products creates opportunities for large-scale poultry farming, processing, and feed production.Demand for chicken meat(broilers) is high particularly in urban centres with lots of restaurants and fast food outlets. Poultry feed production is also an investment opportunity, as feed constitutes the largest cost in poultry farming. Egg production has huge investment potential with Nigeria being one of the largest consumers of eggs in Africa.
There is significant room for development in beef production and dairy farming to reduce reliance on imports and meet growing demand for milk and other dairy products.This creates opportunities for investment in dairy farming.Traditional cattle rearing methods are becoming unsustainable with the economic situation in Nigeria, and climate change. There exists opportunities for investment in feedlots, superior cattle breeding , and beef processing. Smallholder dairy farmers struggle to access markets due to lack of sufficient infrastructure. Investment opportunities exist to increase milk collection centres, cold storage facilities, and transportation. There are also investment opportunities in dairy processing plants,for pasteurised milk, yoghurt , cheese, butter etc.
As wild fish stocks decline, aquaculture provides a viable alternative to meet the rising demand for fish, particularly catfish and tilapia.Investment opportunities exist in catfish and tilapia farming.
Fingerling production: There is significant demand for high quality fish fingerlings in Nigeria, especially for catfish and tilapia farming.Investing in hatcheries to produce and sell fingerlings can be highly profitable as most fish farmers want reliable sources for stocking their ponds.
Commercial fish feed production: One of the largest costs in fish farming is feed, and many farmers rely on imported feed for optimal production.
Genetic improvement: Investing in modern breeding techniques and technology to produce genetically superior fish species for faster growth, and disease resistance; is a growing market opportunity.
Alternative Feed ingredients: Investing in research and development of alternative , cost effective feed ingredients using plant based protein, insect based feed will reduce reliance on traditional fish meal. This is a potential growth area in the sector.
Fish processing plants: There is an increasing need for processing facilities to convert raw fish into value added products for both internal consumption and majorly for export. This will reverse current over dependence on canned sardines, mackerel, fillets etc, and create a forex earning stream for the country . These value additional fish products like fillets, smoked fish, dried fish, frozen fish, have higher profit margins and shelf life.
Aquaponics combines fish farming with hydroponic vegetable farming, using fish waste as a nutrient source for plants. This system is environmentally friendly and efficient, and presents investment opportunities for urban agriculture. There’s potential to invest in small scale aquaponics kits for households or schools, which can be marketed as sustainable food production solutions.
Agro-processing offers significant value addition to raw agricultural products. Can you discuss the current opportunities for investment and job creation in agro-processing, and how stakeholders can get involved.
Opportunities abound in the processing of agricultural products like cassava into flour, garri, and starch; oil palm into palm oil; and cocoa into chocolate. Adding value to raw products increases profitability.
Investing in cold storage, warehouses, and modern packaging solutions helps reduce post-harvest losses, improve marketability, and extend shelf life.
Precision Farming: There is growing interest in the use of technology to improve yields through data-driven farming, irrigation systems, and drone technology.
Agri-fintech: Innovative financial solutions tailored to farmers, such as mobile banking and microloans, help improve access to capital.
Mechanisation: The demand for farm equipment like tractors and harvesters is growing, with opportunities for sales, leasing, and maintenance services.
With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in place, what strategies should Nigerian agripreneurs adopt to access new markets across Africa, and what is your call to action for people from different sectors to join in agriculture.
Attending regional agricultural trade-shows to connect with the major players and markets in the region is a good way of accessing markets.
Modern world class packaging of finished products; with readable barcodes, traceability, and sell-by/ expiry dates compliance is also a good strategy for market penetration and expansion.
Call to action:
“Unlock the Future of Nigeria’s Agriculture- Invest Today for Sustainable Growth and Prosperity.”
Nigeria’s agriculture sector is ripe with opportunities, from its vast arable land and youthful workforce to the growing demand for food and agricultural products. By investing in Nigeria’s agriculture, you not only contribute to national food security and job creation but also tap into a market with boundless potential for growth. Whether it’s crop production, livestock, aquaculture, or agribusiness, the future of Nigeria’s economy lies in agriculture. Seize this moment to make impactful investments that will shape the future of food security, drive innovation, and create wealth across value chains.
Join us in revolutionising Nigeria’s agricultural landscape—let’s cultivate prosperity together! Thank you!
