Mkulima today getting on the farm is not the only option you have to make it in agriculture. Today we cover the opportunities in agriculture for you to get involved in.

15 things you did not know about opportunities in agriculture. Recently, a three-year-old agriculture technology startup acquired a 16-year-old agribusiness company.

Farm Crowdy, the pioneer of digital agriculture crowdfunding venture acquired Best foods LNP an agribusiness group that has been in existence for a period of over 16 years.

read more

Why the future of farming is not farming, Usman Lawan

Understanding Kenya’s mechanized potato farming

Agribusiness funding rounds as farmers to benefit from sh 5bn

Best foods LNP has focused on the processing of livestock farming and marketing of agricultural produce.

Why should you care? These words from the president of the African development bank will tell you why. He said,  “the next generation of millionaires and billionaires in Africa will be farmers.”

President of the African Development Bank Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina was asked recently where the next crop of African billionaires will come from. The president of the African development bank without batting an eyelid declared that they will be farmers. He said by 2030, the size of the food and agribusiness in Africa will reach $1 trillion.

Currently, more than 60% of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa is smallholder farmers, and about 23% of Sub-Saharan Africa, GDP comes from agriculture, yet Africa’s full agricultural potential remains untapped.

Keep reading to learn more interesting facts about the undeniable opportunities in agriculture, across the continent and how you can take advantage of these opportunities.

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So if you’re thinking of how to make money, this is the sector to be in. He believes that agriculture will produce more millionaires and billionaires than any other sector in Africa.

When you imagine yourself four or five years after high institution, you probably never imagined achieving your financial dream through agriculture. You thought the greatest honor of going to school was to get a white-collar job treating sick patients or defend clients in the courtroom.

Farming seems like what happens to people who had no other options. By now, you should already know that the agric industry has come a long way. The once disregarded profession is the goldmine of today and tomorrow.

Food demand
The demand for food will continue to soar. If current trends hold, the amount of food being grown will feed only half of the world population by 2050, this trend can be changed and Africa is a good place to start. Giving Africa’s rising income levels and rapidly growing population. The demand for food will soar in the medium term, creating new growth opportunities in agriculture,

Logistics
Africa can feed itself. In the rural villages of Africa, farmers would lose more than half of their tomatoes after each harvest. This is not out of carelessness, but bad roads make it difficult for them to get their tomatoes to the market.

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, as much as 50% of fruits and vegetables, 40% of roots and tubers, and 20% of cereals, legumes, and pulses harvested are lost before they reach a market with expertise, knowledge, and innovation on food preservation coming into the industry Africa has the capacity to feed itself.

capacity
Africa has the capacity to feed the world. Can African farmers feed the world? Apparently, the answer is yes. And this statement is based on specific facts. Africa is home to 60 to 65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, and 10% of renewable freshwater resources.

And it has registered a 160% increase in agricultural output over the past 30 years.

In fact, the Democratic Republic of Congo alone can feed 2 billion people according to some estimates.

As the global population continues to soar to approach around 10 billion by 2050, there will be an ever-increasing demand for food and Agri produce just like China dominated the manufacturing industry in the global skill. Africa has the resources to feed the world in the future.

Technology
Agriculture is more about technology than landmass. The Netherlands is the 17th largest economy in the world.

Its land area is about 41,543 square kilometers, less than double the size of Rwanda and the population estimate of 17.4 million. Yet this country is the world’s second-largest exporter of food.

In 2017 the Netherlands exported almost $92 billion worth of agricultural produce.

They have been able to achieve this by relentlessly focusing and finding innovative ways to produce higher yields with fewer inputs.

For example, while the global average yield of potatoes per acre is approximately nine tonnes many farms in the Netherlands produced more than 20 tonnes between 2003 and 2014.

New production technology has resulted in a 28% increase in vegetable yields, a 6% reduction in energy used, and a 29% reduction in fertilizer required. So agriculture is more about technology than landmass. Imagine when you have both technology and landmass.

Revolution
Africa is the only region yet to experience a green revolution. The green revolution was a period when the productivity of global agriculture increased drastically as a result of new advances in research technology. During this time period, new chemical fertilizers and synthetic herbicides, and pesticides were created.

The green revolution is estimated to have saved up to 1 billion people from starvation at the time when African countries like Nigeria were to take advantage of the green revolution, the country discovered oil and abandoned its agricultural potential.

Africa needs to stage its own version of the green revolution. If it’s to help save its people from hunger.

Production
Africa could be two to three times more productive than it is today. Africa’s full agricultural potential remains untapped in a recent analysis by McKinsey.

It determined that Africa could produce two to three times more cereals and grains, which could add 20% more cereals and grains to the current worldwide. 2.6 billion tons of output.

Similar increases could be seen in the production of horticulture, crops, and livestock if the continent intensifies its agriculture productivity.

Nine countries make up 60% of the total agric potential. Analyzing productivity potential across 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa showed that nine countries make up 60% of the total potential with three countries, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania comprising half of that.

The crops have huge potential in these countries. A report by McKinsey explores crop production and value chain opportunities and finds the three crops in three countries.

Namely wheat in Ethiopia, cassava in Nigeria, and maize in Tanzania have considerable investment potential. Although there are opportunities to invest in other agric produce. These are said to have the most potential in these top African countries,

Technology
Agritech has grown by 110% over three years. According to Disrupt Africa, Agri tech has grown by 110% since 2016, as a variety of services have sprung up at every corner of the African continent in less than a decade.

This ranges from crowdfunding platforms for farmers like Nigeria’s farm Crowdy. Somalia’s Ari farm in South Africa is livestock wealth.

These are businesses that tap into the lack of financial capital for smallholding farmers, to companies using drones for precision agriculture like South Africa’s aerobatics and Ivorian we fly Agri through solar-powered cold storage’s and supply chain startups,

Digitalization
Digitalization holds considerable potential to transform the food agriculture and fisheries system in the coming years.

Mobile devices, data analytics, high quality, satellite imagery, precision equipment, and artificial intelligence could contribute greatly to increase productivity, sustainability, and resilience across the sector.

Some of these technologies exist today while others are still in the early stages of development. This will mean significantly increased public and private investment in digital infrastructure and in education and training.

Careers 

There are different career opportunities in agriculture. By now you understand that there are huge career opportunities in the agric industry and that you don’t have to own a farm to benefit from this fast-growing industry.

Careers in agriculture make up one of the largest industries and sources of long-term employment in the world, providing jobs for millions of people.

Many of the careers in the agriculture and forestry industry are considered green careers, meaning that the careers are involved in preserving or protecting our environment.

Major careers include agricultural engineer, food sciences, agricultural manager, agricultural specialist, agronomist botanist, Forester, horticulturist, data analytics, and a lot more.

Make your money work for you without going to the farm. Organizations have innovated in this area. For example, farm Crowdy and thrive agric among many others, offer crowdfunding opportunities for anyone to invest their money in agriculture, the company then provides financial support and expertise still or to a local farmer to increase and maximize their yield.

If you don’t have the time to get into the agric industry as a career or business, you can still invest your money.

Women are increasingly taking up the challenge. Women make up almost 50% of the agricultural labor force in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is also the backbone of agriculture in Africa producing 80% of its food.

With increasing support for women in agribusiness, many career women are taking their place in the agricultural value chain while it’s not an easy journey a good number of women are smiling to the bank. In addition to the recognition, they receive.

Investing

the opportunities in agriculture are so wide including financing other ventures in the value chain. There is so much room to invest realizing Africa’s full agricultural potential will require significant investment.

Sub Saharan Africa will need eight times more fertilizer, six times more improved seed at least $8 billion of investment in basic storage, and as much as $65 billion in irrigation to fulfill its agricultural promise.

This simply means that the industry can use a lot more money than is currently going into it. There’s room for everyone to come and invest money, manpower, expertise, and ideas. Now, what are you going to do if you enjoyed this story?

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