Plant a tree today, for you never know who might find respite beneath its shade. This encapsulates the foray into farming of the former managing director and editor-in-chief of Champion Newspapers Limited, Mr Ugo Onuoha.
For years, Ugo and his brothers, who live offshore, jointly owned a relatively large expanse of land in their Mgbidi, Imo state community. However, they were otherwise engaged in other pursuits aligned with their professional training.
Over the years, the Onuoha brothers graciously permitted and encouraged women in their community to cultivate the land at no cost and gather their produce without compensation. However, a few years ago, the brothers resolved to transform this asset into an integrated farm that could benefit them, their dependents, and potentially the wider community. The brothers were certain that a modern integrated and commercial farm was the right approach. Food insecurity has long been a pressing issue for Nigeria, and there are no signs of improvement today. Without being uncharitable, it is fair to state that food insecurity is worsening, with families experiencing hunger and some children suffering from kwashiorkor or acute malnutrition.
This has been confirmed by a study conducted by experts from one of Nigeria’s premier universities. However, there was a problem that needed to be addressed before this transition could become a reality. The initial questions were: What do you do with the women who have farmed that land for years? What happens to their standard of living, which is supported by the earnings they make from the sale of farm produce from that land, to which they have had free access for years? How do you assure them that there can be a role for them in the new dispensation? How would they earn income to meet their basic needs and support their families? The questions were numerous, and there were no easy or ready answers.
The job was challenging and taxing, but well suited to Ugo Onuoha, the anchorman for the jointly owned asset. After consultations with professional counsellors and other individuals with native intelligence, he decided to inform the women beneficiaries about the plan to reclaim the land from them following a specific future farming season. It was also noted that there would be a need for full disclosure regarding the future use of the land.
However, Ugo had no mandate from his brothers to reassure the women that their inevitable loss of income due to the loss of farming access to the land would be managed. Ironically, the fears of Ugo and his brothers did not materialise. Indeed, the women were effusive in their gratitude for the years of complimentary access to the farm without any of the brothers asking for anything in return. Some of them merely requested consideration to participate in any area where they had requisite skills in the new arrangement. This was a straightforward request to fulfil.
Apart from traditional and subsistence farming alongside their mother during their early years, none of the Onuoha brothers received professional or hands-on training in agriculture or agribusiness. Nevertheless, they recalled that their late father used to tell them that university education should not confine graduates to a single path. He would inform them that any university graduate who cannot pivot outside their core discipline and excel is not deserving of the certificate awarded to them.
With that reminder, the brothers delegated assignments and went to work. Some scoured the Internet for information. Meanwhile, one of them made inquiries and visited various research institutes in Nigeria, including the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture [IITA] in Ibadan, Oyo State, and the National Roots Research Institute [NRRI] in Umudike near Umuahia in Abia State. Ultimately, the Onuoha brothers opted for the improved variety of palm seedlings known as Tenera.
Some of the factors that informed this choice were that, in the early or gestation stages, the seedlings may not require the constant personal attention of the proprietors, and that the gestation period would provide the business owners with sufficient time to determine how they could profitably engage with the palm produce value chain. This would help them to avoid what in local parlance is called “monkey dey work, baboon dey chop” or in Igbo “ikwu aka tiere okuko aki”. Research has found that the Tenera species takes about five years to begin producing fruits for harvesting. There’s another that starts producing fruits for harvest within three years. However, for the brothers, there was no need to hurry. They do not wish to be rushed in raising investible funds to set up the requisite equipment to maximise the value chain. Furthermore, they also needed time to understand their market and to get to know the off-takers of various products from the farms at full production capacity.
Mr Onuoha relies on vast managerial training over many years. It includes a degree in mass communication from the University of Nigeria and certification in the Chief Executives Programme of the Lagos Business School.
Working with consultants with practical experience and visible testimonials associated with one of the river basin development authorities, the project commenced in mid-2024. Naturally, there were concerns regarding the threat of insecurity and how to deal with petty thieves when the trees begin to bear fruit after the projected five years. What is the solution? Not much can be done about the prevailing national security challenges. The brothers remained hopeful that the security situation would improve with time. For those petty thieves wishing to reap where they have not sown, the farm owners resolved to recruit local guards at the time of the palm trees’ fruition as a temporary measure. Securing the farm with a concrete fence would incur a prohibitive cost that would significantly impact the investment budget. Nevertheless, the idea is still under consideration for the future.
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But in the meantime, the farm cannot be solely about financial outflow. It has incurred substantial expenses in weeding, preparing the field for palm seedlings, engaging experts to determine the spacing of the seedlings, applying the appropriate fertiliser, and ensuring that necessary tasks are accomplished from the start. Now, according to the contracted agricultural extension professionals, the farm should be prepared to yield income, no matter how minimal, to alleviate the pressure on funding, which has relied on the promoters’ personal savings.
Why not approach the banks? Ugo Onuoha believes that it is early days. He adds, “Accessing credit for agribusiness can be a nightmare for established enterprises, let alone start-ups or newcomers. Even if credit is accessible from conventional financial institutions or lenders, there will still be apprehension due to the cost of funds. There are no quick fixes in agribusiness, and the turnaround period is considerable. Therefore, the administration payments, miscellaneous fees, and interest while waiting to harvest your products can become a significant disincentive for such borrowing.”
However, thus far, it has been a challenging experience, and the brothers are convinced that it could open a new vista of opportunities. The Onuoha brothers are looking beyond the present and even the immediate future. They are focused on working towards investing in ventures that could lay the groundwork for generational wealth.
My Onuoha comments, “The success of such ventures could also help to discourage and minimise the japa syndrome, where our children and relatives flee Nigeria en masse due to a lack of opportunities for productive engagements in our country.”
He added, “We are not disheartened by concerns that many of today’s youth do not possess the appetite for agribusiness and the patience to wait. We believe there will always be some young individuals, even if they are the remnants of the land, who will ultimately rise to the challenge of helping make this country the food basket of at least the West African subregion.’
For Nnamaka, Ugo, Nwaeze, and Ogueri, this pilot Orji Anu Farms may be the beginning of greater things to come in their foray into agribusiness and related endeavours.
