FRESH DAILY NEWSLETTER 18TH - 25TH AUGUST - FOOD AND HEALTH

Good Day,


I hope this reaches you in good health and happiness. This past weeks have been extremely busy weeks for us. The communities we are delivering to are expanding and our well laid delivery plans would need to be re designed to get maximum efficiency on our end which would translate to less fuel consumption and more off time for my staff. I sincerely apologize to those estates we have not been able to keep to a set delivery dates. I PROMISE WE WOULD BE BETTER. We have been able to sign up a new restaurant in Wuse II . They are called Uncle D's restaurant and wholly dedicated to selling organically grown food, the owner is a chef passionate about food it's worth giving them a try at some point.


During last weeks deliveries I have learnt alot about food and health from some of you. It's always taken for granted that food is the best form of medicine, I dedicate this weeks edition of our newsletter to re-enforce that amongst our community. The rates at which stomach ulcers, high blood pressure and diabetes is been diagnosed amongst us has reached epidemic proportions. BP tablets are been bought like sweets, I met a 22 year old patient in a hospital diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes. He looked healthy and virile as far as my eyes could see by the prognosis was damning. The good news is that since the problem is our food, we can always reverse the trend. Taking time out to plan a proper diet and delve deeper into our food is the best preventive and curative measures we can take. I heard someone say we are the most overfed and yet under-nourished generation and I totally agree. The food we eat needs to have the right nutrients and released properly without exposing us to toxins. Vegetables and fruits are vital to a diet that promotes optimum health. You can find out more about what vegetables are would aid you in claiming back your health from here

Our range of vegetables are expanding thanks to a generous contribution of organic seeds delivered to us by one of our supporters. We now have more rocket salad seeds which by the way Americans call Aragula for some weird reason, more varieties of lettuce, more tomatoes and yellow pepper. Yes we finally have yellow sweet peppers and in a couple of months we would be filling your boxes with an extra burst of sunshine.


Thanks a lot for choosing us and continue claim back your health and food systems. Building sustainable communities and a better world can only be achieved when we have optimum health.

Peace, Love and Blessings

Kabir Onimisi ADEMOH

FRESH DAILY NEWSLETTER 26th July - 2nd August

Good Day To You,


This week I have had various enquiries about if we are planning to OR currently rearing any chickens, are they organic? Local or free range? What my views are on imported frozen chicken and so much more.


Firstly, I find imported frozen chicken distasteful. Its insulting and demoralizing to think that in Abuja alone we have over 3 million birds of various varieties growing under varied methods for a population of just over a million people. That is in simplistic terms, 2 chickens to one individual every week. The capacity to produce birds locally surely should make importation of birds a silly silly idea. We actually don't need the government to place a ban on imported chickens for us, we just all need to say no to chicken pumped full of preservatives transported from thousands of miles away to but this people out of business. Common sense and common will of a people would always defeat an imposed version of reality. If you are not worried about the economic and health reasons, you should be worried about the taste. It takes a lot more effort and spicematics to get your preserved frozen chicken tasting like a bird that has been sourced locally without any preservatives. Why? Because the preservatives keep the birds inert. Immune to intrusion of any foreign particles be it pathogens or your lovely spices. It's a victory for physical sciences but a defeat for the chefs, foodies and culinary experts. Save your spices, save your health and buy your chickens from a poultry you trust. Trust been the keyword.


We at Fresh Daily currently stock just about enough birds for the consumption of my family and a few immediate neighbors. My birds are not organically sourced but are reared organically and semi-intensive. We feed them corn grown on our farm and never use growth hormones or antibiotics. For that reason it has been hard to stick large quantities to include with our weekly vegetable boxes. I have had alot of suggestions from qmonhst our community of running a CSA for the birds. This is where you buy shares on the poultry pen, that goes towards feeding and rearing the chicks and you get your dividends paid off as chickens supplied to your home over a two month period. For example paying #12,000 would yield a return of 10 birds supplied over a 2 month period. We are still working on the plan and would see how viable it would be. It would eventually all boil down to what the collective community of Fresh Daily users decide.

On the vegetable front, it keeps looking greener and redder. The Veronica Tomatoes have ursurped the Eva Tomatoes. Eva got to the end of her harvest cycle so you would notice a fuller, rounder and redder version of tomatos in your vegetable boxes for the next month. Our lettuce has been a resounding success. The mixed pack lettuce has yielded so much colour to our growing tunnel, that Taiwo my head Agronomist and I have become full time selfie-ists.

I hope you all enjoy your vegetables and the rain this week. Keep thinking and living green. We at Fresh Daily wish you health, happiness and blessings. Thank you for choosing us.


Best Regards

Kabir Onimisi ADEMOH

NEWSLETTER 12TH - 19TH July - Touching The Soil

Good Day To You,

Staying in touch with the soil is the surest way to shape our world.
With the fast pace of life nowadays, it's easy to feel like we are been shaped by a world that holds little regard for our dearest opinions. There is more and more of everything giving us less than ever before.

Lucky for you and me, we have found a way to shape our lives, our communities and consequently our world through the most abundant tool available to us - the soil. The soil holds all of our collective history and information. The soil yields us our food and through reconnecting with the farmers and farms that provide our food we get to touch the soil again, appreciate it's beauty, and it's value to our existence.

Farming sustainably and bio-intensively means we respect the soil and try to preserve it's properties. The dangers of our conventional food consumption and production patterns is apparent in the pollution of our soil. We wouldn't need to think outside the box into hydroponics and genetic engineering , if we amend and preserve the soil properly as farmers.
This is not an easy task and at times it's not cheap. Fresh Daily constantly encounters losses because we refuse to use pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones and inorganic fertilizers when manure, composting and careful planning can still produce tasty, healthy crops for our families. We like all other organic farmers have decided to maintain the integrity of the earth we have to grow not bigger but better. So sometimes we would incur loss of crops, some weeks we would have less quantities but always, always you would be guaranteed tasty, healthy food delivered to your door.

The soil is our tool of shaping that world one meal at a time to mirror our own will and beliefs. I hope you enjoy your produce this week and before you rinse your vegetables take a moment to appreciate the soil caked on your delivery.
Wishing you all health, happiness and blessings

Regards

Kabir Onimisi Ademoh

Four Agricultural Fields With Goods Job Prospects

When you hear the word “agriculture,” images of a farmer atop his tractor may come to mind, but there are a slew of other related professions to pursue, from engineering to economics.

Earlier this year, a study led by Purdue University determined that in the next five years there would be close to 60,000 job openings annually in fields related to agriculture, food, the environment, and renewable natural resources. We spoke to three professors at Purdue—a major research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana, which is consistently ranked as having one of the top agricultural sciences programs in the country (and world for that matter)—on which professions are emerging in this field.
Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Agricultural engineers can focus on machine design, design, and processes of getting food produced at the farm to your plate, or environmental challenges working with soil, water, and air, says Bernard Engel, head of Purdue’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. Careers include working for equipment manufactures in the agricultural, forestry, construction, and military industries. On the environmental and natural resources end, there are jobs with various government agencies or consulting firms.

Engel says the all of the programs in his department are in high demand right now. “Many of the advances in agriculture right now are coming in this area. The future looks bright as well, given expectations of even more technology being used in agriculture in the future,” he says in an email.

Biological engineers deal with issues that include food processes, things like making food taste better or making it last longer; and cellular and biomolecular engineering, which concerns “finding better ways to get value from by-products or getting energy from biological materials.” The food industry is a major employer. Engel says there is also a demand in research and development for these graduates, not only in the food and pharmaceutical industries, but also in genetic engineering in plants.

Agricultural Systems Management graduates help make agricultural technology easier to understand and use, says Engel, and students in this area are “highly sought after in careers with machinery, grain handling, and precision technology.”

Soil Science

Students can focus on soil ecology, chemistry, physics, conservation, and soil landscapes—mapping the soil attributes of a certain area—among other fields of study. John Graveel, an agronomy professor and director of the Natural Resources and Environmental Science program at Purdue, says job prospects for soil scientists right now are very strong.

“Soil science students are getting some training in geographical information systems [GIS],” Graveel tells Modern Farmer in a phone interview. (GIS is a computer system that is used for collecting and displaying data as it relates to geographic points on the Earth’s surface.) “It’s hugely in demand right now by consulting firms to have people on staff who know how to do GIS.”

Agricultural Economics

Agricultural economics is the practice of applying economic principles to public and private decisions made in the agricultural sector, explains Kenneth Foster, head of Purdue’s Agricultural Economics Department. The field includes sales and marketing, agribusiness, farm management, policy making, and natural resource and energy economics.

Job prospects are “pretty strong” for graduates in this “heavily data and metric driven” field, Foster says. “We placed 98 percent of our graduates last May by the end of the summer. Well over 100 students got jobs.”

Pro tip: Foster says because we’re entering an era of data-driven decision making, “the students who can position themselves to be strong from an analytical and problem-solving perspective are going to have an edge in the market.”

All three professors agree on what students interested in these fields should be focusing on: math and science. You get a bonus for taking part in extracurricular activities that help build leadership, communication, and organizational skills.

Startups

Finally, let’s not forget the entrepreneurs out there who are tech savvy and like to go it alone. Agricultural technology startups are blooming right now. Last year the industry grew by 170 percent and had more than $2.36 billion in investment, according to the website TechCrunch.

“I think the agricultural tech industry is doing well because it’s been overlooked for awhile. I think that’s really going to change and it’s going to continue to grow,” says Jason Aramburu, founder and CEO of Edyn, a startup that makes a smart watering sensor for crops.


By Andrew Amelinckx for Modern Farmer

Obasanjo and AGRA Cohorts Launch Africa Food Prize

Participants at the just concluded 12th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) in Accra, Ghana have called on the private sector to translate Malabo commitment into bankable business plans that can attract required resources necessary for accelerated implementation.

Former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo with Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) President , Dr. Agnes Kalibata, at the launch of the Africa Food Prize at the just concluded 12th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) in Accra, GhanaFormer Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo with Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) President , Dr. Agnes Kalibata, at the launch of the Africa Food Prize at the just concluded 12th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program Partnership Platform (CAADP PP) in Accra, Ghana The call formed part of the recommendations made at the end of the CAADP PP meeting which focused on, “Innovative financing and Renewed Partnerships to Accelerate the Implementation of CAADP.”

The CAADP PP, brought together over 400 African and global leaders from international organisations, African Governments, including parliamentarians from AU Member States, private agribusiness firms, farmers, NGOs and civil society organizations. The 12th CAADP PP was designed to deliver on the AU Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Africa Agricultural Growth and Transformation and the AU Agenda 2063, through speeding up CAADP implementation as a result of financial innovation and partnerships. Delegates at the meeting underscored the need to innovate so as to address the gaps in the financial products and delivery of financial services. The meeting also highlighted the need to implement the Malabo Declaration with greater coordination across sectors on the continent and within regions. The participants added that development finance policies and efforts exist but the delivery of the development finance services is clearly the weakness. On innovative delivery financial services, participants asked the stakeholders to consider how the digital revolution in financial services could be used to collect the much needed data for planning and risk management.

Participants also called on stakeholders to educate the smallholder farmers and the small and medium enterprises on how to conduct business and improve business skills. On agriculture and food insecurity risk management, it was agreed that stakeholders shall address the quality of data requirement collectively together with the national planning data and financial services to reduce the unit cost of investment, but to also create the opportunity for this investment to be considered as a public good. “Member states shall continue to out in place the necessary infrastructure, building capacity and creating a good environment for the risk management markets to make it more attractive.” One of the key messages from the meeting is the call for a coherent linkage across regional markets that ensure coordination but also address the multi- sectoral dimensions of agriculture and rural development. It was noted that the public sector needs to do the heavy lifting so as to create an attractive environment for the private sector. The meeting also reaffirmed the vital role for agriculture in leading African development and serving as a catalyst for the needs of the youth and women. Speaking during the opening session, African Union Commission (AUC) Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, reiterated that the only way to sustainably deliver on the Heads of State Commitments on Malabo was to, “mobilize our own continental human and financial resources and build strong partnerships for an accountable and efficient implementation of the CAADP Agenda.” She informed the gathering that the Malabo Declaration, in line with Africa’s Agenda 2063, reiterates a call for action and delivery of results and impact and an expedient process of translating the commitments into results. “We have made a tremendous effort to align the global indicators set in the SDGs with those of the 10-year Plan of Agenda 2063 stipulated in the Malabo Declaration and translated into the CAADP Result Framework and Implementation Roadmap. “This will facilitate our Member States to customize both the SDGs and the CAADP-Malabo targets,’’ she said. “Agriculture is proven to reduce poverty 11 times compared to other sectors. Hence my plea to all Member States is to follow through on their 2003 Maputo commitment reiterated in their 2014 Malabo Declaration to invest at least 10 % of their public budget in agriculture.” Tumusiime said renewed partnerships built on mutual accountability would help Governments, the Private Sector, Farmers and Farmers organizations as well as development partners to deliver on results and Impact for a transformed Agriculture and reach the targets set by the CAADP, Malabo Declaration and the SDGs.


Ghanian Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan, said the agricultural sector was of critical importance to stimulate broad economic growth as he called for more enhanced investments from the private sector into agriculture. Speaking during the opening ceremony, the CEO of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, said that agriculture still remains the best sector that offers the continent escape from poverty. He said of all the challenges that Africa faces, agriculture is one that transcends and embraces all the other. “Agriculture, which employs or provides livelihoods to 60% of the population while contributing 20-30% to Africa’s GDP, is the sector that could by itself enable to save the greatest number of Africans from extreme poverty while giving them their dignity back.” Speaking yesterday at the opening of the 12th CAADP PP taking place in Accra, he said regrettably, agriculture attracts less than 5% of lending from financial institutions on the continent, leaving farmers and agricultural enterprises starved of the capital they need to operate and grow their businesses. “Our continent today runs the risk of missing a unique opportunity to develop and offer its youth the jobs it has the obligation to provide if it wants to avoid social implosion. Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki said “Africa can only make it happen if we collectively innovate and collectively agree to account for the resources injected and results and impact that ensue. Indeed, as a continent, with a community of destiny, we cannot afford to invest into our agriculture the same way we have been doing thus far.’’ Dr. Mayaki urged Africa to demonstrate how proactive it is in injecting its own resources into agriculture and to have a more inward looking approach into self-reliance on domestic resources. During the opening ceremony also, Tumusiime chaired a session that saw President. Obasanjo, President Kufour and Dr. Agnes Kalibata, launch the Africa Food Prize.

The Africa Food Prize is a transition from the Yara Prize, Africa’s most prestigious award recognizing outstanding contributions to reducing hunger and poverty. It is also a response to the recommendation by AU Heads of State and Government in their Malabo Declaration to institutionalize a system for peer review that encourages good performance on achievement of progress made in implementing the provisions of the Declaration and to recognize biennially, exemplary performance through awards. Agnes Kalibata, AGRA President disclosed that the US $100,000 accolade will recognize outstanding individuals and institutions that are changing the reality of farming in Africa from a struggle to survive to a business that thrives. “Winners will be selected by a panel of independent and distinguished leaders in African agriculture chaired by President H.E Obasanjo. “The Africa Food Prize will shine a bright spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to help millions of smallholder farmers deliver a new era of sustainable food security and economic opportunity. “We encourage you to embrace this opportunity to honour the best and brightest in African agriculture by nominating candidates for the Africa Food Prize who are dedicated to putting smallholder farmers at the centre of Africans growing economies.”

By Babatunde Jimoh

Fulani, Falae and The Oldest Battle

I read with alarm and sadness that Fulani's have attacked the farm premises of Olu Falae in the Obaile residence of the elder statesman and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

According to Premium Times, about 10 Fulani herdsmen also attacked the farm of Falae, on Sunday, taking one of the security guards at the residence hostage. The security guard was later found dead on Thursday. His body was discovered by the police in a pool of water some miles away from Falae farm.

The matter was said to have been handled quietly by the police on the behest of the Falae family. The family reportedly deserted their house for fear that they will be attacked again. It would be recalled that the former SGF was last year kidnapped by some Fulani herdsmen, who are currently facing criminal prosecution for the abduction. Falae was, however, released by his abductors after paying N5 million ransom.

This constant battle between rogue Fulani men and farmers have been on the increase across the country. The whole of Plateau state and Benue are used to the constant battle between farmers and Fulani men. This has become a major problem that needs to be addressed by our policy makers. The agriculture community are aware of the importance of these nomads to our economy as intensive rearing of cattle are still above the level of sophistication displayed by most farms in Nigeria at the moment and with such large mass of land unused, that makes for perfect grazing grounds.

The problem is that Nigeria's grazing reserves have been systematically depleted or allocated to large corporations to use as farming lands. This combined with the rise in cattle rustling in the past years have made the Fulani's feel aggrieved and create a level of tension.

The Ministry of Agriculture would do the nation a massive favor in its push towards delivering milk to school students if we made the cattle and dairy industry an efficient entity. Grazing lands are a non-negotiable. Planting resistance and nutrient rich grazing plants like the alfalfa plant across vast grazing lands across the country would definitely help in sequestering the movements of these Fulani herdsmen. The battle between settlers and nomads is the oldest fight known to man. it can run deep and bloody so should not be ignored for much longer by the government. We need policies implemented to handle this situation.

My sympathies goes to those that were harmed or lost their lives during the attack on Chief Olu Falae's farm and hope the police would speedily conclude their investigations.

Have a good day.

KOA

Meet The Next Generation of Farmers In Abuja

More young people are interested in Agriculture than ever before due to a combination of factors. These young individuals are passionate and knowledgeable about current Agricultural practises. They are able to fuse their knowledge of the global economics with the immediate need of Nigerian farming and economy.

The images below are from Fish Farming cluster in ABUJA. Run by young individuals with a exciting new ideas for Farming.
I salute your efforts!

CATCHING THEM YOUNG. A YOUNG FARMER'S EXPERIENCE

For Africa and Nigeria in particular there is the looming threat of food insecurity. Arable lands are dwindling, climate change is taking a toll on agricultural practices,the farming population is aging and going extinct, famine is ravaging the Horn of Africa. This should be of urgent concern to all stakeholders and getting young persons to invest in or practice agriculture is a way of translating the threats to opportunities.

Agriculture is not exactly attractive. Drudgery occasioned by crude methods, low profitability of agricultural products, difficulty in accessing agro-markets among others are factors conspiring to discourage young people from Agriculture. Besides among young people including me, there is the wide-spreading mentality of “making it big” and practicing agriculture rarely guarantees that…only with telescopic sights could one see the money-spinning potential. In spite of these glaring challenges, I think young persons can still be steered to develop interest in agriculture. One effective means of doing that is making the subject Agricultural Science as practical as possible in secondary schools.In secondary schools all over Nigeria students offer Agricultural Science for six years as part of the curriculum but much of this is geared towards theory – memorizing the concepts and duplicating them in exams. This in my opinion barely encourages the practice of the subject. I recall in my first year in high school as part of our Agricultural Science activities we were divided into groups and asked to provide seeds, plant them on allotted pieces of land, weed the farm and even do the harvesting of our plants for our consumption. So we had a small school farm for the class and my group planted groundnuts. Although at that age I was already a practicing farmer those practical sessions further cemented my interest in agriculture.

That farm for me was like a personal investment – one to be treated with utmost diligence. Participating in those agricultural activities were simply exciting to most of the students in my group. Off the record though, when it came to the harvesting we were not invited, I guess the Agricultural Science teacher and his family did that at night. Even though I felt gypped of the expected harvest, the experience was still an empowering one.Only recently during my youth service some students came to the staff room with various vegetables. So much so that you would think the Agricultural Science teacher had taken to petty trading of the leaves. The vegetables were from the class farm, cultivated by students. Well, this particular teacher was not like mine, she merely took a fraction and let whoever wanted to share in the harvest take a share, including the students. I thought that was a nice approach to learn Agricultural Science – practice the parts that are feasible rather than merely feed students with notes upon notes.Students who participated in nurturing the class farm above are bound to appreciate the subject more and even become stakeholders in agriculture whether they decide to study agriculture as a discipline or not. Letting them partake in the “fruits of their labor” is also a means to encourage students to grow into practicing agriculturalists.

Many Nigerian schools can inculcate the approach of building a school farm, no matter how small, a nursery even. Let students practice the concepts of harrowing, ploughing, tilling, planting, weeding, manure production and application, harvesting and most importantly “reaping the fruits of their labor”. Some schools can as well afford to have a small poultry farm and have student groups take turns to tend to the birds. The cost of such a class project can easily be shared by the students in a particular group.There is no doubt that farming is not exactly that “sexy” job most young people want to practice. And most people will only read agriculture when they have been denied Veterinary Medicine or some other “sexy” course choice. But in truth, we really don’t have to read Animal Production or Crop Production to engage in agriculture. Sometimes all we need is to see the opportunities and the needs and invest our resources in the field. For Africa and Nigeria the food insecurity threat is just enough incentive to seize the opportunities of a largely untapped sector. Making Agricultural Science truly engaging in a practical way at the secondary school level is an effective way of catching the needed farmers young.


Anthony Itodo Samuel
rutherford2forlife@yhoo.com

He is a graduate of Petroleum Engineering from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. From a tender age he has been involved with agriculture, growing up in an agrarian family. By the age of 14 he had his own small poultry and a sesame seed farm. You can read more of his works on http://poeticfarmer.wordpress.com/

How To Fund Your Small Farm Business Start-Up

The sceptics have been quick to point out to me that growing food is a relatively cheap thing to do. Farming is part of the Africans DNA, it is our culture, and it is in our history - Just throw some seeds in the soil, add water and watch the plants sprout. It is that simple.
But growing food commercially to feed hundreds or thousands of people isn’t cheap. Farming is expensive. Tractors cost millions of naira, barns don’t build themselves, personnel require high salaries to keep them motivated and you can’t grow marketing materials. Like any business, starting a farm from scratch takes resources. Agro-entrepreneurship is neither cheap nor easy but it is extremely fulfilling and profitable.
For young people venturing into agro-entrepreneurship, finding money to pay for those resources can be difficult, even impossible. Traditionally, farmers have had far fewer lending options available to them compared to other areas of the economy. Obtaining a loan from the bank or other financial institutions has historically required documented farming experience and lots of collateral (typically large expanse of lands). Agricultural loans from commercial banks or farm credit agencies were aimed towards giant agricultural corporations, and haven’t taken young farmer seriously in the past. This are part of the problems limiting youths floating more agro-enterprises start-up.
In the vacuum created by these barriers, the government and various non-profits and business people have stepped in to try and ensure a future for young farmers with creative new funding models to help solve these problems

Here are a few ideas for raising funds for establishing a small farm business.

1. Bring In Your Rich Friend, Family

In an industrial agricultural system set up to feed billions of people and grow profit for shareholders, small-scale farmers don’t stand a chance raising the much needed capital to set up an efficient enterprise. The equipments and processes need to be put in place requires money. Hard cash, which most small scale farmers don’t have a lot off ( nor do the youths being encouraged to take up farming as an option to unemployment) is needed. Involving your rich friends or family is the traditional way of starting a fundraiser for a business idea. Agriculture is no different. It is true that most rich people would rather not engage in farming due to the general stigma towards farming as a poor person’s survival technique but most rich folks would invest in farming business if you have a concrete business plan clearly stating the return in investment. Forget the fear of your idea being stolen by a wealthier, greedier friend. Agriculture is not such a novel idea and some would rather die than do the work. It is okay, that’s why you are an entrepreneur. As the saying goes; man must chop! Therefore food business is always good business.



2. Reach Out To Rural Leaders

A decade ago, in Abuja a choice plot of land could be obtained from a traditional ruler in your area if he deems you worthy. Be it through honest service to the community, underhand payments, marrying his daughter, putting his sons through school or just about any act to get yourself in his or her good books. These powers to allocate land at will have been taken away by AGIS for a more modern system of land allocation fitting for a 21st century city that Abuja aims to be. That is all prim and proper, but these traditional leaders of rural communities still control and own vast expanse of lands which most of them are left unpopulated and uncultivated. While Abuja is going ultra-modern, majority of the country is still ruled by rural leaders with the power to allocate lands. It is worthy to always remember as an educated young person in the city searching for opportunities that big population is big business and majority of Nigerians live in rural communities. Reaching out to these leaders can be a genuine opportunity to own a piece of land to start your farm business, plus they also control large amounts of human resources. Empowering a traditional ruler in rural areas through setting up agro-enterprises under their watch can boost their popularity amongst their subjects and help create opportunities for the community and what is more you get to make start your business with the two key resources needed for agriculture – land and labour.

3. Connect With Other Would-Be Farmers and Set-up a Co-operative

Self - preservation is the first law of nature. Networking and meeting up with like -minded individuals who are looking to start a farm biz is vital. Joining a co-operative is an innovative way of sourcing for funds and there are various interesting groups out there helping to build their own vision and enterprises. These co-operatives operate varying financial models which could help you start plus applying for a loan as a group also increases your chances of convincing the banks and loan institutions

4. Apply For Fund/Grants/Loans Specifically Aimed At Farmers

A major downside to taking loans from financial institutions are the high interest rates incurred from taking these monies they offer. This is slowly being overcome as the government and various agencies and organizations are beginning to realize the potential of agricultural business and its importance to prosperity. There are specific loans aimed at funding young people. The Bank of Agriculture has been active, National Export Import (NEXIM) Bank, and various Microfinance Banks have loans specifically tailored to the peculiar business of agriculture. Take the bold step and speak to one of these organizations you had be genuinely surprised. Those involved in National Youth Service Corp (NYSC ) can speak to their CDS officials and find out about non interest loans available to them. For a global approach, there are crowd funding websites like AgFunder that can help your kick-starter campaign.

Explaining The Basics Of The GES scheme

On the 13th of May 2013, the Agriculture and Rural Development department of FCTA -Abuja initiated this years Grow Enhancement Support scheme popularly known as GES. I have been monitoring the process by visiting the centres with with the rest of the team, as part of our research. This has led to a stream of messages from interested NGOs, young farmers, software developers and technerds interested in the scheme for varying reasons. I have therefore hurriedly put together an overview of the process. I hope you find this useful.

A schematic explanation of the processes for the current subsidized agro inputs sales under the GES scheme operated by the Federal Government.

The Growth Enhancement Support Scheme is the governments scheme aimed at
•Improving agriculture productivity and food security
•Reducing cost of Agro-Inputs delivery to farmers by ensuring transparency and efficiency The program is funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria, IFDC and USAID.

Operationals 

E-wallets : A voucher in a text format recieved on a mobile phone by registered farmer that entitles the bearer of the text access to buying discounted inputs ( fertilizers, seeds and chemicals) for a limited period of time. The farmer therefore buys inputs directly from independent agro dealers who verify they are registered farmers with the government and have recieved a voucher on their "e-wallet". Note that the mobile device used becomes the wallet which should contain the voucher (sms) that allows you to buy at 50% discount.

Agro-Dealers : They are registered dealers with the government after fulfilling a set of requirements. Approximately 2-3 dealers in each Area Council

Eligible Farmers : These are farmers who have registered under the on going farmer registration exercise. The mobile phine numbers of this farmers are obtained and stored in the database and used as the raw data for developing the e-wallet. Their farms should be smaller than 3 hectares Passport photographs 18 and above. At each Agro dealers shop, the government has an agent stationed by the sales point, with helpline staff from the communication provider (Cellulant) along with monitoring teams from interested and involved NGOs.

• Farmers that recieve a voucher in their e-wallet arrive at the centre 
• The codes that make up the voucher is presented to agro dealer 
• Helpline staff teach farmers how to redeem their inputs by texting their voucher number to a specific code e.g. text voucher number to 437 (MTN) 438 (Etisalat) etc. 
• Farmer sends his voucher through text message and agrodealer gets alerted via text message 
• The message authorizes agrodealer to sell inputs 
• Agrodealer sends back text message to confirm sales and update database of how many farmers attended to. 
• Verification call back or text back is carried out by Cellulant to the dealer and the phon of the government agent stationed st the centre 
• Farmer pays money to dealer and claims his inputs

Explaining Colour Codes of Arrows Green arrows denote permission to carry out command Yellow arrows are seeking permission/purchase Amber colours are for confirming verification Blue is for close seal for transactions. 

Do you think you have a brilliant and innovative idea or software thst can improve this process ? Get in touch with us.

Courtesy of Kabir Onimisi Ademoh
Youth Agro Entrepreneur Communication Officer
Email: k.o.ademoh@gmail.com
Twitter @onimsiwordsmith

Snail Farming In Nigeria (THY Consultancy)

Nigeria's economic recovery programmes have necessitated a radical shift from total dependence on government for job to self-employment. One such attractive area for self-employment is snail rearing. It is a great money-spinning business that can provide a substantial source of protein to complement Nigerian carbohydrate meals. Sadly Nigerians inclination to go into business in the fields where thousands have already made their fortune has led to the ulter neglect of such lucrative area of snail farming in Nigeria or export at international market. You see snails stick to a tree stump, hide under stones or leaves, what impression do you have of them? When you see them displayed in the market places, do you view them as one of those edible animals meant for the soup pot? Many people see snails here and there. Some people take it as meat. But quite a number don't know how to go about rearing them. This is made worse because snails, which belong to the family of animal called MOLLUSCA, is an hermaphrodite. It has both the female and male sexual organs; so one cannot really distinguish between the male and female specie of it.

Many who are into snail farming in Nigeria are also unwilling to let others know about the farming methodology. The techniques are often shrouded in secrecy. But the plain truth is that snail farming is as easy as ABC. The only thing the snails may constantly demand from you is your attention and care. They hardly fall sick. You don't have to buy their food and you may not have to spend much to create an abode for them. The beauty of it all is that the snails reproduce rapidly. They are capable of producing hundreds of eggs, which hatch into snails. It is now possible to produce 1,000,000 snails worth more than N5 million twice a year.

This lucrative figures are made possible because of the availability of very highly prolific ACHATINA ACHATINA species of snails, which lay 200-400 in one batch 2-3 times a year in Nigeria.

HUGE INCOME EARNING OPPORTUNITY

One of the Personnal Entrepreneurial Characteristic (PEC) that makes a big different between a successful entrepreneur and an unsuccessful one is opportunity seeking. That is seeking, recognizing and acting on new business opportunities. This is the use of contacts or networking to obtain useful information. It is in view of the above fact that, we at THE THY CONSULTING are introducing this wonderful opportunity to you. This is golden opportunity that will enable readers to create for themselves, the targets and lofty goals for huge success.

In order to assist a lot of Nigerians to tap into this highly lucrative venture, our organization, THE THY CONSULTING, has written a manual titled "THE BEAUTY OF SNAIL FARMING",and also produced a VCD on PRACTICAL COMMERCIAL SNAIL BREEDING IN NIGERIA, to enable them know all the techniques and secrets of commercial snail farming. Our organization has spent huge money, time and efforts to acquire valuable information through attending seminars, conferences, surfing Internet and researches on how to set up commercial snail farming successfully. All necessary, compressive and step by step guide on how to embark on the business and make huge financial success from it as we are currently enjoying; are contained in the well researched manual on "THE BEAUTY OF SNAIL FARMING." and the VCD on PRACTICAL COMMERCIAL SNAIL BREEDING IN NIGERIA.

If you are interested in obtaining this manual, please contact me at
THE THY CONSULTING
4, Ismail AbdulAzeez Street, Singer Bus Stop, Ewupe-Ijaniye, Sango Ota, Ogun State.
Tel: 08023050835 ask for Ismail AbdulAzeez or Kabirat AbdulAzeez.
E-mail:the_thy2002@yahoo.co.uk

Wrtitten by By Ismail AbdulAzeez

Today's Hunger and Tommorow's Food

The food of the future are being discussed and designed while most are still wondering about todays food. The recent troubles of the global seeds giants Mosanto, against the backlash of popular opinion mainly powered by campaigns ochestrated over social networks (facebook, avaaz, twitter, etc) served as a reminder of unresolved debates about food and intellectual property patents and by a further stretch -organic agricultural methods vs conventional farming methods. 

A shift in policy emphasizing on re-investment and revamping of the agricultural sector has been noticed globally. "Food security" has slowly crept into the discourse of sustainability, climate change and the future ecomomy. The need for crops and livestock that can adapt to climatic changes and adverse conditions have gained prime importance amongst the first world economies. The developing economies, still battling hunger, poverty and unemployment face an uneviable task of proffering solutions for todays poor and ensuring the security of tommorow's food. Raising productivity of farmers in an emerging economies like ours is one way of reducing hunger, but that is just one head of the beast. Hunger is caused by poverty and inequality and definitely not due to lack of food. The world already produces enough to feed 10 billion people (the forecast for global population by 2050) but most of that population can't afford to buy this food. The reality is, most farmers live below the poverty lines. Combating hunger would require policies to foremostly address the conditions that ensure poverty amongst over 70% of our population. Access to sizeable plots of land for cultivation, financial facilities tailored to the peculiar needs of farmers, proper training and education are practical ways to reducing poverty and improving the quality of life of farmers.

The allusion that genetically selected or modified food is a ready made solution to overcoming the issues of food security is unfounded and probably wrong. The possibility that the crops our poor farmers would use in future are being patented today is extremely worrisome, this could go a long way in controlling the price and demands of tommorows food. Recently a news report in The Guardian annouced bodly :" The future wellbeing of millions of Africans may rest in the unlikely hands of a vegan hippy scientist working for a sweet company who plans to map and then give away the genetic data of 100 traditional crops"

These crops include yam, cassava and cocoa. The man of the moment : Howard-Yana Shapiro described rather poetically as "The Hippy from Mars". Since he joined Mars (Yes! the multibillion dollar sweets and chocolate factory), Shapiro has been credited with making the company go sustainable. Based on his influence as the Director Of Agriculture for Mars, the company announced it would "contribute $10m to a project to map the cacao tree genome and publish it for free to speed up the development of quicker-growing and more resilient varieties." The only snag to projects like these, is that while its a laudable step to include Yams, Cassava and other tropical crops that are not of interest to the other seed and food corporations, the main motivation for Mars is quite apparent - a steady supply of cocoa. While over three fourth of the world's cocoa is produced in Africa (mainly Ghana and Ivory Coast), the final products i.e. coffee, chocolate bars and beverages are consumed mainly by the first world economies. Those who can afford this products and actively purchase them represent quaint outliers of the overall populations here.

Decoding these 'orphan crop' genomes could make a huge difference to the national and global economy, saving millions of lives in Africa from poverty would require concerted investments on Agricultural training and developing an entrepreneurial approach towards agriculture. It is only then we can begin to influence the R&D departments that are churning out tommorow's food. It is only then we can assure today's food.

“Where Is My Food Coming From” Agro-Entrepreneurship and Youth Unemployment In Nigeria

Nigeria is home to the largest African population on the continent, with a vast majority of its population been classified as young people (0-35) . As youth unemployment rises and an increase in numbers of young people migrating to cities continues, infrastructure is being strained; this is most evident in Lagos (former country’s capital). According to one report, Lagos is the second fastest growing city in Africa and seventh in the world.

Government initiatives and aides cannot meet the demands placed on roads, sanitation, education, health facilities and employment in the urban setting. General agricultural performance within the country is dismal, forcing the youth to leave the fields in search of stable employment in populated cities. This situation is contributing to a generation of youth dysfunction and disorientation (Adeyemi, 2012).

The majority of Nigerian youth are neither interested in farming nor in agricultural professions. The inability to attain an agricultural “revolution” or increase the desire of youth to take up agriculture is created by the continued rural-urban migration that has been taking place over the last few decades. Employment opportunities for youth continue to decline, but expansion of the agricultural sector will bring major improvements.

The Youth Agro Entrepreneurs (YAE) is a social enterprise incubator that aims to rebrand farming as a viable profession for a new generation of farmers by teaching Agricultural practices and business skills required to support the development of a sustainable agricultural enterprise.

In a study conducted by YAE, it was established that youths in Nigeria are eager to secure employment in this sector, but they need to be assured that agriculture can be a better means of earning money. The report explores the current climate of the agricultural industry and why agriculture has become unattractive for young people who are leaving school.

Agricultural training has to be revamped not only to make food available to millions of poor and hungry people, but also to create opportunities for youth to produce cash crops for local and international markets.

There is tremendous deficiency in youth employment engagement initiatives, as well as a crippled agricultural industry. Addressing the deficiencies will be a huge feat. However, with innovative, creative, and meaningful decisions by leaders, advocates, and policy-makers, the nation can begin to provide the necessary training, tools, incentives, and information to motivate the youth to participate in a viable and productive industry—agriculture.

“Where Is My Food Coming From” is a poetry/video fusion by Spoken Word poet, Onimisi “Wordsmith” Ademoh aimed at drawing the attention of the public to an important discussion which would help shape the policies and future of these sector of our emerging economy.


Like on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/YouthAgroEntrepreneurs
Connect on twitter @youthagroent
youthagroentrepreneurs@live.co.uk
youthagroent@gmail.com

ONIMISI
onimisi.wordsmith@gmail.com
http://www.onimisi.com
onimsiwordsmith@twitter

Written & Performed by Onimisi
Directed & Edited by Benedict Raja Obazele
Sound Engineering by Stephen Ameh Jnr
Photography by Blaize Itodo
Make Up by Grace Eno Egbo-Egbo
Executive Prodcuer & Sponsors : Youth Agro Entrepreneurs.

TIPS FOR BUILDING SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISES

This article deals with some basic principles and approaches required in building sustainable enterprises. A quick survey of Nigerian youths would show a high push towards entrepreneurship. Varying theories and reasons have been put forward to explain this trend, while it still remains unclear if these push towards building enterprises are as a result of lack of readily available jobs or an innate character of the average Nigerian youth, the need to create sustainable enterprises cannot be over emphasized in lieu of the current global economic conditions. 

A Youth Agro-entrepreneur must incorporate the model of sustainability into their personal life – thoughts, beliefs and motivation for it to be successfully reflected in their enterprise. 

Below are some basic bullet points from a lecture with a sustainable farming expert Father Godfrey Nzamujo attended by members of the Youth Agro Entrepreneurs at the Songhai Farm Porto Novo site, Benin Republic.

• An enterprise is all about “People who make things happen” – people who are capable of mobilising, inventing and creating.

1. Enterprises are created, grow or die because of people. 
2. An entrepreneur is a person who wants to make money or fame by harnessing the opportunity sets around him/her to satisfy the needs and desires of different social groups.

An enterprise is driven forward by its human resources, the technology it chooses to employ to fulfill the Needs and Desires of its Clients through the Products and Services it offers.

Entrepreneur – Leader – Manager

Who Is An Entrepreneur?

• A person who has a reasonable understanding of his future clients (customers) or their present needs and desires – also their latent needs and desires
• A person who has a reasonable knowledge of how to procure any sets of goods and services corresponding to the needs of a set of a social group.
• He/she has an unyielding drive to bring those goods and services to his clients the fastest way possible
• at the cheapest price possible
• of the best possible quality
• in a sufficient quantity and
• on demand.

A key to building great enterprises lies in the Leader and Manager level personnel as well as a dedicated and happy work force.

Sustainability cannot be imposed on a an enterprise, but instead should be built into the culture of the enterprise from the very on-set.

Young Agro-Entrepreneurs need to strive in attaining Level 5 Manager/Leader qualities to drive and inspire your team.

The concept of level 5 managers/leadership traits are

Level I :

Highly capable individual makes productive contributions through talent, knowledge, skills and good work habits

Level II :

Contributing team manager would typically be able to contribute individual capabilities to the achievement of group objectives and works effectively with others in a group setting.

Level III :

Competent manager organizes people and resources toward the effective and efficient pursuit of predetermined objectives.

Level IV :

Effective leader level traits are those who can catalyze commitment to the project and vigorous pursuit of a clear and compelling vision stimulating higher performance standards.

Level V :

The Executive Leader builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. The Level 5 leaders channel their ego away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious – but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.

In a nutshell,

Humility + will = Level 5

Level 5 leaders are a study in duality: modest and willful, humble and fearless.

Nigerian Government to Create 700,000 jobs through Agro-Entrepreneurship

The Nigerian Government is set to launch a Youth Agricultural programme that would create 700,000 new jobs in the economy. Mimicking the model of the proposed Youth Agro Entrepreneurs training centres, the Federal government aims to invest in building centres across the federation that would train young farmers on the needed set of skills to start up as entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector.

The Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Adesina confirmed this at a press conference at Akure, Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) ceremony where he stated that commercialization of the farming sector is key to developing a stronger economy. This developments surely highlights the hope of many organization s and individuals interested in agro-business across the nation.

Surveys carried out by our teams in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja amongst 304 young person(s) showed a strong interest in attending and taking part in such trainjng programmes, to learn how to run profitable and sustainable farm enterprises that would match up with the global agricultural standards and help in playing a part in assuring food security for the country and the region.

Click here to read more on the Minister's declarations.

SMARTPHONES AND RURAL FARMING IN NIGERIA - A Brief Overview

Entering the age of smartphones and mobile applications, a strong demand for collaborative and communal productivity tools has been noticed in many areas of the global economy and the agricultural sector (particularly rural farming ) is the latest to join the trend.

This report is a summary of the key findings by Youth Agro-Entrepreneur (YAE) investigators while reveiwing the usage of smartphones in rural farming in Nigeria. The Youth Agro Entrepreneur is a social enterprise incubator that seeks to rebrand farming as a sustainable and profitable profession for the youth.

The use of mobile phone technologies in boosting the activities of the rural farmer, has gained widespread recognition and acceptance due to the numerous practical advantages it proffers. A few of the popularly reported use of mobile phones are:

• Coordinating access to agricultural inputs, 
• Obtaining vital market information 
• Monitoring financial transactions 
• Consultation with experts for advice 
• Seeking agriculture emergency assistance 

While these might seem like a list of the obvious to an informed few, a vast majority of people quizzed on the importance of mobile phone technology to the average rural farmer in Nigeria by our team, were convinced of its irrelevance. On further investigations the raw data disproved this. There was a clear gap between the perceived needs of a 21st century rural farmer and their actual needs. A survey of over 15,000 rural farmers in the Federal Capital Territory, highlighted the demand for mobile phones which can perform functions peculiar to the farm, with 58% of those questioned willing to pay for these devices if they were available.

Mobile phones have been found to help improve the productivity of individuals and organizations within resource-constrained environments due to increased efficiency, effectiveness, and reach (Burrell, 2008; Hudson, 2006; Saunders et al., 1994) A study of farmers in two districts of Kenya carried out in 2007 recorded the use of the mobile phone for the identification and management of livestock diseases, and for co-coordinating greater attendance and participation in organization meetings (FARM-Africa, 2007) while in Uganda, dairy farmers have employed broadcast information obtained via short message services (SMS) to help co-ordinate the supply of dairy produce in tune with market trends and confirmation from potential buyers, thereby increasing their efficiency. (Karamagi &Nalumansi et al 2009). This is indicative of successful uptake of the technology by the target market.

The rapid uptake and popularity of mobile applications by rural farmers have led to development of unique and innovative approaches to using these applications in solving some salient issues faced by farmers. Literature review reveals some innovative examples:

• Storing agricultural information in the mobile phone (e.g., storing market prices in the mobile phone calendar);
• Using the speakerphone function of the mobile phone for group conferencing
• Receiving market prices through SMS

(adapted from Burrell, 2008; FARA, 2009; Mittal, Gandhi, & Tripathi,2009)

Since the 13th of May, the YAE investigators have been following and monitoring the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) that is organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Abuja. The scheme is meant to help small scale farmers gain access to agricultural inputs (mainly fertilizers, improved seedlings & agrochemicals) at government subsidized rates. Eligibility of farmers for this scheme, required prior registrations to a government database where phone numbers and photo identification were of prime importance. All the information needed for succesful purchase of agro-inputs at subsidized rates i.e. unique identification numbers, redemption centres and quantities available were broadcast to the phones of registered farmers. The amount of the subsidy payments to the agro-dealers was controlled via an "e-wallet" which incorporated an SMS validation message for recording every transaction.

The success of the scheme, therefore relies heavily on the usage of mobile phone technology, which is being run by the telecommunication giants Cellulant. This presented the YAE investigators the opportunity to probe the rural farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture/FCTA field workers on the impact of mobile phones on the farmers activities. A survey with questions based around:

• How many farmers used mobile phones 
• How many owned a phone that can be classified as a smartphone 
• How soon did they feel the smartphone trends would finally catch on with the agricultural sector. 
• What the drawbacks and future was for rural farmers using mobile technology. 
• Where they personally willing to invest on owning a smartphone

The survey was carried out around 23 centres in 6 area councils of Abuja. The results obtained were eye-opening. Not only were the high percent of these farmers interested in running an efficient and productive farming venture using the advantages afforded them by a mobile phone, they were also already clear cut problems they wanted their devices to proffer smarter solutions to.

The need for a complete farm management software to help with inventory of inputs, equipments and products was high priority to the young small scale farmers who had educational qualifications while the older demographics with higher rate of illiteracy, all emphasized on the need for a communal and social hub, where they can keep abreast with market trends ( i.e. food prices and customer demands) and share information between fellow farmers. This would have provided them with an immediate solution for the drawbacks faced during the GES exercise. Farmers confidence in the scheme was very low due to past experiences -particularly last years scheme. Many of the farmers had travelled long distances to redeem their subsidized inputs at the centres and complained bitterly of the cost of transportation and what's more some could not get any of the inputs due to "network failures" or issues of conflicting identities (names especially). Other issues raised were the tedious process of sending and receiving multiple text messages (6 sms per farmer) before they could claim two bags of fertilizers. Some farmers pointed out that, the ability for them to have a portal of communicating and sharing their problems, would have helped in reducing their transport costs. a They wanted a scenario where a whole village/community would be able to organize into groups to rent lorries and trucks to transport their fertilizers in bulk to their farms, thereby sharing (and reducing ) the cost of transportation using their phones to network with oyher farmers exclusively. Others argued for a need for a smarter approach which did not require the SMS format.

The surge in need for more productive and efficient farming models is a global trend. The issues raised by the Abuja rural farmers are being discussed all over the world by rural farmers, software developers and technology companies. Heavy investments are being made by software developers to address these important niche market. Over the past five years, a plethora of mobile applications catering to the rural farmer's needs have been developed. A bulk of mobile applications designed presently to proffer solutions to agricultural activities revolve around the day to day running and management of a typical farm set-up i.e. inventory of tools and equipments, tracking of bill payments, monitoring of daily tasks and recording of primary data from farm activities.

Recently, the sophistications of these applications have increased to include process automation of actual farm activities e.g. remotely controlled mill, tractor etc LoadOut Technologies LLC's YellowBox is a typical example of such system. It connects to hazardous farm machinery and allows farmers to work the controls from a remote location using a Wi-Fi signal. While these developments, are major steps in redefining the actual process and view of traditional farming methods, the ability to communicate and get involved with a network to aid marketing of farm produce and keep abreast with trends are more important. Agricultural applications to aid the rural farmer must possess capability to create an e- marketing networks, be able to distribute some sort of information, which could include weather reports, future market quotes, and market analysis. On the other hand, it should also be able to bridge the gap between e-marketing input supply firms and farm produce consumers e.g. hotels, restaurants, food processing companies etc. The ability to stay connected with market trends i.e. price of goods, supply and demand, all makes it possible for a farmer to monitor their stock and decide on market prices efficiently. This is undoubtedly a vital tool in boosting productivity and market potential of farm produce. An example of such applications, is Trello.com -a cloud based farm management service.

The global explosion of the social media phenomenon has led to a variety of innovative and unique marketing strategies been employed by sales companies and PR companies. With nearly a hundred million people on twitter and approximately half a billion people on Facebook, the potential for marketing and networking on a global scale has fully taken a new dimension. As it is being exploited by the entertainment, literature, education and financial sectors, agriculture should be no different. Battling against rural isolation, farmers have begun to make use of the opportunities that social media offers. An interesting case study is that of the #AgChat . Initiated by a British Farmer Michele Payn-Knoper, it is a moderated discussion and forum on Twitter, where professionals, enthusiast and investors in farming and food topics share ideas and discuss topical issues affecting their work and has managed to gain over 10,000 contributors spread across 10 countries and projected to grow by a 1000 % per year (Farming Futures,Madeline Lewis 2011)

These need for widening the scope of farmers through the use of a specialized social networking platform, is what has inspired a young Nigerian software developer who pleaded for anonymity to initiate a project that aims to develop a social network based android application for connecting farmers within the Nigerian agricultural sector with customers, clients, agro-input companies and local buyers of farm produce. These would serve the ambivalent function of helping farmers network and create a community to exchange skills, knowledge and agronomic information, while also bridging the gap between farmers and consumers. We at the Youth Agro-entrepreneurs, received this news with such glee, that we immediately contacted the software developer and promised to aid the project with as much data and academic resource that would be needed to make this laudable project possible.

I have been asked why the sudden need to arm our farmers with Qwerty keypads rather than pesticide sprayers and cutting tools, and the answer is easy; Agriculture has been identified as one of the key tools for fighting poverty and unemployment in developing economies (Rockefeller Foundation, 2012 Farming Now Innovation Awards) particularly by engaging the youths. In Nigeria, It is indicated that agriculture accounts for 4.2% of total government expenditure, and this share will go up to about 14.6% by 2015 and 18.6% by 2017 as youth venture into agriculture as a source of employment ( Diao et a 2012)

Modernization and automation of farming processes, would help draw a high number of the affected demographics into agricultural industry and also push the efficiency of general operations in the sector. The youths account for 70% of the population and with over 80% of rural youths engaged in subsistence farming, and an even higher percentage already using mobile devices (Deji O.F. 2011), this represents a large market for ICT application in the agricultural sector. The motivation is quite simple - to produce smarter and efficient agro-entreprenuers that would meet up to the global food challenges and our local employment issues, they need smarter tools.

Kabir Onimisi Ademoh
Communication Officer
For Youth Agro-Entrepreneurs