seedlings and water management . Shimave took the lessons he ’ d learned in the trainings seriously and applied them on his one-hectare rice farm . His yield increased in the second season of the year and he then expanded to three hectares of land , generating about 3.1 tonnes per hectare , compared to less than 1 tonne before . He was soon a model for other young people who had left Zongo Village in Benue for the state capital , Markurdi , where they ’ d hoped to find jobs . When the youths returned home and saw the drastic changes in their friend ’ s farm , they wondered how he had done it . When they began to ask him to share his secrets with them , Shimave saw the opportunity to organise them into groups . Since then , three youth cooperatives have been formed under the umbrella Zongo Youth Association . The young farmers have pooled their resources to jointly cultivate a total of 100 hectares of rice farm during the current rainy season . Shimave now leads about 60 young people who are tilling the soil to farm rice . But unlike their predecessors they are doing it with business in mind , which they have learned through the several coaching sessions on economic analysis , crop budgeting and production efficiency . These soft skills development sessions started in 2016 , given by the 2SCALE business support service called “ The Inventive Mind ”.
In search of funds to put their skills into practice
Yet , despite all their newly acquired hard and soft skills , the young producers still came up against a few obstacles : they were not organised enough to be able to sell at competitive prices , and it was difficult to get going because they could not access money to buy inputs . And being young farmers , no one was willing to give Shimave and the other youths a loan . At least , not at first ... But a light was after all shining on the youths when Mikap Nigeria Ltd , Nigeria ’ s leading rice marketing company , selling locally produced “ Miva ” rice , was brought into the partnership . With this development , the farmers ’ market access issue was immediately resolved . The young farmers soon organised a business meeting with Mikap , to discuss other issues like access to credit . In this however , Shimave and the others were to be disappointed . Mikap decided not to organise inputs like fertilisers on credit , and the youths were left with the feeling that Mikap simply wanted to use them .
The long journey to building business relationships
Yet the spark was ignited and the young entrepreneurs were not ready to give up after their first disappointment . The Inventive Mind continued its support by coaching the groups on how to build good business relationships and to improve their negotiation skills . The coaches also helped the young farmers to establish links with local input dealers like Notore ( fertilisers ) and the Premier Seed Company . This allowed them to make deals directly with the companies on mutually agreed terms and discounted rates . Other cluster farmers ( in Tarka , Guma and Kwande ) have brokered a new relationship with LAPO Microfinance and reached an agreement for loans ( at a single-digit interest rate ) for the coming planting season . And recently , the market options expanded for the youths , with new companies like Afex and OLAM Nigeria Ltd offering them better prices for paddy rice and even providing them with inputs ( improved seeds , agrochemicals and fertiliser ). Rice business is gradually starting to boom . Zongo youths are trickling back to the village to enter agribusiness . Like Shimave , most rice growers are now making a profit of over 400,000 Naira (€ 1,100 ) per hectare . The Zongo Youth Association has sold about 10 tonnes of paddy to OLAM Nigeria Ltd and some women are starting up processing units as well . And Shimave is carefully leading the association to ensure the young farmers ’ confidence , through coaching in hard and soft skills development . He is nurturing the youthful spark to become a flame ... All the while reflecting on how to get back to Mikap Nigeria Ltd and become part of the Miva Rice brand .
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