A review of Adeniyi Solabunmi’s book, Arise and Farm
WHEN people, especially the young ones, choose their aspiring professions, hardly would one find anyone wanting to be a farmer. Why is this so? Probably because there are not many role models in the agricultural sector, but in actual fact, there are many farmers doing well for themselves and their communities through their endeavours. However, most of them have remained invisible and that is why many young ones are not seeing the opportunities that farming bring.
Therefore, Adeniyi Solabunmi’s book, Arise and Farm: The inspiring story of how an African entrepreneur built successful agribusinesses using continuous innovation, is coming at a right time, as it will help inspire the youth, majority of whom are unemployed, to think along the agricultural sector.
The author, in the book, shares his experiences, failures, successes, which will help upcoming agricultural entrepreneurs weather the challenges in the sector.
The author opens the book from when he was searching for a job, and faced with the challenges of the early years of marriage, but says, “unknown to me, the pasture I so desire was to be created by me.”
On one of his trips to Abeokuta, where his family resides, someone introduces him to the fish production business, saying he could gain 200% profit from it.
He says he began to read about fish production and finally takes the leap and starts the business. The first chapter of the book documents his experience in this sub-sector of agribusiness, especially the challenges he faced from the second month when he stocked his pond and finally when he saw the carcasses of fishes floating above the pond. He lost about 1,000 fishes from two ponds.
In the following months, his source of funding stopped and he could not afford to feed the fish again, “and the fishes were left at the mercy of feeding on aquatic organisms and starving.”
The author, in the second chapter, documents how he switched to local feeds and how he survived the period.
After conquering the fish business and becoming an expert in it, the author, by chance, got to know about Moringa leaf during a discussion at a newspaper stand, and on getting home that day, he begins a research on Moringa.
In his opening statement in the third chapter, he likens business to a war, “you conquer a new territory, then you set out to conquer the next.” So his next ‘war’ is Moringa.
He documents how he finally started the moringa business and the next chapters detailed how he started the Moringa soap and cream, among others, as well as his marketing strategies.
However, with more successes, come competitors and he began to seek more opportunities. He visits Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Cyprus, Israel, among others, in search of knowledge in agriculture.
He then delves into plantain, avocado, pineapple, among other crops.
Solabunmi, in the book, documents his challenges and victories, which he believes will inspire anyone who intends to go into agriculture.
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