Agribusiness Opportunities – SS3 Horticulture and Crop Production Lesson Note (Second Term)

Agribusiness is the full chain of activities that takes a crop from planting to the consumer, including supplying inputs, growing, processing, marketing and support services.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. explain what agribusiness and the horticultural value chain mean;
2. list the steps in the value chain of a crop such as tomato;
3. describe business opportunities in input supply, specialised production, processing and packaging, and support services;
4. give reasons why horticulture is a good choice compared with crops like yam or cassava;
5. describe how a young person can start a small agribusiness.

What is agribusiness?

Agribusiness is every business activity that a crop passes through, from the seed to the final product on a consumer’s plate.

• Input supply: selling seeds, seedlings, fertiliser and tools to farmers.
• Production: growing the crop on the farm, in a greenhouse or in a backyard.
• Processing: turning raw produce into products such as juice, paste or spice.
• Marketing: branding, selling and delivering the product to buyers.
• Support services: transport, advice, finance and advertising that help the other steps work.

• Farming is only one part: many people earn from horticulture without ever using a tractor.
• Many skills are needed: science, maths, art and the ability to talk to people all have a place.

What is horticulture?

Horticulture is the growing of fruits, vegetables, flowers and other garden plants.

• Olericulture: growing vegetables, such as tomato, cabbage and fluted pumpkin (ugu).
• Pomology: growing fruits, such as orange, mango and pawpaw.
• Floriculture: growing flowers and ornamental plants for sale, such as roses and lilies.

What is the horticultural value chain?

The horticultural value chain is the series of connected steps that a fruit, vegetable or flower passes through, with value added at each step.

• Chain: a series of connected steps, where each step depends on the one before it.
• Value: the product becomes more useful, and usually more expensive, at each step.

What is the value chain of a tomato?

The tomato value chain has four steps: input, production, processing, and marketing and retail.

1. Input (the start): someone sells high-quality seed and fertiliser to the farmer.
2. Production: the farmer grows the tomato in a greenhouse.
3. Processing: someone buys the tomatoes and turns them into tomato paste or dried tomato flakes.
4. Marketing and retail: someone else brands the paste, puts it in a nice jar, and sells it in a supermarket or online.

What is value addition?

Value addition is changing raw produce into a more useful or longer-lasting product that sells for a higher price.

• Tomato to paste: the paste keeps longer and is easier to use than fresh tomato.
• Ginger to dried ginger: drying removes water, so the ginger spoils more slowly.
• Ugu to ready-to-cook pack: washing and chopping saves the buyer time.
• Plain jar to branded jar: a good name and label help the product sell.

What business opportunities exist in horticulture?

There are four groups of horticultural business opportunities: input supply, specialised production, processing and packaging, and support services.

1. Input supply (the “setup” business)

Input supply is selling the materials farmers need before a single seed is planted.

• Nursery management: grow seedlings (baby plants) in a protected place and sell them to farmers who have no time to start from seed.
• Organic fertiliser production: collect waste from poultry farms and markets to make good compost for sale.

2. Specialised production (the “growing” business)

Specialised production is growing high-value crops in a way that earns more from a small space.

• Greenhouse farming: one small plot with a greenhouse can grow “exotic” vegetables such as bell peppers, cucumbers and strawberries, which sell at a high price.
• Floriculture (flowers): roses and lilies are grown for weddings, funerals and Valentine’s Day, with strong demand in big cities like Lagos and Abuja.

3. Processing and packaging (the “value addition” business)

Processing and packaging is changing fresh produce into a finished product, and it is where much of the profit is made.

• Dehydration: drying ginger, garlic or onions so they last much longer without spoiling.
• Fresh-cut services: busy city people do not want to spend an hour chopping ugu or cabbage, so you wash, chop and package “ready-to-cook” vegetables.
• Making juice and paste: turn fruits and tomatoes into bottled or jarred products.

4. Support services (the “expert” business)

Support services are the businesses that work around the farm and help growers produce and sell.

• Cold-chain logistics: use a refrigerated van to move fresh flowers or strawberries from the farm to the airport so they do not wilt in the heat.
• Farm consultancy: advise older farmers on how to use sensors or how to apply for organic certification.
• Agri-marketing: take professional photos of farm produce and manage social media pages for big farms, to help them find customers.

Summary table of opportunities

Why is horticulture a good choice?

Horticulture is a good choice because its crops mature fast, sell at high prices and can be grown in small spaces.

• Horticultural crops: fruits, vegetables and flowers, often grown on small, well-managed plots.
• Yam and cassava: staple root and tuber crops, usually grown on large farms and kept for many months before harvest.

1. High turnover: vegetables can be harvested about every 3 months, so a farmer can be paid several times a year.
2. High value: a small basket of habanero peppers can sell for more than a large bag of garri.
3. Urban friendly: urban farming can be done on a rooftop or in a backyard, so you do not need a large village farm.

How can a young person start an agribusiness?

A young person can start a small agribusiness with three steps: identify a problem, find a solution and brand the product.

1. Identify a problem: for example, “People in my neighbourhood cannot find fresh mint leaves.”
2. Find a solution: for example, “I will grow mint in 10 recycled paint buckets.”
3. Brand your product: for example, “Clean-Cut Fresh Herbs.”

• Start small: a large sum of money is not needed to begin.
• Use what is around you: recycled buckets, a backyard or a school garden can serve as the first farm.
• Solution provider: a person who sees a need in the food industry and meets it with a product or service.

Evaluation

1. What is agribusiness?
2. List the four steps in the value chain of a tomato.
3. Name two business opportunities in processing and packaging.
4. Give three reasons why horticulture is a good choice compared with yam or cassava.
5. State the three steps a young person can follow to start a small agribusiness.

Assignment

Choose one business opportunity from this lesson. State which part of the value chain it belongs to. Then use the three steps for starting small to write down a problem in your neighbourhood, a horticultural solution to it, and a name for your product.