Running world-class agribusiness enterprise through USA agric tour

Agribusiness Consult and Chayil Safari and Hospitality Limited are taking entrepreneurs with investment interest in agriculture on a tour of five states of the United States of America. This is coming after the successful outing of an agric tour of US in 2012, which took stakeholders in the Nigerian agricultural sector to different places in the US to awaken in them and expand their knowledge of the possibilities in agribusiness.

“Five states – New Mexico, California, Georgia, Texas, Missouri – will be visited. We have scheduled the tour for March 6 to 24, this year, to coincide with two international conferences – the 112th US National Farmers Union (NFU) Convention in New Mexico and the Small Farms Conference in California,” says Bosede Oboh, chief executive, Agribusiness Consult and founder, Animal Crop Associated Service Consult (ACASC Farms). She says the tour will also include business meeting with honorary consul, Cynthia Nash Blandford, apart from participation at the convention and conference. “There would also be a business and agricultural tour to St. Louis, Georgia and Texas, guided tour of large beef, dairy/cattle farms in Texas, honeybee production farm, large pig, poultry and fish farms in California and meeting with different business technology incubation centres in America,” she says.

In addition, visits are planned for Monsanto, the world’s number one biotechnology and seed plant in St. Louis, Missouri, and plans are underway for the delegates to visit dairy farms and food processors in Ontario, Canada.

The aim of the tour, according to the organisers, is to get participants exposed to global, agricultural, industrial and entrepreneurship practices, international networking opportunities, opportunities to build collaborative experiential trust that will attract foreign investment and acquire innovative technological and entrepreneurship skill to run a world-class enterprise which may or may not be related to agriculture but would be very beneficial to agribusiness investors.

Oboh is also the founder, Lagos Farmers Markets (LAFAMA) and chief executive, Freshserve. LAFAMA is a private driven regulated markets that seeks to provide a better platform for small farms owners in Lagos State and the underserved agrarian communities in the state to have a higher earning power and fair deal for their labour by selling directly to consumers in a highly regulated and hygienic atmosphere. LAFAMA in turn will also afford the residents of the state access to farm fresh produce as against what is presently obtainable in the public open markets.

Freshserve is a fresh fruits and vegetables on spot juicing and vending enterprise which seeks to provide pocket friendly fresh and wholesome natural light meals and drinks to the middle income earners.  We serve at any kinds of events in Nigeria, and run outlets in fuel and transit stations nationwide, she says.

ACASC Farms is an agricultural farm, food processing and packaging firm and agric training, tourism and consulting firm, and farm managers.

By: OLUYINKA ALAWODE