By Ahmed Dantala

Mr Abubakar Gotomo, founder of Gotomo Farms and Wildlife Services, has urged the youths to explore agro-business as a pathway to sustainable employment.

Gotomo made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Diko, Niger on Sunday.

NAN reports that agriculture offers a significant pathway to sustainable employment in Nigeria, particularly when focusing on sustainable farming practices.

These practices, such as crop rotation, agro-forestry, and efficient water management, can boost yields, reduce costs, and improve resilience to climate change.

“People should aspire to come into agriculture to pursue such a business that they can be rich within the shortest possible time. When you pursue it, you do it according to the best practice, be rest assure you will make your money.

“Here at Gotomo farm, we have about 36 concrete fish ponds, we have over 10 earthen farms for fish production. But I’m just giving a simple example of one pond farm which has the capacity to store 2,500 catfish.

‘’2,500 catfish, if well fed, within 100 to 120 days, they can grow to the table size. Three of them can give you one kg, averagely, If you are lucky, two can give you one kg, but three can give you one kg.

‘’At a conservative price now, a kg can give you 2,000. Now imagine, as a graduate, you have one pond farm of 2,500 catfish. You manage it in 120 days; you’d be rest assured of going with a profit of two million Naira.’’

He added that the agriculture sector remains a veritable means of opportunity, saying the value chain is even more significant.

‘’Even if it’s in the service of input, providing input, selling, marketing, transportation, actively performing on the farm. So, I encourage our graduates, don’t wait. You have no time to wait.

‘’You are a fresh graduate from the NYSC, come, try to get that orientation. As soon as you finish your NYSC, please go to the farm, the job is there waiting for you.’’

Gotomo said that the search for economic independence was his drive and motivation to go into agri-business.

“I left the civil service very early because I have been naturally an independent person. And at the civil service I realised that I have a lot of restrictions and limitations and I can’t achieve my aspirations as a civil servant.

“With the civil service I discovered that promotion is your limit, you can’t go beyond promotion. Your competency, your experience, your expertise is not enough for you to secure any job.

‘’You have still to go and start lobbying here and there. I feel, no, I have to look for something more independent. With food production, people must eat and you have access to market when you produce, people must buy.

‘’The fact that you graduate does not mean that you should go and be a servant to anybody. That education should serve as a light that will help you to pursue any venture, so I went into adventure,’’ he said.

Gotomo said that contamination of the soil, chemical application, post-harvest management, application of preservatives and pesticides, are factors affecting the quality and health of the food.

He said that the Gotomo farm uses organic principles in order to give out products that are healthy enough and safe for human consumption.

“We are trying to train people, all the people working here with us, then those coming in to get training, we give them those principles. And with that, gradually, we can scale our food system and ensure food security.

“Food security is not just about the availability of food alone. It is also about the quality of that food,’’ he said.(NAN)

Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz