Early in 2023, I met a young Igbo farmer who came to me with a simple request. “Bros, can I get a piece of land?” But he was very specific.
He wanted a portion close to a small stream inside the 1,000-hectare farm where I was working. I gave him the land.
At that time, that particular portion wasn’t even very attractive to many people. In fact, herdsmen were gradually turning that area into a resting/camping point.
But this guy had a plan. He started bringing in farm inputs. Sometimes, he would even beg me: “Bros, help me keep some of these things in your place.”
I didn’t think too much of it. Until I discovered what he was planning. This man planted 25,000 stands of pineapple.
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And he had something many farmers struggle to get during the dry season: WATER.
The stream close to his farm became a major advantage. He used the water to support the pineapple during the dry season, keeping the crop growing when many other farms were already battling moisture stress.
And something else happened. I turned his farm into my classroom. I started asking him questions.
Why this spacing? Why this variety? Why this method? Why are you doing this? How are you managing the water?
Because one thing I have learned as an agronomist is this: A wise man is not the man who knows everything. A wise man is the man who knows that he doesn’t know everything.
This farmer taught me a lot. It took about 18 months before harvesting started. And the results were impressive. About 70% of the pineapple produced big fruits that met his target.
When he finally calculated everything, he told me he had made more than ₦18 million from the project. I was shocked.
Imagine seeing a piece of land that many people considered almost useless and turning it into a multimillion-naira farm project.
Not long after I left the place, he moved his operation elsewhere. But I never forgot the lesson.
Some of the most profitable agricultural opportunities are hiding inside crops people don’t pay enough attention to.
Everybody wants to plant maize. Everybody wants to plant rice. Everybody wants to plant cassava.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But as a farmer or agro-investor, you should also learn to explore. Study the market. Study your soil. Study your climate.
Look at your water availability. Understand your production cost. Find out who will buy your produce. And then identify crops that can give you an advantage.
Because sometimes, your next million-naira farm project may not come from the most popular crop. It may come from the crop everyone else ignored. Agriculture is bigger than the crops we already know.
Umaru Ezekiel Esude
