# I. Introduction

n a logical assessment, a nations' economy consists largely of two principal sectors: agriculture and industry. Agriculture to a large extent is rural based and industry bran. According to Price water house Coopers (PwC) (2016), agriculture's contribution to Nigeria's real GDP in the fourth quarter of 2015 was 24.18%. This it reported was due to the introduction of mechanised farming and the agribusiness value chain. The Government encouraged this development in agriculture as a precursor to poverty alleviation through agribusiness aided by investments from commercial farmers. With the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market in recent times, the Government is emphasizing agricultural exports as an Alternative foreign exchange earner. The articulation and introduction of entrepreneurial principles into agriculture will be a strong driver of this programme and improve on what has been achieved so far in the agricultural sector.

Agriculture today in Nigeria is facing challenges that are yet to be addressed such as inadequate infrastructure, difficulty in accessing credit and absence of training for smallholder farmers on opportunities that the enterprise offers among other constraints in modern farming techniques. Mitigating these will assist in improving Nigeria's food security, develop agribusiness, grow the GDP and raise foreign exchange earnings (PwC, 2016). Other challenges are soaring food prices that are technically beyond the reach of the common man, changes in climatic systems that have changed patterns of agricultural practices and adaptable crops, rapid urbanisation that has altered production and consumption patterns; the list is endless.

These developments have ushered in changes in the food markets, created new opportunities and challenges for the farmers, especially the smallholders. With the recognition of the importance of agriculture in the economic development continuum and growth, market and business oriented agriculture seem to be prominent factors that will introduce dynamism in the enterprise. Agripreneurship then, is a key in this regard (Nwasiwe 2017). The dwindling potential and fortunes of Nigeria's agriculture place urgent need on the development of a system that can support the agricultural sector that is already well constrained by inadequate technologies and institutional weaknesses among others. For the agriculture sector to remain competitive in the global economy, new ideas must be developed and processes for value creation in a sustainable manner devised. (Uneze, 2013)

Agriculture as an enterprise is going through transition globally. It is assuming new shape and scope and no more a mere cultivation of crop and rearing of animals or an enterprise for the rural population. Other aspects like value addition, high-tech agriculture, global marketing, organic farming etc. have redefined agriculture (Palanivelu and Madhupriya, 2013). These have led to improved performance of the sector and enhanced human resource development initiative. Many people previously viewed agriculture as an enterprise that is laden with hard work and little profit, this is a misconception. Agriculture is a dynamic enterprise, offering numerous profitable opportunities for engagement along the value chain.

Nigeria's Agricultural policy is targeting food security, import substitution to mitigate the massive food import and conserve foreign exchange, job creation and enhancing economic diversification and growth. These objectives can be achieved if we run agriculture as a business and encourage private-sector led engagements as the main objective driver. This commercialization orientation will involve the application of technologies, development of input supply chains, market linkages and financial services that engage the farmers. These are critical to job creation, economic diversity, and sustainable economic growth (Ado, 2017). Therefore, it is of great importance to develop and present agriculture in the context of product development, value addition, and, as a business that is knowledge driven.

The addition of business knowledge to agriculture births agribusiness and, the incorporation of entrepreneurial principles into agribusiness have evolved agripreneurship. Therefore, the concept of agripreneurship is the combination of agriculture and entrepreneurship. An agripreneur like an entrepreneur must be able to detect and create business opportunities that he or she can exploit. Agripreneurship is an employment strategy that will ensure self-reliance and economic self-sufficiency. Its development through training is a necessary factor in the promotion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises particularly, for the first generation agripreneurs (Nagalakshmi and Sudhakar, 2013). There are numerous opportunities from the farm to-the-table begging to be exploited. Agripreneurs must be determined and persistent, visionary and organized with good management skills. He or she must be an innovator who can initiate changes by developing and serving new markets. Agripreneurship is the profit oriented marriage of agriculture and entrepreneurship; it turns a farm into an agribusiness (Birwa et al, 2014). This presentation aims at enlightening people on agriculture and how to develop and use their entrepreneurial skills to create viable and sustainable profit making enterprises from agriculture over time.


# II.


# Methods and Materials

The study was entirely a review one that made use of secondary data that were culled from different reliable sources. It focussed mainly on Nigerian and the place of agripreneurship in the scheme of Nigeria's economic development. Nigeria as a nation is one of the States in the sub-Sahara Africa with a population of more than 180 million. Nigeria's economy outside reliance on petroleum is significantly dependent on agriculture with several agri-business opportunities yet to be exploited through agriprenurship initiatives.


# III. Findings and Discussions a) Agriculture and Entrepreneurship

An entrepreneur whose main business is agriculture or agriculture-related is an agripreneur (Dobson and Markley, 2010). Nassir we (2017) explained Agripreneurship as application of entrepreneurship principles in agriculture and, entrepreneurship as a concept emphasizes the transformation of an idea into a business or, the expansion of an existing or established business. Entrepreneurs from his perception are usually creative people who embrace opportunities and accept risks, changing business strategies to adapt to changing environments. Citing Kahn (2012) the report indicated that entrepreneurs are often innovators. However, in reference to Wongtschwski et al( 2013) the study further opined that farmers, while usually being innovative and creative, are often limited by inadequate experiences, access to services, markets, and skills that could engender realistic chances to succeed as entrepreneurs.

Nwassiwe (2017) in Kahn, (2012) also noted that these limitations exclude other barriers and externalities such as economic and social barriers, policies, and regulations. These perceived limitations can be mitigated through a practical application of business principles to agriculture. Referring to an Anonymous writer (2016), the work stated that Agribusiness development will benefit the economy in various ways: it will generate large-scale employment and engage idle human and natural resources, encourage capital formation through the mobilization of idle savings, decentralize economic power and engender equitable distribution of wealth, promote linkages for industrial and economic development and enhance a country's exports.

Unite, (2013) posits that the peculiarities of Nigeria's agriculture sector make it very dire for agripreneurship development. Being the mainstay of Nigeria's economy and taking up a significant share of the employment space, agriculture and agribusiness should be treated as an emergency. This then implies that Agripreneurship is a necessity for socio-economic enhancement through creation of agribusinesses, development of agricultural commodities value chains and the overall economic growth. A paradigm shift from agriculture to agribusiness is essential to rejuvenate the Nigerian agriculture with a view to making it a much more attractive and profitable enterprise.

Adipose et al (2015) proved this point in their campaign for cassava as a multi-faceted crop, proving that every agricultural crop holds promising features for an enterprising mind. From cassava alone, they were able to develop and show case several products to the rural farmers from the 'ordinary' cassava crop. To the local farmers and business minded participants in the workshop that was organized, that was unimaginable. The table below shows the various products derived and show cased at the workshop from cassava alone. Over eighteen products from cassava alone. Cassava is not isolated in this innovative exploits and neither are its derivatives limited to these only. Cassava is also a raw material in the pharmaceutical companies and the industries. There are several other ancillary products and services that can be developed from the cassava crop alone. Other agricultural products also hold the same feature however underdeveloped or undeveloped. All that is needed is entrepreneurial and inquisitive mind and its application in agriculture which for now is at low ebb in Nigeria.

Agriculture is assumed to be a low-tech venture that has limited dynamics and embarked on by smallholder farmers who are less innovative. This however has changed over the last decade because of economic liberalization, reduction in protection of agricultural markets and a fast evolving and critical society. Agricultural firms must take advantage of the changes in the market, consumer habits, environmental regulations, additional requirements for product quality, value chain management, food safety, and so on. These changes have made it possible for new entrants, innovations and portfolio entrepreneurship. (Nagalakshmi and Sudhakar, 2013) An agripreneur must therefore identify opportunities and be innovative. This type of approach to agriculture provides opportunities that will enhance the hitherto unsustainable agriculture practice of mere subsistence. By implication, an Agripreneur has to consider the full range of agribusiness opportunities within the food system such as processing and packaging, logistics and services and even the recycling of agriculture wastes (Carr and Rollin, 2016). Succinctly, agripreneurship is the discovery of new products and services or production processes, strategies and organizational forms, new markets for new products and; inputs that did not previously exist (Needy, 2011). These activities that are agriculture related have been ignored over the years for very scarce white collar jobs.

Ado, (2017) observed that agriculture is the highest contributor to Nigeria's GDP with an estimate of over 40% from the colonial period to about 29% presently and followed by services and the petroleum sectors that contributed about 15%. Agriculture therefore is pivotal to the country's economic development and should be properly linked in efforts to rejuvenate the economy.

The production of agricultural produce, its distribution and supply provide opportunities for private sector participation. There are several opportunities for agro-industries in farm operations such as production, distribution and supply of inputs like fertilizers and other agro-chemicals etc. There is therefore the need to encourage the local manufacture of inputs hitherto imported from other countries to create jobs. The production and marketing of farm machineries, tools and equipment will provide further opportunities for private sector initiatives (Ado, 2017). Other areas of opportunities are the food processing and marketing sector which are not yet optimally exploited. The agricultural sector still is battling with wastes and losses resulting from inadequate processing and storage. Ado (2017) in Minong et al (2005) identified over a dozen enterprises in Nigeria's agriculture sector. The enterprises identified are: input production and supply, food crop production, fisheries, forestry and commodity processing and storage. Other categories are commodity marketing, manufacturing and agricultural commodity export support services. This list however excludes the cash crop sector that is yet to be maximally exploited. Should this sector be given the attention it demands, the multiplier effect on the Nigerian economy will drastically reduce the index of unemployment, scarcity of foreign exchange that has been a protracted issue in recent times, reduce the statistics of food insecurity and grow the economy.

Carr and Rollin (2016) in UNCTAD (2015) have noted that there are challenges to the development of Agripreneurial culture in developing countries such as inadequate information, limited skills, insecurity, inadequate resources and infrastructure among others, with these, it is difficult to establish successful commercial enterprises. The need for effective policies was also emphasized to promote small-scale agriculture and non-agricultural sectors.

Nevertheless, an agripreneur like an entrepreneur must possess some innate qualities to conquer these challenges and make a success. He or she must be proactive, persistent, visionary with strong management and organizational abilities must be innovative and creative. (Needy, 2011). These can be learnt by training which provides the requisite information, experience and knowledge that will aid better decision making. They can be acquired through formal institutions or informal avenues such as public lectures, field work and demonstrations, workshops, seminars etc (Tripathi and Agawam, 2015). The figure below shows some necessary skills the agripreneur must be equipped with to be competitive and successful as presented by Tripathi and Agarwal (2015).


# Category

Underlying  ). How can this be achieved? Agriculture can create wealth along the value chain through production, value addition, and export of processed or unprocessed goods among others. In the value chain, there are many areas in agriculture that entrepreneurs can exploit in on-farm and off-farm activities. The on-farm activities include production, processing (feed and seed processing), farm input manufacturing, and agro service ventures. Off-farm ventures will include agric-tourism entrepreneurship (Uneze,2013) and other service areas like transportation, storage and packaging, workshops and service centres for the maintenance of agricultural implement in the agriculture value chain among others (Birwa et al 2014). Post-harvest technology like processing, packaging and storage will stabilize food production and ensure against excessive dependence on food imports (Ado, 1997) even as it creates more openings for employments.

In Nigeria, the economic benefits of many agricultural products are not yet optimized. This is because of limited knowledge of value addition. Others are inadequate technologies, poor infrastructure and inconsistent government policies. This has created two basic key agricultural gaps in Nigeria: the inability to meet domestic food requirements and the inability to export quality products required for market success (Ado, 2017). Value addition should increase the economic value and consumer appeal of an agricultural commodity. The report submits that value addition technologies include processing and preservation, dehydration and drying, freezing, packaging, labelling, etc. and emphasized that it is important to be innovative in farming and agric-food processing because these are prerequisites to remain competitive. (Ado,2017). Technological innovation will be a catalyst to boost productivity and growth in the agribusiness sector (PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC, 2016).

Though there abound agripreneurial opportunities in the value chain, Nib et al (2016) observed that some factors constrain rural farmers from becoming agripreneurs. These constraints the study categorised into socio-cultural, knowledge-base, and economic using what was described as the Kaisers rule of thumb as applied by Nib and Koori in which any of the identified factors that loads 0.4 and above implied influence on agripreneurship drive. The weights of the identified limitations/influences are shown in the table below. The identified economic factors that constrained rural farmers from becoming agripreneurs included high interest rate on loan, high competitive market, poor returns to agricultural investment, and inadequate access to loan. The table may not be exhaustive in its content. However, the factors outlined affected aspects of agripreneurship drive and any factor that may be impacting agripreneurship is a potential threat to the value chain. Land tenure system and technical knowhow in various categories were also seen to exert some influences on agripreneurship and by implication the value chain. Needy (2011) has outlined major agricultural products and classified them into four broad groups: foods, fibbers, fuels, and raw materials. Other useful products produced by plants include resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, bio fuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants. This can lead to the development of sustainable and well-serviced markets and maintain a viable raw material supply chain. Nib et al (2016) in the table below showed some agripreneurship opportunities that exist in the value chain in few selected agricultural products and the level of participation in Ebony State, Nigeria. 


# c) Agripreneurship and Employment Generation

To encourage and enhance economic growth and development, the Indian government sometimes ago initiated and pursued a growth and development policy plan that encouraged entrepreneurship and selfemployment. The Nigerian government in principle has severally towed the same pathway. However, the initiative was riddled with inconsistencies, inadequate articulations and frequent policy truncations as regimes come and go. To transit from paid employment to selfemployment has been an important agendum in the economy of many developed nations. To be self sustaining economically, individuals must transit from paid employment to self-employment (Palanivelu and Madhupriya, 2013). Nigeria is in a good position to encourage this transition using agriculture as the launch pad because a significantly large number of the population are engaged in the agriculture sector already. The transition may not pose serious problems if agribusiness is positioned to take up the challenge.

With the rise in unemployment and poverty in Nigeria and limited economic growth options in other sectors, there is need to develop entrepreneurship in agriculture to create jobs, raise productivity and grow the economy since for now, agriculture employs the highest amount of labour in the country and sustainable opportunities outside agriculture are limited. The application and practice of entrepreneurship in agriculture will generate a wide range of benefits such as increased productivity, development of new agribusiness ventures that will lead to Job creations, innovations in products and service delivery, and increases in wealth (Birwa et al 2014). Agripreneurship can contribute to social and economic development in the areas of reduction in poverty index, good nutrition and food security in the economy. In addition, it will lead to diversifying the economy and income bases, providing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Anon (2016) in Ado (2017) noted that the ban on importation of certain agricultural products are opportunities for additional investment by the private sector however, Nigeria still imports what it can comfortably and cheaply produce impacting negatively the employment status of the country. Greater opportunities are wasting in the crop sector where the blends of products that can be generated are limitless. According to the report, investors can produce for special markets by just changing the form of a commodity before marketing, change the packaging and labelling for the market etc. thus; Value addition can create jobs which are critical needs in tackling unemployment at this moment of economic recession.


# IV. Conclusion

In Nigerian for now, Agripreneurship is a need to make agriculture attractive and a life line for the economy. Nigeria's present economic experience calls for diversification and a paradigm shift from petroleum based economy and its attendant negatives. Real sector growth like agriculture should be supported to boost employment, reduce poverty and food insecurity. Apparently, there is huge scope for entrepreneurship in agriculture that can be tapped. Agripreneurship will provide direct employment and income to a large section of the populace. Agripreneurship outside offering opportunities is also a necessity to improving agricultural productivity and trigger the growth of allied sectors


# V. Recommendation

Nigeria must in the quest for economic development and diversification make agriculture the fulcrum of industrial take off. Enabling environments must be created by the government that effect and focus should be on mitigating the constraining factors against agriculture and entrepreneurship development.

1Source of productDerivativeRemarkHigh quality flourBaking raw materialToasted granules(garret)A popular dishOdourless cassava paste(fife)A popular dishCassava chipsA processing raw materialTapiocaSnackStarchEdible/ used in textile industryCassava/wheat rollsSnackCassava/wheat chinSnackCassavaCassava flour cookiesSnackCassava stripsSnackCassava flour doughnutsSnackCassava threadsSnackCassava short crust pastry/ pan cakeSnackCassava croquettes/ meat ballsSnackCassava crisps/frittersSnackCassava bread/meatSnackCassava meat cake/French friesSnackSource: Adipose et al, 2015
2Source: Nib et al, 2016
3Source: Nib et al (2016)© 2018 Global Journals
agricultural product whether plants or animals, thereexist several agripreneurship opportunities to bedeveloped. In the report, Nib et al(2016) howeverposited that the agribusiness environment was diversewith many opportunities and if fully exploited will usher ingrowth in the agricultural sector.VariableFactor 1Factor 2Factor 3Socio-culturalSocio-culturalKnowledge baseEconomicLand tenure system0.5580.2250.153High interest rate on loan0.023-0.0550.732Lack of investment infrastructures0.8320.0390.221Lack of technical know-how-0.0060.5080.006Language barrier0.2160.119-0.135High competitive market0.0420.2120.481Poor policy recommendation-0.1140.0240.085High rate of disease and insect infestation0.1290.1540.370Poor return from agricultural investment-0.002-0.0790.458Poor training by extension agents0.0060.6700.007Lack of access to research results0.0750.9460.056Lack access to loan0.114-0.0690.756Poor access to education0.0930.0250.023Agripreneurial ComponentsOpportunities/investment areasFrequencyPercentageAgro chemicals1925.00Farm input supply76(63.33)Breeding stock(plants & animals) Farm implements28 5136.84 67.10Veterinary services79.21Arable( & cash) crops7476.29Farm production 97(80.83)Livestock4344.33Fisheries1616.49Roots and tubers4773.44Farm processing/Distribution 64(53.33)Cereals2437.50Nuts/legumes1523.44
		
		
			

				


* 
	
		A cassava processing training and value chain orientation manual
		
			OMAdipose
		
		
			CAche
		
		
			CWig We
		
		
			IMessiah
		
		
			2015
			Molsyfem United Services
			Port Harcourt, Nigeria
		
	




* 
	
		Agriculture: Panacea for Nigeria's Economic Recession. Invited Paper presented at the 22 nd Amah Convention held at Sultan Muhammad Macedon Institute for Qur'an and General Studies, Soot
		
			SGAdo
		
		
			2017. April 15-17, 2017
			30
		
	




* 
	
		Agripreneurship Development as a Tool to Upliftment of Agriculture
		
			SLBirwa
		
		
			SKushwaha
		
		
			Lark
		
		
			LKMena
		
	
	
		International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications
		
			4
			2014
		
	




* 
	
		An exploration of Agripreneurship Scope, Actors and Prospects
		
			SCarr
		
		
			ARollin
		
		
			2016
		
	
	Retrieved from steven@stevencarrconsulting.com




* 
	
		Agri-Preneurs: A Case Study of Dharmapuri Farmers
		
			Nagalakshmi
		
		
			Sudhakar
		
	
	
		International Journal of Science and Research
		
			2
			8
			2013
			IJSR
		
	




* 
	
		Unpacking agripreneurship
		
			ACNeedy
		
		
		
	




* 
	
		The role of RAS for inclusive agripreneurship
		
			JSNwasiwe
		
		
			2017
		
	




* 
	
		Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services GFRAS -Secretariat c/o AGRIDEA -Jodi's
		
			
		
	




* 
	
		
		
			Lausanne -Switzerland
		
		
	




* 
	
		Determinants of Agripreneurshipamong the Rural Households of Shield Local Government Area of Ebony State
		
			SUNib
		
		
			BNBam
		
		
			CKBeam
		
	
	
		Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare
		
			6
			13
			2016
		
	




* 
	
		Challenges Faced by Women Agripreneurs in Tamilnadu
		
			VRPalanivelu
		
		
			GMadhupriya
		
	
	
		Intercontinental Journal of Finance Resource Research Review
		
			9
			1
			2013
		
	




* 
	
		Rural development through Agripreneurship: A study of farmers in Uttar Pradesh
		
			R
		
		
			Agawam
		
		
			S
		
	
	
		Global journal of advanced research
		
			2
			2
			2016. 2015
			African Press Organization Tripathi
		
		
			Price water house Coopers LLP (PwC
		
	
	PwC Agribusiness report




* 
	
		Adopting Agripreneurship Education for Nigeria's Quest for Food Security in Vision
	
	
		2020. Greener Journal of Educational Research
		
			20
			9
			2013