By all standards, the non-oil sector, especially agriculture has been the driving force behind the improved performance in the domestic economy within the last ten years.
It also employs up to two-thirds of the country’s total labour force and provides the livelihood for about 90 per cent of the rural population.
However, experts contend that despite its huge importance, the efforts of the Federal Government have not really transformed the sector into achieving it’s potentials.
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For instance, the future of this sector is faced with several uncertainties such as resource scarcity, heightened risks from climate change, higher energy prices, demand for bio-fuels and doubts about the speed of technical progress.
Apart from these uncertainties, the huge funding gap is also a major challenge facing the sector.
The African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association gave credence to this when it put the annual demand for agribusiness in Sub Saharan Africa within the next 40 years at N975bn per annum.
It said that going by the current annual fund supply of over N225bn, there is a huge financing gap, which governments within the region should critically examine.
However, an agricultural economist Mr. Jacob Idoko said that despite the neglect, huge opportunities still abound in the sector.
Idoko who deals in feeds, feed ingredients, feed formulation and milling, and agricultural consultancy, said that the business which he began twelve years ago with N250, 000 now has a total asset of over N80m.
He, however, says that for one to effectively go into the business, about N5m would currently be required.
He contends that one of the best ways to achieve business growth, most especially in this part of the world where the issue of funding is a major challenge is through personal savings.
This, he notes, would be used to acquire major production machineries which include feed mixing machine, crusher, conveyor and mixers.
Idoko, a graduate of Agriculture Engineering, said that the business, though capital intensive, requires a lot of expertise.
This, he notes, would be useful when sourcing for raw materials.
He says that what spurred him into the business was the need to address the problem of quality as well as the general condition in which animal feeds were being produced.
More importantly, he explains that most feeds that are produced for rearing chickens and commercial fish farming, in the country were of low quality.
This, he notes, affects the output of the chickens.
He says that owing to the nature of the raw materials, which are usually seasonal, one’s ability to get the right mix of materials, determines the success or failure of the business.
The major raw materials, which are sourced from various parts of the country, include soya beans cake, rice grains, maize offat, palm kernel cake and lime-stones.
On the importance of raw materials to feeds production, he says that while soy-beans cake, groundnut cake, and perm kernel serves as the protein and energy source; rice offat, bone mills and lime-stones provide the needed calcium for the product.
Idoko explains further that sourcing the materials used for formulating the feed is a major challenge because of their seasonal nature, transportation and prices.
He says, “We have serious challenges getting these materials because of their nature. The fact that most of them are seasonal and have to be stored for a long time before production make it more challenging.
“Transportation and prices of the raw materials is another challenge because farmers charge high prices for these materials during dry season, while some of them get destroyed during transportation.”
On the impact of the waste from the factory on the environment, he says this has been minimal since the feed formulation does not generate harmful waste to the environment.
Speaking on the demand for the product, a nutritionist, Maryam Afhekena contends that there is huge demand for the product, adding however that there is need for one to identify one’s market.
She says that on the average, a producer of farm feeds could sell between 160 to 200 bags per day, with an average of N400 as profit margin per bag.
Others in the industry also attest to the lucrative nature of the business. They say what one needs to succeed in the business is tenacity, courage and determination.
The need to have this attributes, according to them stems from the fact that doing business in Nigeria can sometimes be frustrating.
A Business Development Expert, Mr Sesan Adewonise said the operating situation is not helped by pervasive decay of supporting infrastructure. This, he notes, has really put a lot of pressure on small businesses.
However, he contends that no matter how harsh an environment may be, an entrepreneur can scale the hurdle if he adheres to certain rules.