- Title: Nigerians seek additional income through farming amid coronavirus
- Date: 9th July 2020
- Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ABIDEMI OLAOJO PRUNING HERBS IN HER HOME GARDEN VARIOUS OF ABIDEMI PACKING PLANTS FOR DELIVERY ABIDEMI WALKING OUT WITH A BOX OF PLANTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) GARDEN OWNER, ABIDEMI OLAOJO, SAYING: "I can remember when COVID-19 started, I was so depressed, I was like nobody is going to order for my seedlings again, in fact I can remember there was a day I was crying and I was so sad about it, and lo and behold, when the lockdown started, the request for my seedlings multiplied to about 100 percent, it was like really more and overwhelming, and I did not use to have a whole lot of seedlings so it has kept me more busy, like each day I have something to do, I have to like keep planting every day to be able to meet up with the demand." ABUJA, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VERONICA KIBU AND HER HUSBAND WORKING IN FARM GROUND NUT CROP IN FARM (SOUNDBITE) (English) GOVERNMENT WORKER, VERONICA KIBU, SAYING: "Because of this coronavirus that has happened, my eyes have opened widely. So this thing has made me now to decide that I will not leave farming, by the grace of God I will continue to farm, even when I retire." LAGOS, NIGERIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CONFIDENCE ODIONYE POURING PESTICIDE INTO THE DRONE VARIOUS OF DRONE SPRAYING PESTICIDE ON RICE FARM VARIOUS OF CONFIDENCE CONTROLLING DRONE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT, BEAT DRONE, CONFIDENCE ODIONYE, SAYING: "The aim was simply to ensure that we increase efficiency in the agricultural sector, and reduce the cost of operation and also improve harvest yield in the agricultural sector in Nigeria, which has been plagued by a massive, massive loss of crops at harvest period." VARIOUS OF FARM RICE OWNERS IN MEETING (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT, BEAT DRONE, CONFIDENCE ODIONYE, SAYING: "The coronavirus created a loophole for the entire African continent, because Africa is totally reliant on imported foods." VARIOUS OF RICE PLANT
- Embargoed: 23rd July 2020 12:04
- Keywords: Coronavirus Cushioning effect of COVID-19 Farming Home gardening Seedlings and herbs
- Location: ABUJA, LAGOS
- City: ABUJA, LAGOS
- Country: Nigeria
- Reuters ID: LVA001CM36US7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Abidemi Olaojo thought her business, that sells seedlings and sets up home gardens in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos would shrivel up when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, but then the orders started pouring in.
Customers, she said, were scared of taking regular trips to the market that will likely expose them to the virus.
Some, with more time on their hands during lockdowns, wanted to start producing their own herbs and vegetables for the family dinner table.
She had valid reasons to be worried, after more than one year of being in the business, she barely had over 3 orders in a week.
But surprisingly for her, during the lockdown and until now, her deliveries moved up to 20 orders a day, most of the orders coming through her Instagram page where she posts pictures and videos of her plants and garden loot.
""I can remember when COVID-19 started, I was so depressed, I was like nobody is going to order for my seedlings again, in fact I can remember there was a day I was crying and I was so sad about it, and lo and behold, when the lockdown started, the request for my seedlings multiplied to about 100 percent, it was like really more and overwhelming, and I did not use to have a whole lot of seedlings so it has kept me more busy, like each day I have something to do, I have to like keep planting every day to be able to meet up with the demand," said Abidemi who says she started farming when she realized some vegetables and herbs were not easily available on the market.
Some Nigerians have ventured into farming on bigger plots rather than working on their home gardens.
Veronica Kibu, a civil servant five years away from retirement, said she and her husband decided to spend more time and money on expanding their groundnut farm in Nigeria's capital, Abuja since the new coronavirus started spreading here.
Kibu has just invested in the groundnut farm by helping her husband acquire more land.
She says selling more produce will help them through the hard economic time brought on by the pandemic.
"Because of this coronavirus that has happened, my eyes have opened widely. So this thing has made me now to decide that I will not leave farming, by the grace of God I will continue to farm, even when I retire this is the work that I will continue doing, it helps a lot," said Kibu.
To help reduce its dependency on oil, Africa's most populous country is pushing for more people to take up agriculture, which currently contributes about 40 percent to its gross economic output.
But the sector is wrought with poor infrastructure and electricity among other challenges making agriculture less attractive to many.
Some technology firms are seeking to offer farming solutions at a time when restrictions on the movement of workers and social distancing is working against any desire to increase output.
Nigerian start-up Beat Drone, founded by Confidence Odionye is helping large scale farmers spray pesticides on their farms using drones instead of back packs.
"The aim was simply to ensure that we increase efficiency in the agricultural sector, and reduce the cost of operation and also improve harvest yield in the agricultural sector in Nigeria, which has been plagued by a massive massive loss of crops at harvest period," said Odionye.
"The firm has partnered with the Ogun state government to locally manufacture 3,000 drones every year and make them affordable for farmers.
"The coronavirus created a loophole for the entire African continent, because Africa is totally reliant on imported foods," said Odionye.
A government report on the impact of the outbreak indicates that about 39.4 million people - about a third of Nigeria's workforce - may become unemployed by the end of this year. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
