Business - NENODY

Agricultural Investment Platforms in Nigeria There are lots of platforms available in Nigeria with which you can invest in agriculture. In recent times, the Nigerian government has been aiming to secure the international agricultural market again. Hence, with the focus on agriculture, entrepreneurs are tempted to dive into it. This strategy has worked and led to the rise of agricultural investment platforms in Nigeria. Now you can readily take advantage of the market without physically participating in farming and other agricultural activities directly. Most of these platforms are crowdfunding sites, where people who desire to invest in agricultural projects and enterprises can connect with farmers in need of money and sponsorship. Others appear to be similar to traditional investment platforms. They collect money from the general public, invest them only in agricultural enterprises and pay an agreed amount to their customers. An interested investor needs to log in into any digital platform of his/her choice to create an account, to get a list of agricultural projects available for sponsorship. It will give details of the location of the farm, minimum sponsorship amount, farming cycle, and estimated rate of return. Most of the time, investors get guaranteed returns ranging from 15-45% per agricultural cycle in both business models. Some claim to be able to return up to 80% of their investment. Below is the list of some of the best and most trustworthy agricultural investment platforms: Crowdyvest Crowdyvest is a member of the Farmcrowdy family, which is probably the first and most popular agriculture-focused fintech startup in Nigeria. Crowdyvest is an impact-focused investment platform that connects investors to a variety of sponsorship opportunities, including those from its parent company, Farmcrowdy. Crowdyvest aims to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on Agriculture and Impact Sectors set by the United Nations. With the creation of Crowdyvest, investors are no longer required to sponsor projects through Farmcrowdy. All sponsorships are now done through Crowdyvest. The platform provides safe, secure, and reliable agriculture sponsorship opportunities. It also provides opportunities for shared sponsorship or specific impact projects. Farm Funded Farm Funded concentrates on rice farming, milling, and processing. Farm funded owns a rice farm located in Nasarawa State. Investors are presented with various alternatives which they can fund, either the Farm Project, the Processing Project, or an Integrated Project. The minimum investment on the platform is N20,000 and a return on investment of 20% for a period of 8 months which is their farming cycle. For their integrated farm project, the minimum investment required is N100,000 for 24 months and an 80% return on investment. Payfarmer Payfarmer focuses on cash crops and animal production. Payfarmer has a network of over 600 farmers connected to the platform and receives capital from over 6,500 investors. Investors have the opportunity to sponsor farmers in large areas including cash crops like yam, and pepper; Livestock such as pig farming, poultry, and catfish farming. Their network of farms is located in places like Lagos, Oyo, and Kwara States. Sponsoring an agriculture project through the Payfarmer platform requires a minimum investment of NGN 25,000 for a farming cycle ranging from 5 months to 10 months depending on the type of farm. The return on investment varies from 20% to 32%. Farmsby Farmsby operates from 41 Woji Road, GRA, Port Harcourt, River State, Nigeria. Farmsby focuses on the production, sale, and distribution of cash crops that are produced and processed by its network of farmers. Thus, Farmsby harnesses the benefits of crowdfunding to raise capital for farmers and claims its reach extends to other nations. This digital agro-investment platform offers two investment packages to its investors: Standard Investment: The minimum investment under this package is N5,000 and the maximum is N500,000. The company promises a 50% return on this investment package for a cycle of 90 days. The second investment option is the joint venture package which requires a minimum investment of N500,000 for 180 days for a return of 75% Thrive Agric Thrive Agric is one of the leading agricultural investment platforms in the nation. The activity of the platform is focused on poultry farming and rice cultivation. Thus, investors have the option of sponsoring a poultry project or a rice farming project. Their farms are located in Iseyin and Ibadan in Oyo State and Aji, Kura, Warawa, and Ajingi in Kano State. The minimum investment on the platform is N10,000 and the rate of return is set at 12% to 20% depending on the principal amount. Thrive Agric farms are insured by Leadway Assurance Company and have cultivated 127,000 acres of farmland, raised 4,000,000 birds, and produced 170,000 metric tons of grain. It has over 100,000 farmers in its network. Farm4me Farm4Me is a Vistawood Innovation Platform. It is not a typical crowdfunding initiative like most of the other platforms. Rather, they farm for their investors on a contract basis. They focus on the production of cash crops on some farms including watermelon, sorghum, paddy rice, soya bean, and sesame fields. Their farms are located in several states of Nigeria, including Osun, Ogun, Ekiti, Delta, Oyo, Benue, Ondo, Katsina, Kano, Niger, Kaduna, and Jigawa. Using the Farm4me platform, a potential investor selects a project they are interested in, signs an agreement, makes a payment, and the Farm4me farmer will work for the investor as per the contract. They will grow, plant, harvest, and sell the produce on behalf of the investor. Farm4me promises a yield of 73% or more in one farming cycle, which is typically 6 months, depending on the type of crop they grow. Furthermore, this platform promises to return an investor's money 100% in case of low crop yields or a fall in market prices. Porkmoney Porkmoney is Nigeria's leading agricultural investment technology platform focused on pig farming and its value chain. Thus, in addition to its investments in pig farms, where it has maintained a leading position since its inception in 2017, Porkmoney also processes pork as well as sausages and bacon made from pork. These products are sold through a thriving franchise, Porkyum, in major supermarkets and outlets across Nigeria. Porkmoney describes investors as partners on its platform. Thus, partner funds are used to sponsor pig farms, From the procurement of pigs and their breeding to maturity. The pigs are then slaughtered, processed, packaged, and sold in an 11-month cycle. There are different plans or levels of partnership depending on the down payment. After 11 months, partners earn a 15-30% return on their investment depending on the plan of their choice. CONCLUSION The agriculture sector remains one of the most profitable sectors for investment. Additionally, many of these investments in platforms are insured, greatly reducing the risk of capital loss. Apart from this, they also give a relatively high return on investment as compared to other industries in the country.