As commonly understood, food is a fundamental necessity of life, with its requirement being consistently pertinent. Numerous individuals have consistently desired to engage in agribusiness, but in many instances, it has come to my attention that a significant portion of those venturing into the sector fail to achieve sustainability and, as a result, do not attain optimal profitability.
In this content, i will show you basic things you need to know before starting an agribusiness: 1) Cultivate Pertinent Skills in your Area of Interest: It is regrettable how we often disregard the significance of acquiring farming or agribusiness skills solely because of our familial background in the industry. However, it is essential to recognize that skill development should transcend familial connections. While I am not advocating that everyone pursue formal education in agriculture, it is crucial to seek knowledge and mentorship if you intend to engage in activities such as palm oil enterprise, tomato, vegetable farm, etc.
2) Know your market: One of the funniest things about people in the industry will always tell you that everybody eats, we have over 200 million in Nigeria so we will always sell our products. But the truth is that they don’t work like that. It is very advisable to have a targeted audience. For example I produce mushroom and tomato but my target audience is not just every Nigerian. My market for mushrooms was tailored for ages between 40-70 years while my tomato is for the aggregation centres. This reduces my stress of looking for customers, So this lets you know who to sell your products to.
3) Build a structure: I have always advised that you think of agribusiness as another structured industry and sector. Firstly, register your business with the legal entity of your country. I believe we should be compliant to the law of every country. For Nigerians, register your business with CAC, i have a vision and mission statement, a plan of activity/yearly calendar even as a startup.
4) Start Small and Grow Big: This is a way to monitor your progress of success. I have noticed many of us start anyhow because we have some funds kept for us to use. But I advise you to start and grow your business to avoid a crash.
5) Get a Mentor: In the agribusiness space, mentorship is very advisable not just to answer your questions but to spur your desire in going higher in the industry. Mentors that have proven results in the industry, mentors that can inspire you for greatness. If you need one, they are all over the internet.
6) Incorporating technologies into your business: now we have agro jumia, an online aggregations portal which has taken this perspective from conventional to hybrid business models.
Make use of various digital platforms and social media platforms to advertise your skills, and products and sell yourself.
