7 hot Agro business you can invest in Nigeria

Huge investment opportunities lay fallow in the Nigerian agricultural sector. This is so because agriculture remains the largest sector of the economy, It generates employment for about 70% of the Nigerian population and contributes 40% to the GDP with crops accounting for 80%, livestock 13%, forestry 3%, fishery 4%.
As the government working hard to switch direction towards the non-oil sect, agriculture is one sector which is really gaining grounds with its past glory, it has been the center of the country’s economy growth before and still possess the capacity to scale and generate enough wealth for the country. Smart business people in Nigeria are already keying into this switch and investing in the agro-related business and here’s a list of a few of them you can go into:

Local rice production and distribution

Rice investors in Nigeria stand to gain ROI of up to 42%.  According to report, the national paddy rice production has said to have increased by an additional seven million met­ric tonnes while net incomes of farmers have risen by $2.5bn be­tween 2012 and 2014 – little wonder companies like Dangote investing $1 billion for large scale production.Reports say Nigeria is looking to be a net exporter of rice.
While the small scale business man may not have the financial power to go into massive production of rice, opportunity abounds in the wholesale and retail selling of locally produced rice in Nigeria, within and outside Africa. With the Government looking to flood out foreign competitors, Nigeria is looking to be a net exporter of rice.

Horticulture sub-sector

Nigeria is the second largest producer of citrus, the largest producer of pineapple, mangoes and tomatoes in Africa. But imports orange juice and concentrated from South Africa and tomato pastes from Latin America and China. This serves as an opportunity for business people tap into and make good money. Knowing fully well that there is market available for this products.

Cassava

Cassava is used for producing flour in Nigeria and can be used as partial substitute for imported wheat flour in bread and confectioneries, starch, sweeteners, chips and ethanol. Reports show that thirty bakeries including international supermarkets like Shoprite and park n shop regularly sell cassava-wheat flour bread.

Yam exportation

Yam is an important food crop especially in west Africa. Reports claim west Africa accounts for 90-95% of worlds yam production with Nigeria being the largest single producer,  and in 2004, global yam production was 47 million metric tons(MT) with 96% of this coming from Africa. Nigeria alone accounts for about 70% of world production of yam.
Apart from serving as food, it has industrial uses. It is used in production of all-purpose adhesives. these adhesives are used in hr production of cartons, packaging companies and also shoe producers.
some industries particularly in Europe use yam flavour in preparation of high quality biscuits, bread,cakes etc.
The average consumption rate of yam and its bye-products in Nigeria is estimated at 0.5-1.0 kg daily. The demand for the commodity is expected to be fueled by the over 17million Nigerians living outside the country.

Natural rubber export from Nigeria

Natural rubber performs main function in our national economy; these are provision of raw materials to agro-based industries, it provides foreign exchange earnings and places Nigeria in the world map as a net exporter of rubber, and it provides employment to Nigerian farmers
according to the international rubber study group, the global demand for natural rubber may reach 12.4 million tons by 2015 and 14.2 million tons by 2020, while the production of natural rubber can reach only 13.6million tons/year in 2020. The gap in supply is an opportunity for investors to go into the production and or exports of the commodity.

Export of cattle horns from Nigeria

Horns are gotten from slaughtered cattle. with over 180million people in Nigeria, the demand for protein gotten from cattle meat is huge, this implies high number of cattle slaughtered daily to meet demands and in turn business opportunity to amass enough cattle horns for export purposes. Cattle horns are used in the preparation of medicines, button, spoon and fork, jewelries, belt buckle etc
Reports claim an estimated ROI between10%-20%

Cocoa production and exports

Reports say cocoa production grew from 250,000 MT in 2011 to 370,000 MT by 2013, and cocoa exports earned over $900. The revolution of the cocoa industry has seen huge investments by large companies with $20 million invested to procure cocoa from over 20,000 certified cocoa farmers.
This presents a huge opportunity to small scale farmers and business people whole look to start agro business to look into. Business people can source local farmers in the rural areas, display these products on a platform like cokodeal marketplace where products like these can be sourced and then make huge sales.

All the best as you choose your agro based business and invest wisely.