Nigeria Must Move Beyond Farming to Agribusiness for Wealth Creation, Don Says
AKURE, Ondo State 11th June, 2026
Nigeria can no longer afford to remain a nation that exports raw agricultural products and imports finished goods at higher costs if it hopes to achieve economic prosperity, create jobs, and transform its economy, agricultural economist Dr. Edamisan Ikuemonisan has said.
Delivering a thought-provoking lecture titled “Beyond Farming: Agribusiness as the Engine of Wealth Creation and National Transformation,” Dr. Ikuemonisan argued that the country’s future lies not in farming alone but in building a robust agribusiness system that converts agricultural produce into wealth-generating products.
The lecturer from the Department of Agriculture, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, who represented the Ondo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, spoke as the guest lecturer at the Public Lecture and Award Ceremony organised by Chronicle Media Ventures in Ijapo, Akure, Ondo State.
Opening his address with a thought-provoking question, “What is more important, the farmers or the doctors?” the scholar stressed that while farming remains essential, it is only one component of a broader value chain capable of driving national development.
According to him, farming alone neither builds a nation nor creates sustainable wealth.
“When you produce, process, package, market and add value to what comes from the farm, produce becomes a product. That is when you begin to talk about agribusiness,” he said.
Dr. Ikuemonisan lamented that despite Nigeria’s vast agricultural resources, fertile land, favourable climate and youthful population, the country has failed to maximise the economic opportunities within the agricultural sector.
“Nigeria possesses the land, the people, the water and the growing season. Yet the full weight of Nigerian agriculture remains largely unprocessed, unexploited and unmonetised,” he noted.
He argued that countries that successfully transformed poverty into prosperity did so by embracing agribusiness rather than focusing solely on primary production.
The agricultural expert pointed to nations such as Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand as examples of countries that have leveraged value addition, processing and innovation to build thriving economies.
Drawing comparisons between Nigeria and Brazil, he noted that while about 55 per cent of Nigerians are engaged directly or indirectly in agriculture, the sector’s contribution to national wealth remains relatively low. Brazil, he said, achieves similar agricultural GDP contributions with only a fraction of its workforce involved in farming.
“Our challenge is not soil fertility or climate. The problem is structural. We have concentrated on production without developing the value chain that creates jobs and wealth,” he stated.
He described the situation as a “productivity trap,” explaining that Nigeria continues to rely heavily on raw commodity exports while other countries earn significantly more by processing agricultural products before exporting them.
Using cassava as a case study, Dr. Ikuemonisan observed that although Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of cassava, countries like Thailand generate far greater economic value from the crop through processing and industrial utilisation.
“It is ironic that Nigeria is the largest cassava producer, yet many industries still import starch. That tells us that something is fundamentally wrong with the structure of our agricultural economy,” he said.
The scholar also decried the export of raw cocoa, shea butter, cashew and other commodities, only for the same products to return to Nigerian markets as expensive finished goods.
“Why should Nigerian cocoa beans travel to Europe and return as chocolate beyond the reach of Nigerian families? Why should our shea butter leave as a raw product and come back in cosmetics worth many times its original value?” he queried.
According to him, every stage of the agribusiness value chain—from processing and storage to transportation, packaging and marketing—creates employment opportunities and stimulates economic growth.
Citing global studies, he said every job created in agro-processing has the potential to generate about three additional jobs in related sectors such as transportation, equipment maintenance, packaging and business services.
Dr. Ikuemonisan urged policymakers, investors, researchers and young entrepreneurs to embrace agribusiness as a national development strategy capable of reducing unemployment, boosting exports and improving food security.
He called on government to invest in rural infrastructure, particularly roads and electricity, while encouraging the private sector to take advantage of processing opportunities across agricultural value chains.
He also advocated stronger partnerships among government, research institutions and industry players to accelerate the adoption of modern technologies and innovations in agriculture.
Addressing Nigerian youths, the university lecturer challenged them to see agriculture beyond traditional farming and embrace opportunities in processing, logistics, agritech, marketing and value addition.
“The future is not just about farming. It is about agribusiness. The question is whether we are ready to invest in capturing the value that already exists within our agricultural resources,” he said.
He maintained that Nigeria possesses all the ingredients required for agricultural transformation, including cocoa, cassava, oil palm, rubber, vast arable land and strategic coastal locations.
“We already have the value. What remains is to transform that value into economic prosperity,” he concluded.
The lecture formed part of activities marking the Chronicle Media Ventures Public Lecture and Award Ceremony, which attracted stakeholders from academia, government, the private sector and the media.
