The Most Lucrative Agribusiness Ideas in Nigeria

The agriculture sector cannot be overlooked as there are numerous opportunity to make good money from it.

Mans basic needs are shelter, food, and clothing; and the agricultural sector is responsible for providing virtually everything. Therefore, man will always depend on this sector for satisfying his basic needs.

Furthermore, the demands for agricultural products in Nigeria and other parts of the world is and will always be on the high side; because food is one of the basic needs of man.

Therefore this article will highlight several lucrative agri-business you can venture into as an aspiring agriculturist, and create enormous wealth for yourself.

What is agriculture

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Agriculture simply put is the art and science of cultivating the soil for the planting of crops and rearing of animals either for personal consumption or for business purposes.

Importance of Agriculture

Agriculture plays a crucial role in the life of individuals in society. Similarly, it also helps the development of a nation’s economy. Agriculture practice also helps the eco-system.

Aside from the provision of food and raw material agriculture gives employment opportunities to a very large proportion of the population if it is practiced on a large scale.

The most lucrative Agriculture business ideas in Nigeria

There are several agricultural businesses you can do, however, the list giving below is my list of the most lucrative agriculture business that brings good returns on investment.

List of lucrative agricultural business in Nigeria

Crop production
Poultry farming
Catfish farming
Cattle farming
Pig farming
Bee farming
Plantain farming
Cashew farming
Sheabutter farming

1. Crop production

This is one of the most thriving agriculture business in the world. There are several crops you can grow extensively and harvest for sale and profits.

Most of the crop that will be listed are in high demands for human and animal consumption, so, you can engage in extensive crop production of food crops, cash crop, root crops.

For instance, there is a high demand in Nigeria for cash crops like rice, millet soybeans, beans, maize, guinea corn, wheat, etc.

Before the recent ban on rice importation, In 2011 alone, Nigeria spent N991billion on rice importation. Nigeria is one of the world’s highest rice consumer. Therefore, a rice farmer can make serious wealth in farming and processing rice for sale.

Presently a bag of locally processed rice cost as much as ₦12,000 in the market, while the foreign rice is sold for ₦16,000. So, imagine what farming rice and processing a 1000 bag of rice can make you annually. That is a whopping ₦9,000,000 – 10,000,000. annually for producing local rice and selling to wholesalers. However, you can make ₦12000000 if you sell directly to consumers.

Credit source: Pexels

Here is a list of highly demanded and lucrative crop you can grow extensively and make your cool cash after harvest and sale.

Rice farming
Maize farming
Millet farming
Beans farming
Cowpea farming
Wheat farming
Yam farming
Potatoes farming (sweet potatoes / Irish potatoes)
Guinea corn farming
Groundnut Farming
Cassava farming
Melon Farming etc.

2. Poultry farming

Poultry farming is unarguably the most lucrative agricultural business idea. The return on investment is huge if well managed.

It doesn’t require much time like most agricultural businesses and even with little funds, you can easily start this business.

Unlike most agricultural practice that is seasonal in Nature, the poultry farming business is not seasonal, because there is a constant demand for poultry products.

There are several types of poultry birds you can rear. However, the highly demanded poultry product is the chicken (broilers/layers)

You can either farm poultry birds for it meats by rearing broilers or farm poultry birds for it eggs by rearing layers.

Below is a list of good poultry farming business you can engage in and make good money

Poultry meat production
Egg production
Poultry Hatcheries
Poultry feed production.

3. Catfish farming

The catfish farming business is a good agri-business idea. catfish are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids which helps in managing the human cholesterol levels.

Because of the awareness of the health benefits of consuming catfish, there is a high demand for it.

The market for catfish is high as there are potential customers like restaurants, fast food joints, hotels, local pepper soup joints, etc. that patronize catfish farmers on a daily basis.

Apart from rearing catfish, you can also learn how to make special feeds for feeding the fishes and also make money from selling to other farmers.

Agriculture: Fish farming — Catfish farming

4. Cattle farming

If you have enough capital at your disposal, you can venture into cattle farming business.

There is a constant demand for cattle products(meat, milk, dungs, etc.) and owning a cattle farm is a smart business idea.

In many corners of the country, there is a suya joint on a daily basis so the demand for beef is steady. Therefore having large herds of cattle is not a problem as there are stable market and demand for beef.

Credit source: Helena Lopes from Pexels

5. Pig farming

Pig farming business is a very lucrative agribusiness idea. However, you will need enough capital to start this business as pigs are good consumers.

You can start with as little as 10 pigs and grow your pig farm as pigs multiply rapidly and can reach maturity within 6-8 months.

A single pig can give birth to 16 piglets and if the pigs are well-fed you can sell a single pig for ₦70,000. Also, a piglet can be sold for ₦6,500.

So imagine having a large farm that produces 500 pigs annually even if you sell the pigs at an average price of ₦40,000 that is ₦20,000,000 as annual income.

Agriculture: Pig farming — A sow and its piglets

Credit source: Matthias Zomer from Pexels

6. Bee farming

You can make a good profit from rearing bees and harvesting honey for sales in the market. But, you will need to own a bee farm and learn how to manage one.

There is a very high demand for honey all over the world and owning a bee farm is a very lucrative agricultural business idea.

Credit source: Timothy Paule II from Pexels

7. Plantain farming

Plantain is one of the popular diets in Nigeria and the demands for it is high. Therefore, starting a plantain farming business is a good business idea.

It is also unarguably one of the most profitable agro-business ideas in Nigeria as it is very easy to cultivate and maintain a plantain farm. So, only a little time and money is needed.

8. Cashew farming

Nigeria is believed to be ranked 6th largest producer of cashew seeds. Cashew farming is highly profitable and once the plantation farm has been established it can last for more than 50 years.

So just imagine having a business (cashew farm) that pays you for life.

9. Sheabutter farming

Shea butter is in high demand by extraction and refinery companies. It is a wonderful product and has a high prospect of selling well in the market after being refined.

All you have to do to start this business is to get a piece of land where you can farm shea butter seeds and produce a large scale of it and supply companies and refineries.

10. Palm Kernel farming

This is definitely one of the most lucrative business ideas in Nigeria if you are looking forward to making good and stable income. However, you need large acres of land for your palm tree plantation.

There is a high demand for oil in the country because every household makes use of palm oils for cooking their meals.

The Most Lucrative Agribusiness Ideas in Nigeria

What is agriculture