Tolani Alli - Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening - One Entrepreneur’s Story

Nigeria’s

Agricultural Reawakening

– One Entrepreneur’s Story

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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SYNOPSIS

xDANMARKS MEDIE- OG JOURNALISTHØJSKOLE

Over the last half-century, Nigeria has significantly lost its global leadership in agriculture, including a drop from number one palm oil producing country to fifth position as of 2016. This regression was fueled by the discovery, and aggressive production, as well as exportation, of crude oil, which soon commanded the most attention from the nation’s leaders, especially in government. Today, there has been a slow, yet steady, resurgence of Nigeria’s agricultural sector, with young – often welleducated, resilient, tech-savvy and ambitious – people driving a quiet revolution whilst straddling both rural and urban landscapes. This documentary, the first in a series, explores the life of Shola Ladoja, a young Nigerian agricultural entrepreneur whose brand, Simply Green, is one of the agricultural enterprises at the forefront of providing healthy options for thousands of Nigerians, and aims to reach millions across Nigeria and Africa within the next decade.

Name: Tolani Alli Documentary Photography Projects Course

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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“The oil sector represents 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Nigeria but accounts for 98% of the foreign exchange earnings of the country and 80% of the revenues for the government,” - Akinwumi Adesina.

President of the African Development Bank (AfDB),

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Shola discusses with his farmer before they head out to clear land

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Shola shows me seeds he plants to grow the leaves used to make the juices and harvested for the Today's Harvest mix

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

A kale blooms after its been planted

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Chef Sam at The Simply Green Cafe in Lagos mixes a salad for a client.

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Top: Chidi carries the tray of kale plants as Shola follows behind with a tray of his own to plant on the field Opposite: Shola plants a row of kale after installing the drip technology Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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DOCUMENTARY Nigeria's Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Story

Over the last half-century, Nigeria has significantly lost its global leadership in agriculture, including a drop from number one palm oil producing country to fifth position as of 2016. This regression was fueled by the discovery, aggressive production, and exportation, of crude oil, which soon commanded the most attention from the nation’s leaders, especially in government.

Emil,Jude, Shola, Fred and Jamaica as he is fondly called, plants tray of Kale on the field

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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(Production Site/Farm/)

Quick Facts $28,000 MILLION TURNOVER MONTHLY

(Packaging/ Distribution) Ido, Ibadan

Ojota, Lagos Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki

$280,000 TOTAL INVESTMENT

To get the right exposure and advanced practical knowledge,

Ikoyi, Victoria Is., Lekki

he has travelled all over the world, spending weeks and months at a stretch, and paying to learn from the best farmers in Switzerland, UK, and the USA.

(Retail Shops, Wholesales)

Shola discusses with clients who stop at the cafe for lunch

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Following from the crash in crude oil prices since 2014, there has been a slow, yet steady, resurgence of Nigeria’s agricultural sector, with young – often well-educated, resilient, tech-savvy and ambitious – people driving a quiet revolution whilst straddling both rural and urban landscapes.

Shola mixes and blends his favorite juice - Pick me Up Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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One of the emerging players in Nigeria’s agricultural resurgence is Shola Ladoja, a young Nigerian entrepreneur whose brand, Simply Green, is at the forefront of providing healthy options for thousands of Nigerians, and aims to reach millions across Nigeria and Africa within the next decade.

Shola prepares for the next phase by clearing more land to plant more tomato and kale trays

Cold Juices shown in The Fridge at The Simply Green Cafe Vi, Lagos

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Unlike many other compatriots, Shola began farming after graduating in 2008 from the New York University, where had majored in Economics and Business.

Shunning the white-collar employment way, he embraced farming, passionately seeking knowledge and developing hands-on skills.

Tito prepares the drip irrigation system on the rows for the next phase of planting

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Shola discusses with Debo his business partner on the farm - Debo runs the operations on the farm while shola is in Lagos taking care of the entrepreneurship part of the business Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Today, he has 20 hectares of land at his disposal, 25% of which has been harvested within the past three years. Located south-west of Nigeria, in Ido Local Government of Oyo State, Simply Green employs over 50 people, and currently produces 500 juices a day, though it has capacity for up to a thousand. The juices are only fresh for 4 days, so distribution must be swift and efficient.

Shola, Debo, Jude, Emil and Jamaica look on during a strategy break at the farm

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Shola claims that an air plane lands every Thursday into the country with imported fruits and vegetables to be supplied across key cities. However, he hopes to put an end to such a situation with initiatives such as Today's Harvest – which he recently created in 2017. Through this initiative, he highlights how all the raw materials used to make Simply Green juices are sourced locally. “Our juices are so fresh that consumers don’t believe that the fruits and vegetables used to make them are all produced in Nigeria!” 230 square metres have been harvested so far for the Today’s Harvest initiative, with potentials for further growth.To address power and water challenges, the farm is fully off-grid and solarpowered, which Sola says is a one-time investment that will generate a huge income over the long-term.

Like other farmers in Nigeria, he also does not rely on rain water, although rain is a plus. He uses a Drip Irrigation Technology System that waters the plants automatically.

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Our juices are so fresh that consumers don’t believe that the fruits and vegetables used to make them are all produced in Nigeria!

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Shola holds kale plant as he gets ready to plant it

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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A young farmer prepares the land for planting

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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By deploying technology and the power of a dedicated team of technical and non-technical staff/partners, Shola can straddle both the urban and rural interplays of the business.

He often oversees the business and day-to-day operations in Lagos, whilst he has entrusted Debo Ogunde and Emil Durst (a Swiss agriculture expert) with on-site farm operations.

He joins them during the weekend to get things done on the field. He also engages core and professional farmers, employing them full-time and providing living quarters for them and their families on the farm.

Jude plants kale as he listens to music

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Like many other farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs across the country, Shola faces several challenges, including herdsmen whose cattle indiscriminately feed on farm produce – as widely reported in the dailies over the last few years. After discovering that herdsmen do not like to have their cattle mix with those of other herdsmen, he began to breed cattle through his own herdsmen. This has drastically reduced invasion of Shola’s farm by itinerant herdsmen from across the country.

Shola reflects while he answers questions I have for him about the constant process behind the success story we see Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

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Shola’s one-stop shop is his phone, with which he processes transactions, discusses deals with clients, and engages with investors. To-date, he has invested over $300,000 into this venture, building a customized factory designed by himself.

Shola has two Simply Green Juices cafés in Lagos, where the final products are strategically placed so people can get work done and be health-minded whilst at it.

How profitable is Shola’s business? “In a good month, the company makes about $35,000; when it is the reverse case, we still manage to record $20,000,” he says, as he sets his eyes on bigger goals, like expanding his company’s footprints to more states in Nigeria and, eventually, across Africa.

Shola is just one of the scores of new-age Nigerian agricultural entrepreneurs.

Could his remarkable story of passion, innovation, strong will, ambition, and dedication serve as a catalyst for young Nigerians looking to make a difference in Nigeria and Africa through agriculture? 91 million hectares of arable land await the millions of Nigerian youths.

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Shola is silhouetted as he looks over the guinea fowl he and his father breeds.

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Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

Nigeria’s

Agricultural Reawakening - Meet the Heroes P R OJ E C T BY TO L A N I A L L I © 20 1 7 A L L R I G H TS R E S E RV E D.

Nigeria’s Agricultural Reawakening – One Entrepreneur’s Stor y

xDANMARKS MEDIE- OG JOURNALISTHØJSKOLE

Name: Tolani Alli Documentary Photography Projects Course