The dictum, ‘smooth operator,’aptly describes Samuel J.Samuel of the Origin Group Limited. An emerging big-time player in the agro-allied business, yet seemingly faceless. He can pass incognito in a crowd of five, yet he is a colossus in the contest of contributors to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). His worth and rating is not in his size; it is in his dreams.
He is not just dreaming big, he is acting big. For proof, check out the Origin Group. It is into agric, big-tme, producing tomatoes (vegefresh), tractor sales and hiring and furniture manufacturing, among others. At 44, you’ll agree, he has accounted for every year he has been around
He sees the future of Nigeria in agriculture. “There is a lot we can do here and the way to go is agriculture. Getting answers to Nigeria’s agric problems require that we look inward,” he said, adding that the government should be ready to engage Nigerians.
He said those in authority should look to agriculture to stimulate the economy, and not infrastructure, as it is often the case. “I think like you have in other developed countries, when they want to stimulate their economies, they look to infrastructure, but in Nigeria, no matter how we want to stimulate our economy through infrastructure, the challenge still remains, because what is required to address that ends up in importation,” he further said.
But, in agriculture, Samuel argues, it’s not so.. “If you do maize, soya beans, vegetable, you end up exporting it to other countries, but not so with infrastructure. The challenge with stimulating our economy with infrastructure is that we import virtually everything. So, attempts to stimulate the economy ends up promoting foreign economies. But in agriculture, the reverse in the case. Whatever government puts into developing agriculture, remains here with us, so agriculture is the way to stimulate the economy,” he insists, adding that “government is becoming more responsive to agriculture, and that is a very good start.”
He admits though that there are several initiatives by government to encourage agriculture, saying the collaborative efforts of the government and the Bank of Industry (BoI), and the various reform measures to decongest the ports, are all commendable, but regrets however that many companies have not directly benefited from any of these initiatives.
“We’ve had a lot of planning and designs that are patterned after foreign culture. If we are bringing a model from other clines, we must take the literacy level of our people into consideration, otherwise it will be difficult to sustain such initiative,” he says.
The Origin Group chief, said collaboration between governments and the private sector remains the way forward in deepening the agribusiness sector. He proffers land acquisition and clearing as the starting point, pointing out that a tractor hiring programme can be a veritable way of assisting farmers to increase production. He says the model is already operational in Kano.
He speaks also of the necessity for governments to establish farm estates, saying the model that will work in Nigeria will require greater partnership between the government and the private sector.
He said the government can open up farm estates where it will be required to provide tractors to clear the land, and thereafter, share the land among a given member of farmers who will tend it, adding that when it comes to harvesting, the private sector will come in and accomplish that.
Samuel said at Origin Group Limited, the goal is to put 10 tractors in every local government; by so doing, he argues, every farmer should be able to increase his output.
Hear him: “Before, farmers use their hands to prepare the ground, but a tractor there. Will do an average of six hectares per day, some can do 60 hectares. If we can take away the labour of these people and give them the tractor, we’ll be able to increase Nigeria’s level of output. That was what China did. They put one tractor to every village. Today, China is self-sufficient in food production.
“It can be done here,” he insists, saying that pushing the idea is where the challenge is. We are trying to involve state governments in this. Paying for the tractors is where government needs to come in. There are challenges, but we are trying,” he added
Samuel said the youths in Nigeria have a responsibility in this endeavour. If they refuse to rise up to the challenge and pay the price now, others will pay it, but warns that we don’t have any better option, he said.
“For me, agriculture is the reliable option, or rather, the best option that we have. Go and check it, those who built America were farmers, peasant farmers, sugarcane farmers, miners. The question is whether we are ready to pay the price. Either way, it’s our interest and passion that will determine the outcome,” he added.