Top 44 Agricultural Business Ideas In Nigeria
Agriculture is the biggest industry in West Africa.
It employs over 60% of its population directly and indirectly.
However, lots of people have neglected agriculture over the past years.
This is because many feel agriculture as a whole involves hard labor and is mostly meant for poor people.
So now, most Nigerians, especially young graduates, don’t find it appealing whenever the sentence “let’s go back to the farm” is mentioned.
To an extent, they are actually correct, but on a more reasonable note, agriculture is not what many think of it.
In Nigeria in particular, over 70% of local foods produced by crop farmers are planted and worked on with crude implements like cutlasses, hoes, sickles, etc.
This is the same reason why many have hated agriculture so much as a profession.
Well, you don’t have to plant anything before you can be called a farmer, agriculturist, agricultural businessman, or woman.
There’s much more to agriculture than what most people have in mind.
Even Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, makes a great percentage of his wealth from agriculture through rice production, wheat, sugar cane (sugar), etc.
What differentiates agriculture from other industries is that agriculture is the biggest and most important among them all because we all know that food is a necessity and agriculture deals mainly with its production.
With modern technology, agribusiness is one of the easiest niches of business to enter.
However, Africa as a continent is still lagging behind in terms of agricultural mechanization.
But, there has been some development over the past few years.
Agriculture in the 21st century has grown past the mere growing of food crops and rearing of fowls or goats.
The industry is big enough to employ 70% of the unemployed youth in Nigeria if resources are properly channeled into it.
Problems Facing Agribusinesses In Nigeria
Nigeria’s agricultural sector has continued to face lots of problems, especially since the discovery of oil.
It is recorded that before the discovery of oil, over 60% of Nigeria’s revenue was from agriculture.
When oil was discovered, the government shifted its concern for agriculture and monopolized the oil sector.
This explains why the price of food items continues to appreciate at a fast rate. Rice, which is the most consumed food, has become one of the biggest imports in Nigeria.
Despite the vast fertile soil in Nigeria, it is unfortunate that today we can barely feed the nation without food importation.
Other issues facing agriculture in Nigeria include:
- Poor Storage facilities
- Lack of social amenities
- Unavailability of aid for farmers
- Land tenure system
- Poor storage system
- The stereotype is that farming is meant for poor people.
- Bad government policies
- Insecurity
- Herdsmen/farmer clashes
- Inadequate loans and grants for farmers
- Transportation
- Lack of agricultural mechanization
All these and many others are problems affecting agriculture in Nigeria.
In order to solve the government’s need to harness taxpayer money into agriculture.
Additionally, people, especially youths, need to be encouraged to go into agriculture rather than seek employment in white-collar jobs, which are almost never available.
And lastly, there’s a need to mechanize agriculture in Nigeria in order to increase farm outputs.
About 60 to 70% of farm outputs are gotten from crude methods of agriculture, which is currently one of the main reasons for high food importation.
Nonetheless, agriculture still leads other sectors.
And there are a lot of agribusinesses one can invest in to earn passive income.
Many require only low capital to start, while some may need huge capital investment.
Here in this post, we will be sharing with you some of the top agribusiness ideas you can take up as a profession to make a passive income.
What’s interesting is that it’s much cheaper to establish agricultural businesses than other businesses.
Top 44 Agricultural Business Ideas in Nigeria
1. Poultry Farming
Poultry farming is one of the top agribusiness ideas that almost anyone can take up. It involves the raising of farm birds; fowl, Guinea fowl, turkeys, ducks, etc.
Though, the business will require you to learn about farm birds, such as disease treatment, bird breeds, the best feed for different breeds, how to operate an incubator, and so on.
Setting up a poultry farm is also very costly today due to the cost of rent, feeds, incubator machines, electricity, and every other expense.
The interesting part of it is that you can earn in two ways: selling the birds when they’ve grown and, of course, their eggs.
2. Rice Farming
It is no doubt that rice is consumed by more than 80% of Nigerians. In fact, it is the most consumed food in Nigeria as a whole. Starting your own rice farm might be your chance to wealth.
Rice is a food that sells fast, unlike other foods. Although rice farming has become expensive to set up, especially if you are renting farm machines to operate, which is actually the best for bigger cultivation.
Notwithstanding, it’s still the most profitable grain to grow in Nigeria.
3. Fish Farming/Fishery
Fish farming is a farm business that many in Nigeria are yet to explore despite its money-making potential.
Fishes birth hundreds at once, so a fish farm that was started with 50 fish will grow into thousands in a matter of weeks.
The cost of setting up is not too high. Though management might cost you some cash, it is still a business worth investing in.
4. Cocoa Farming
Everyone knows that most of the beverages we consume are products of cocoa. Cocoa is a cash crop with great export potential. It is something that already has an established market.
Cocoa will only take a minimum of 3 to 5 years after planting before you start harvesting it. It also has a lifespan of several years, so you keep harvesting at least once a month.
Starting a cocoa farm is not even an expensive one, in as much you are able to get fertile land to plant it on. It’s just the maintenance and pest control that might cost you extra cash.
5. Cassava Farming
Nigeria is currently the world’s largest consumer and producer of cassava. Cassava farming is the most rampant farming business across Nigeria.
This is because products produced from it are numerous. Fufu, garri, ethanol, starch, flour, etc are some of the by-products of cassava.
The reason many Nigerians are into cassava farming is that it’s cheaper and stress-free to manage. Not much weeding or pest control.
It takes up to 8-12 months to mature for harvest. It’s a very lucrative farming business that anyone can do.
6. Piggery
A matured pig currently sells for almost N100,000 depending on its size. Just imagine you raised about 60 pigs in a year.
That’s almost 60 million naira. Pig rearing is a top farm business and very lucrative at that.
However, starting a pig fan might be a little expensive, but you can always start small if you don’t have much.
Additionally, pigs birth lots of offspring, so the chances of expansion are high.
7. Farming of Sugar Cane
Most sugar manufacturing industries in Nigeria make use of sugar cane in the production of sugar. Sugar is grown majorly in the northern parts of Nigeria, but that does not mean it only grows there.
It can grow in any part of Nigeria, especially in swampy and wetland areas. Starting a sugar cane farm won’t cost much as long as you have available land for cultivation.
8. Sale Of Farm Implements
Selling farm implements and necessities such as a cutlass, hoe, axe, pesticides, herbicides, rain boots, and so on is another aspect of the agricultural business you can start in Nigeria.
9. Charcoal Production
Charcoal is a widely consumed commodity in Nigeria, especially as regards the cooking and roasting of foods.
Many Nigerians use charcoal to cook their food, especially now that the cost of cooking gas is on the increase.
Charcoal is produced from semi-dried wood or trees. Charcoal production is almost free to start since you are not buying anything. You just need to learn how it is produced.
10. Palm Oil Processing/Milling
Palm oil is a very important cooking ingredient in Africa as a whole. Almost all the food we eat can be cooked with palm oil.
Oil palm processing and production is another agricultural business idea.
With the introduction of new farm machines, it is now easier to extract red oil from oil palm than with the traditional method.
Plus, production will be faster and better quality palm oil will be produced.
11. Cashew Plantation
Cashew is a cash crop that’s grown in different parts of the country. Cashew seeds are used in the production of the widely consumed cashew nuts, and the cashew itself is used in the production of fruit juice and wines.
Just like cocoa, cashew has high export potential, and selling your products is easy as it is a highly demanded farm produce.
12. Honey Bees Rearing
Honey bees are cultivated for the production of honey. Also, honey is used in the production of several pharmaceutical drugs.
There is a need to take caution and properly learn how to rear these insects, as they can be very harmful.
13. Flower Nursing Business
Flowers are used in the beautification of the surroundings and gardens. When entering most of the urban cities in Nigeria, you will see lots of different stops where one can buy flower seedlings.
This business is common in every part of Nigeria. It’s a big small and lucrative one for anyone who knows how to care for flower plants.
14. Maize Farming
Maize is a very popular grain in Nigeria and is consumed by almost all citizens. It is used to produce different foods like pap, custard, biscuits, etc.
It can be served freshly cooked with other cuisines like beans. It’s also used industrially to produce whiskey.
During rainy seasons, it’s very common to see people roasting it by the roadside.
All this explains and translates to why maize cultivation is so much needed and also highly profitable.
If you want to start maize farming, you will need a large piece of land for cultivation. Why is maize the most planted crop in Nigeria every year after cassava? because it is cheaper to cultivate and only takes 3 to 4 months before harvesting.
15. Snail Farming
Snail meat, popularly known by many Nigerians as Congo meat, is widely consumed across Nigeria and beyond.
In 2021, it was recorded that Nigeria exported snails worth over 1 billion naira to other countries, of which 80% came from snail picking and hunting.
Imagine how much you did be making to rear snails. It is massive!
Starting a snail farm doesn’t cost much at all. Plus, you are not buying feed like that of poultry or fish farming.
16. Yam Farming/Business
Yam is a staple tuber in Nigeria and, as such, yam farming or selling businesses can be very profitable. In the past, yam farmers were highly respected and held in high regard.
In most parts of Southern Nigeria where it is grown, they believe yam is the king among other foods.
Today, yam is a very essential food and is consumed by Nigerians from all walks of life. You can either become a yam farmer or you can buy yams from farmers at cheap rates and resell them for profit.
17. Tomato Farming Business
This is a business that’s very common among people from the northern parts of Nigeria.
Tomatoes are used to cook a variety of foods such as rice, yam, soup, and potatoes. It’s also used by processing companies to produce tomato pastes, canned tomatoes, and other food ingredients.
Tomatoes can be grown in almost every part of Nigeria. It only takes 90 – 120days to harvest, and it doesn’t require much post-harvesting practice before it is sold for money.
18. Bamboo Business
This business is very uncommon to many Nigerians, but it does exist. Most high-rise building construction in Nigeria uses bamboo for certain construction activities.
Bamboo is also used for roofing and building thatch roofs in rural areas.
You only have to look for people in need of bamboo on construction sites, then look for it in the forest and supply them. It grows heavily in most near-water areas.
19. Repair And Maintenance of Farm Machinery
Farm machines like plows, harvesters, planters, riggers, etc, often need technicians who can repair or service them.
This is one skill that’s in high demand, but only a few are into it. So if you can learn the skill and practice it, there’s a lot of profit in it.
There are many big farms in Nigeria that are often in search of people to help them service their machines. You can approach any of them.
20. Tomato Processing
Companies that produce pastes and cans like Gino, Sonia, De Rica, and others, are examples of tomato processing companies.
They buy tomatoes from different local farmers on a large scale and then process them into what we call tomato pastes or canned tomatoes.
Setting up this type of agricultural business will cost lots of money due to the heavy machines that are used for processing. Registrations, licenses, and a couple of other things too.
21. Oil Palm Platation
Oil palm is a rich cash crop that’s grown majorly in Southern Nigeria. Lots of different things are produced from oil palm.
Things like palm nuts, palm oil, broom, palm wine, yeast, and palm kernel shafts are gotten from palm trees.
Many of these products are sources of foreign exchange as they have high export potential.
To start an oil palm plantation, you need a large area of land and palm seeds. It costs a lot of money, but it’s worth investing in any sum.
22. Green Vegetable Farming
Green vegetables are grown by mostly female farmers in Nigeria. It’s a great agricultural business idea that can be taken up by anyone.
There’s a high cost and demand for green vegetables, especially during the dry season.
Thus, you can maximize your profit by setting up your own vegetable farm near the water source, so that you can water it during the dry season.
23. Agriculture Blog
In the tech space, one can also become a blogger who controls the agriculture niche of blogging.
Agriculture bloggers are regarded as agricultural problem solvers; you are to provide farmers with verified information on planting, management, and other agriculture-related topics.
You can earn through ads displayed on your website by using AdSense or other ad platforms depending on which one you choose to use on your blog.
24. Fertilizer Production
Nigerians are blessed with fertile soils, but there’s also a need to still apply fertilizers to our food crops so as to boost their growth.
Hence, the need to manufacture fertilizers locally so as to enable farmers to produce quality crops.
The likes of Aliko Dangote and others are into this business. So it’s a big man’s business and requires huge capital to set up.
25. Flour milling
Lots of the foods we eat today are made of flour including biscuits, bread, sausage rolls, spaghetti, noodles, etc., which are byproducts of flour. So flour is in high demand.
Things like yams, cassava, and potatoes can also be processed in mills into flour for the production of different foods.
26. Rabbit Rearing
Rabbit farming is a very lucrative farm business idea. Rabbit is a white meat that’s consumed by all and sundry in Nigeria.
It is very easy to raise rabbits, and they also birth multiple offspring at once. Once it’s matured, the market is there for you to sell.
The interesting part is that rabbits grow very fast, hence their profitability.
27. Cattle Rearing
This business is common among Fulani people from the northern part of Nigeria. Cattle, or cows, are widely consumed in every part of the country as different products are gotten from them. Milk, meat, leather skin, popularly known as ponmo, etc. are gotten from cows.
The leather used to produce shoes is also gotten from cows.
However, the business is not an easy venture but very profitable and not limited to Fulani people alone as everyone can do it. But it is best to ranch them instead of the old method of open grazing.
28. Farm Produce Export Business
The farm produces export business is a very lucrative agricultural business. Many people are into business and earning passive income.
They go into rural areas with a high population of farmers and buy different farm products at a cheap price and then transport them to urban places like Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt, and Abuja where these products are scarce and expensive to come by.
29. Agricultural Bank
One can also invest in establishing a bank to help farmers with loans in order to finance their farming activities.
30. Rubber Tree Plantation
A rubber plant is a plant that produces the raw materials for the production of plastics. Rubber is also a source of foreign exchange and raw materials for different industries.
Setting up a rubber farm is a very lucrative but expensive agricultural business.
31. Cassava Processing
Cassava can be processed into different commercial and domestic goods, including garri, fufu, starch, and ethanol. Plus, it can also be processed into flour for the making of bread.
Common cassava-processed products in Nigeria are garri and fufu. Farmers, after harvesting and peeling the cassava, take it to a cassava processing workshop to have it processed into raw garri before they start frying it a few days after.
If you can afford to buy those processing machines, here’s a great business idea for you to invest in.
32. Cotton Farming
Cotton farming is popular, especially in Northern Nigeria. Cotton is a major raw material used to make clothing.
Cotton can grow very well, especially in the north. It is a good source of foreign exchange and a huge raw material for textile industries.
33. Seedling Farming
Some people are not full-time farmers. What they do is nurse plants and sell them once they are mature enough for transplanting.
This is most common with palm trees, coconuts, tomatoes, peppers, and flowers. It’s actually a nice agricultural business that you shouldn’t underrate. It’s very easy to start and it’s very profitable at that.
34. Orchard
An orchard is a farm where only fruits are planted.
Many fruit juice and beverage companies source fruit, which is their major ingredient, from different orchards.
Also, lots of fruit sellers buy the fruit they sell from different orchards.
However, it can be very costly to start an orchard.
Firstly, you need a very large area of land that is big enough to contain different kinds of fruit. Then you need finance for laborers, seedlings, and so on.
Notwithstanding, it’s very profitable and a wealth that can be transferred from generation to generation as a good number of fruit trees are perennial crops and produce every year.
Fruits that are best to grow in an orchard include orange, mango, cashew, tangerine, pineapple, kolanut, etc.
35. Wood Processing/Saw Mill
This is a huge agricultural business investment. All of the wood used to make various pieces of furniture and carpentry in our homes come from farms.
As a matter of fact, some farmers only plant big timber in the forest and sell them to sawmill operators when they’re mature enough.
A sawmill business is a very costly venture to establish as you need to buy a lot of heavy vehicles to transport the wood and heavy machines to cut them into sizes at your mill.
36. Bananas And Plantains Plantation
Banana and plantain plantations are businesses that are very profitable. Banana is consumed by almost everyone, and plantain is also consumed by many. Also, in the production of chips.
Additionally, plantain peels are also used to produce soda used for the making of soap. To start a banana or plantain plantation, you need a large area of land and banana or plantain seedlings.
37. Rice Mill
Rice is the most popular food in Nigeria. Hence, its massive production and importation.
Lots of communities in both South and Northern Nigeria are into rice production. Even big companies like
Dangote Plc has now keyed into it by building different rice mills across different states of the federation.
When rice farmers finish harvesting their rice in the fields, the very next thing they do is to take it to the mills to remove its husk and, if possible, get it polished.
However, the cost of building a modern rice mill that’s capable of milling hundreds of bags per day is very expensive to set up.
In fact, it might cost up to several millions of naira. More so, other things involved are costly too.
Rice markets are without a doubt the largest food markets in the entire federation, as price fluctuations in rice, like those in petroleum, frequently affect the entire economy.
38. Grain Supplies
You can also earn profits from getting grains like corn, rice, cowpea, Guinea corn, and soya beans and supplying them to different states where they’re not grown.
The best places to look for grains in Nigeria include Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, etc.
Once you buy it from these places, you transport it to where you can resell it to retailers and middlemen for profits. It’s a cool agricultural business that is very lucrative.
39. Popcorn Production
Everyone knows that popcorn is one of the end products of maize/corn. Popcorn making is a business for everyone who wants to make profits from the cheap price of dried corn.
First, you need a popcorn-making machine, then other things like a bag of corn, a spot or stand, and corn-making ingredients.
Of course, everybody likes popcorn in Nigeria. You can even start as a small company at home and produce popcorn and package them, then meet different retailers to buy from you in bulk.
40. Coconut Plantation
Coconut is not widely available in commercial quantities in Nigeria. The only place in Nigeria you can get enough coconut plantations is in Badagry, Lagos.
Apart from domestic consumption, coconut is a huge source of foreign exchange for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Additionally, it serves as a raw material for the production of different skin care products, drugs, etc. Hence, starting a coconut plantation is a massive investment with lots of gains.
41. Palm Wine Tapping
This is a traditional business that’s still in existence up till now. Many people still enjoy drinking palm wine.
You can learn how to tap palm wine and create supply chains with different bars and pami joints.
The business is underestimated, but I’ve seen lots of millionaire palm wine tappers in places like Enugu and Udi.
42. Herb Farming
You can also cultivate herbal plants used for the production of traditional medicines and synthetic drugs.
Plants like ginger and garlic are very much in high demand in society, so planting them means a lot of profits for you.
43. Goat Rearing
Goat rearing is also a very lucrative agribusiness idea. The idea is that, for a start, you buy young goats (kids); he-goats, and she-goats.
You have to build a room-like shade with dried palm leaves and bamboo to rear them.
The best part about goat rearing is that you are buying no feed. You can feed them with different leaves, such as palm trees and banana leaves.
44. Transportation
If you have a minibus or a car with a large boot, you can use them to help farmers transport their farm produce from the farm to the market.
It’s somehow more profitable than using it for taxis in town, though it all depends on your locality.
Conclusion
There are still lots of other agribusiness ideas one can engage in. The good part about investing in agriculture is that when it’s done rightly, the output is massive and profits are high.
You don’t need to disturb yourself with the hassle of seeking white-collar jobs when there are actually lots of agribusiness ideas that can earn you millions.
I know quite a lot of people are discouraged from going into agriculture because of the hard labor involved in the crude farming system that’s still in existence in Nigeria.
However, you don’t have to till the soil or plant anything before you can be called a farmer or agriculturist.
There are other things like livestock rearing, food exportation, foodstuff supply, beekeeping, and snail rearing, to mention but a few.
