FINDING GROWTH THROUGH FARMING: The Story of a Young Nigerian Vera (Wife, Teacher, Economist-turned Farmer

Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, has recently seen the worst economic recession in 29 years, due to slump in oil production. Inflation has been rising at an alarming rate. This was compounded by the Boko Haram attacks and violence of various militant groups in the country. The economic recession came at the time when agricultural sector was almost completely neglected. Finding growth through farming can bring agriculture back in focus and harness the economy’s intrinsic potential beyond oil.

Food prices have been soaring causing the prices of food items to quadruple. Millions of people are hungry across the various regions of the country. Adults are seen so hungry and exhausted that they could barely move. Children are seen with obvious signs of malnutrition.

Our African “Giant”, Mrs. Veronica Onyepunuka, refuses to let the economy drag her along with it. She focuses on finding growth through farming. This young woman exploited the opportunity in farming that most young men and women would rather not consider. She hit the farm, planting different crops and seeds. You will be amazed at how she is able to turn her family finances around through farming. In our interview with Mrs Vera, she shared how she was inspired to go into farming, her bountiful harvest, her challenges and how she was able to overcome them. Here is her story:

I AM A YOUNG NIGERIAN WOMAN

 

My name is Mrs. Veronica Onyepunuka (Verachuks), I am from Anambra State and married to Mr. Chuks Onyepunuka, from Delta State. I studied Economics at Madonna University, Okija. The high hopes of securing a good white collar job after graduation as an economist, was crushed as no job was forth coming. I later obtained a post graduate diploma in Education (PGDE), with which I began teaching, and have continued to teach ever since. Currently, I live in Abuja, the Federal Capital of Nigeria.

My Grandfather (of the blessed memory), was a great farmer. He had lots of yam barns, cassava and other crops. My parents lived in Kano (Northern part of the country). Though we usually go to the farm with my grandpa whenever we visited him, I did not consider farming as what I will eventually do as a graduate, not until recession came calling.

 

FINDING GROWTH THROUGH FARMING

 

A few years back when fish farming started trending, most people were opening up fish ponds because they believed it to be lucrative, so I joined the bandwagon. I started catfish farming with thousands of fingerlings. My belief was that if my grandfather was a successful farmer, I will also be successful as a farmer. I did not go into fish farming  with vision, purpose, or commitment, I just joined the bandwagon.

About four months into it (early 2015), an unknown disease killed almost all of my fingerlings, leaving me with just very few. I roasted the few ones that survived and sold them off. I incurred a lot of loss. This discouraged my drive for farming, not until March 2016 when recession hit, and the drive for farming came back again as a way of surviving the recession and finding growth.

Inflation was My Inspiration

I am sharing this story with deep sense of commitment and responsibility. In my capacity as an economist and with the current recession that Nigeria is deeply into, I was inspired to think outside the box and find a way to survive and grow.

It all started on Friday, 4th March, 2016, when I went for my usual grocery shopping at a popular market called “Gosa” at FCT-Abuja. Everything was so expensive that I couldn’t buy half of what I would normally buy with the same amount of money I have. Just to give you an example: A basket of tomatoes which normally sells for ₦3,000 was sold for ₦30,000; seven (7) tubers of yam which normally sells for ₦1,500 was sold for ₦4,000. I knew it was time for game change.

The Game Plan

I discussed with my loving husband. It is our notion that any challenge that comes our way has a solution around us. We did not want to join the bandwagons, so we decided to clearly define what we wanted to achieve.

We defined our goal and our vision, which was to be able to beat Mr. Inflation. The ability to feed our family without breaking the bank was our major concern. We also wanted to be able to grow our finances at the same time. Our goal was to survive the recession, achieve growth and come out of it on top.

We drafted out our usual formula for tackling challenges, which we call “Technical Know How”. That rekindled my drive for farming; but this time, with a purpose.

I Took Action

We took a walk round our residential area (Amal-Pepple Estate Gosa Toge), in search of cultivable land. Fortunately, we discovered a fertile land behind our compound. Just like the popular saying goes, “when opportunity meets preparation then success is inevitable”.

The farm kicked off after a few weeks of tedious research. With the help of my husband, I gathered all the equipment, tools, crops and seeds we needed. Specifically, I planted corn, okro, water melon, plantain, banana, tomatoes, pepper, yam, garden-egg, beans, cucumber, green-seed and pumpkin-seed.

A Bountiful Harvest

The success was overwhelming! Harvest was so bountiful that I have more than enough of these food items to not spend money again buying them this season, but also a lot more that I now sell. I have grown and more than doubled my household income from the sales of our excesses. This does not include the savings from the high cost of food items in the market.

Indeed, this joy of practical agricultural initiative will forever remain green in my memory. The growth and success however did not come without any challenges.

MY CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES

Initially, my goal was to embark on commercial farming. My plan was to reduce the overreliance on imported food items by growing some of them locally to reduce the pressure on rising food prices. The major challenge I had was access to farm inputs. I knew I needed capital to make that dream happen. I also knew that “real farmers” have difficulty accessing the much needed loans and farm inputs.

Such aids are easily available to “fake farmers” that parade themselves as spokesmen to the farmers. They eventually get these aids, but that never gets into the hands of the real farmers. Knowing all these, I still made inquiries to secure agricultural loan, but the responses I received were very discouraging. I was almost giving up, when my husband took me for a walk and said “you can start small you know. Let’s find a good fertile land you can start with”.

With that, I started with what I have on subsistence farming which will be just sufficient for my family, instead of pooling beyond our reach to go into commercial farming. However, the harvest was very bountiful. We not only have enough for my family, but have been putting a lot of money in our pocket by selling some of our excesses.

Identifying the crops to plant was also a challenge due to the geographical and climatic requirements. Clearing of bushes, tilling of soil and construction of ridges with locally made tools like hoes, and cutlasses was very tough.

The Fulani herdsmen and their cattle were always making their way through my farmland. Protection of the farm land from destruction by the cattle was a priority for me. I made hay while the sun shines, by buying strong metals and barb-wires to fence the farm-land before the crops germinated.

The inevitable factors like erosion, irrigation, theft and pest were effectively and technically controlled without the use of chemicals or any other harmful materials. We made optimum use of the land segmentally for corn, okro, water melon, plantain, banana, tomatoes, pepper, yam, garden-egg, beans.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There is a popular saying that “in a country where there is no security for farmers’ the only alternative way to succeed is rate race”. I worked more than normal, put in extra time and effort and the result is very rewarding.

To my fellow young Africans, especially women, first I commend you for reading my story. There are a lot of opportunities to be exploited in agriculture. If I can find growth through farming, you too can! It does not take a lot to start. You can begin with a little garden in your backyard and see how much difference that can make.

Do you know a “Giant”? Do you have an inspiring story of how you achieved success against all odds? send us a message!

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Remember, it is possible to end poverty in Africa through financial education.