Kwara State Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Prof. Mohammed G. Yisa

Kwara State is actively promoting its agriculture sector and inviting investors to explore the host of opportunities. Jaco Maritz sat down with Kwara State's Commissioner for Agriulture and Natural Resources, Prof. Mohammed G. Yisa, to hear his thoughts on investment in the sector.

The importance of agriculture in the state . . .

The developmental activities of Kwara State centres essentially around the agriculture sector. We want to eliminate poverty and grow the economy through various farming and agri-processing activities. 

The immediate goal is to ensure that Kwara State is able to produce enough food for the local population, as well as for export to the rest of Nigeria. In Kwara State we have about two million hectares of cultivable, but uncultivated land. During my tenure as Commissioner for Agriculture I want to put more land under cultivation, and increase agricultural production. We want agriculture to be seen as a business and create more commercial farmers.

Producing food locally . . .

It is my strong belief that Nigeria has no business in importing food. The opportunities are here to grow more food, even enough for export. But the right investments must be made for this to become a reality. Nigeria also doesn't have to depend on crude oil to grow its economy. Agriculture is a major alternative to oil. We have everything needed for a revolution in the agriculture sector – the land, the labour and even the financial resources.

Market . . .

Investors have Kwara State as an immediate market for their produce but the whole of Nigeria can be seen as potential buyers. You may be aware that Kwara State shares a border with Benin Republic. There are already some cross border business activities taking place, especially in cattle and meat.

Those interested in supplying agricultural inputs can include poorer farmers as customers by making an arrangement with them under which they can pay with their produce or pay in cash after they have harvested their crops. Small scale farmers are often not able to finance the inputs they need. So if they have these opportunities they will be able to do much better than they are currently doing.

Incentives to investors . . .

The state government is committed to provide favourable conditions for investors. We will provide any serious investor with suitable land within a few weeks. The administration will also assist investors with infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water.

Opportunities for investment . . .

Kwara State’s agriculture sector has many investment opportunities. With vast areas of arable land and enough manpower the conditions are really favourable. One can invest in direct production, processing, transport, the provision of agricultural inputs and even marketing. In the area of production the main crops we are focusing on is cassava, rice, maize, cow pea, soya beans and rice. In Kwara State we also have orchards that produce many fruits such as oranges pineapple, cashew and mango. Currently there is only one fruit processing facility in the state and around 40% of all the fruits are wasted. So this is an area that holds much promise for investors. We also have numerous opportunities in cattle, poultry and fish farming.

Just yesterday we welcomed a group of investors that went around visiting some possible farm sites. Together with some Chinese partners, they want to process cassava into ethanol and also into cassava chips. It is going to be a unique project because they will not depend on power supply from the national grid but will produce their own electricity from agricultural waste. Some Chinese partners are also involved in this project. The opportunities are really limitless.