As an entrepreneur, I am really excited about the potential in agriculture. If I were a young person, starting out in business today, I would seriously consider agriculture.
The first thing, you would need to do is to change the way you see agriculture. Many people make the mistake of seeing agriculture, as nothing more than an activity of the rural poor, simply trying to subsist. It is not, and should not be seen that way. Agriculture possesses as much potential for entrepreneurship expression, as telecommunications, or mining.
My friend Akin Adesina, who is now the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture, is always saying “agriculture is not a development activity, it is an industry.” Ever since he mentioned this to me, I have really opened my entrepreneurial eyes to see the opportunities, and it is absolutely breathtaking. On a visit to Holland, last year, one of the leading experts in agriculture told me that “one kg. of tomato seed that they produce, is worth more than 1 kg. of gold”.
We really need young people to start to think differently about agriculture in Africa, and to begin to obtain the type of skills that will totally transform Africa, through agriculture
