The fact that farming is still viewed by some otherwise enlightened people as meant only for the rural populace, and not wanting to get their hands messed up with it is stating it as it is.
It is interesting and indeed inspiring therefore, to meet with one Elvis Elimihele, chief Executive Officer of Elhi Communications, an Advertising/Public Relations Firm, based in Lagos, who incidentally has been practising journalism for almost three decades making the difference in the fertile field of agriculture. Talk about putting his money where his mouth is and the
realtor who is a member of both APCON and GPAAN is making the difference and needs to be listened to as he shares his wealth of experience.
In a recent encounter with yours truly he provided insight into what inspired him to venture in agribusiness, the initial challenges and how he overcame them, his training and marketing programs, what he wants the governments to do for his agripreneurship and his views on food security and organic farming. Enjoy it all, right from the horse’s mouth.
“My inspiration came from my parents; they were farmers and I got the knowledge from them. I always say my first profession is farming. Growing up, I saw the need to add my quota to the development of agriculture in Nigeria, especially in a modern form.
“I started my farm about five years ago, when I was able to acquire some acres of land in my town, Ekpoma, Edo State.
“Some of the initial challenges were the ability to purchase your own plots of land, which will be large enough for the type of farming you intend to start.
“For me, I love crops and cash crops farming. Therefore, I need as much as ten or more hectares too to commence it.
Raising the fund for such a large expanse of land is not a joke especially when there’s no support from the government or banks for a facility.
“Nigeria banks only finance LPO, that’s Local Purchase Order for rich business men where they can easily get their profits back.
Agricultural banks which are supposed to assist farmers are not well funded by the government.
Again, when you submit your proposals to them, if you don’t know anyone to push it for you, it will end up in waste paper basket.
“On the side of government, we only hear propaganda from the ministry of agriculture, some of us who really need the desired assistance never get it, because we are not politicians.
“Funds met for agriculture to enable Nigerians to have affordable food stuff are hijacked by politicians for themselves and their cronies.
“Again, getting these hectares of land in the right place without being scammed was another issue entirely.
“Another challenge initially was getting the right persons to work for you as hired farm workers. This area is very tough, because most young Nigerians do not believe in farming, they want to make money very fast in other areas.
“Some believe in white collar jobs only, others believe in scamming people to make wealth, it’s only some few ones, that manage to share your dreams with you.
“What they don’t know is that, no matter what you do in life, food is number one.
A hungry man can’t function well in the office, at school in business places etc. even a sick person is advised to eat.
“Overcoming some of these challenges are not a day affair. I am still battling some of them, especially when you do not have the funds as expected, but you are really interested in the business of farming.
“Training and marketing program.
Really, before I ventured into farming, apart from the fact that I stated earlier that farming is an inherited business from my parents, I attended seminars and also taught myself through some online training to get myself acquainted with some advanced way of handling agriculture. Agribusiness columns in some daily newspapers have also helped a lot too.
“I have to learn modern ways of planting oil palm which is actually my major cash crop.
Where to find the high yield seedlings, nurture them and the type of soil it needs to do well were all considered.
“Marketing your farm produce is really not too difficult these days since the advent of social media.
What buyers need is quality and availability of your produce at the time they need it .
“Food security is so important to me, because as a living being, I need food to survive, likewise everyone who still has breath.
“On the aspect of government assistance, this is enormous. I want the government to stop paying lip services to agriculture.
“This is actually an aspect of the economy that can reduce unemployment drastically if only farmers are encouraged.
“The Government should resuscitate farm settlement schemes across the 36 states and the 774 Local Government Areas of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory.
“When I was growing up, there were some very functional farm settlements then in my state, the old Bendel state, which is now Edo and Delta states. Today, these farm settlements are history.”
