Agribusiness is the only business in this year that one will invest into and have high return on investment especially in Nigeria. This is so because Government policies on Agriculture will come to play this year. Recent decline in crude oil has prompted a shift to Agriculture and different initiatives to promote Agribusiness at all levels.

Agriculture has gone beyond farming; it is now a business that accommodates lots of players, because of the need for food for human consumption, raw materials for industrial growth and jobs for the growing population of our youths. Agriculture is now seen in different ways, not just to farm to feed the populace but as a business that needs to be transformed into a mega business that will generate income and employment, as well as bring about food security and foreign exchange for the nation.

Agribusiness includes all business enterprises that buy from or sell to farmers. The transaction may involve either a product, a commodity or a service and encompasses items such as (a) productive resources e.g. feed, seed, fertilizers equipment, energy, machinery etc. (b) agricultural commodities e.g. food and fiber etc. (c) facilitative services e.g. credit, insurance marketing, consultancy, storage, processing, transportation, packing, distribution etc.

Agribusiness can also be defined as science and practice of activities with backward and forward linkage related to production, processing, marketing and trade, distribution of raw and processed food, feed, fiber including supply of inputs and service for these activities. In a developing country like Nigeria, agribusiness system with forward and backward linkages consists of the following four major sectors, such as agricultural input, agricultural production, agricultural processing-manufacturing or agro processing,” and agricultural marketing-distribution sector.

These four major sectors act as interrelated parts of a system in which the success of each sector depends, to a large extent, on the proper functioning of the other sectors. Thus, agribusiness is all about how to conduct successful business in the food and agriculture related sectors. It is a business that has many opportunities and gives room to all players to participate at all levels. It is a business you can start at the back of your house, at home or start without capital.

With the coming of departmental stores and plazas, food processing and packaging has become the order of the day. Also, with the increasing number of middle class in the society and the busy nature of house wives, one is sure of making money once you invest into agribusiness both online and offline.

Just like every other business, agribusiness has its own challenges. Such challenges range from man-made to natural. In Nigeria, the land use Act and financing have been the major challenges facing agribusiness until recently when the issue of Fulani Herdsmen became a major challenge. Government policies which are not stable represent another factor to contend with especially for those doing International agribusiness. This has affected the level of participation in agribusiness in Nigeria as a result of which her Ministries, Departments and Agencies need to close rank to address it urgently in other to encourage more people to participate in the business for extra output.

Government policies on Agriculture will be playing out this year especially in the area of grants and Agricultural financing such as the $495.3 million (about 79.2 billion) International Development Association (IDA) Credit to Aid Agricultural Produce in Nigeria; federal government’s N59.7 billion Youth-In-Agriculture Scheme. Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) is a N200 billion Fund established by the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources as a strategic response to the lingering food and energy crisis, grants for cooperative societies, YEAP, FAFINL, NSAP etc.

Retiring into Agribusiness should be encouraged among civil and public servants as this will bring about job creation and food security in Nigeria. With scarcity of dollar and high exchange rates, venturing into agro processing and packaging for local and international markets will boost our economy. Until our products and services have the capacity to satisfy our wants and the international market, the part way out of recession cannot be created.

Source: Leadership