A couple of weeks ago, startupnigeria embarked on a trip to Cross Rivers State. Our mission was to seek out, identify with and celebrate the successes of young individuals who are charting their own course for self fulfillment and sustainable development in their various communities. In a series of 3 blog posts, we would be taking you on a trip to the North Eastern part of Cross River State where two young men are determined to take on the herculean task of starting up their own farms.
First stop, Apapium in Obubra Local Government Area. Obubra is one of the oldest Local Government Areas in the country and belongs to the central senatorial district of Cross River State. It is approximately 177km from Calabar and took startupnigeria a total of 4hrs 20 mins to get to as against the expected 3 hrs 10 mins due to the presence of obscenely large pot holes on the road. Despite this challenge, we were determined to meet with Michael Samuel Ayang the proprietor of Leumyks Farms a subdivision of Leumyks Resources.
On arrival at Apiapum, Michael’s community, one could immediately perceive the distinct aroma of oil palm being milled very close by. Getting to his compound, we were immediately welcomed by his dad, who was very delighted to meet with us, ushering us in while asking us to give Michael a few minutes while he gets palm kernel shells to replace the ones in the poultry pen.
Precisely 3 minutes later, Michael walks in and introduces himself and after some small talk we embark on a tour of his farm. He takes us to two separate structures with the first housing 1,000 layers and the next one in the process of completion as he plans to install battery cages to house another 1,500 birds. Michael is a recent graduate of Medical Physiology at the University of Calabar so during our talk I could not help but ask him the reason behind the deviation from Medicine to Agriculture and he had this to say. “Right from a very young age I have always been an entrepreneur, I am entrepreneurial in nature. When I was still schooling I was a sub dealer of recharge cards, I learnt how to install solar panels and so I did solar installations for various homes, so this has always been a part of me.”
We went further to ask him what his family thought about the idea of him leaving Medicine and delving into Agriculture and he says to us; “My dad has always known I was born to be an entrepreneur and he has always supported me. When I told him of my plans to go into agriculture, he told “Michael, if that’s what you want to do, no problem, I know you can do it.”
The rest of the interview is transcribed below.
Startupnigeria: You mentioned you have been embarked on various entrepreneurial pursuits but I’m particularly interested in why you chose Agriculture when you where already doing solar installations, which is also a very promising field.
Michael: The turnaround for me came sometime in my final year during the ASUU strike. That period the Federal Government instigated various policies banning frozen food importation into the country. I was so happy, as I saw this as an opportunity and I wanted to take advantage of it. That period I was able to enroll at the Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Calabar (EDC) and I chose agriculture as my option. Then Youwin3 came and I applied and got a grant to start up my farm and here we are today. Besides 80 percent of the people here are into crop farming, the other 20 percent are civil servants so I knew there was a gap here that needed to be filled and I filled it.
Startupnigeria: Like every other business venture there are bound to be challenges, what were yours?
Asides from the little training I had with the EDC, I have never had any form of agricultural training, so I was always faced with the challenge of how to get things done. Poultry is a serious business; I had to read up about medications, vaccinations, perfect environments for rearing, when to change from one feed to another etc Thank God my prior medical training came in handy so I was not totally lost.
Secondly finance has been a bit of an issue, I would forever thank the federal government for YOUWIN but it can only take you so far. Right now I am still spending a lot on operating costs as the egg yield is not yet sufficient enough to keep the poultry running on its own. I have a staff strength of 3 currently that can achieve at least twice what we are currently doing now so I am really hoping to increase my stock of layers and hopefully get some broilers for the coming festive season.
Thirdly market penetration has been a bit of a challenge because if you are looking to compete favorably with others out there, you cannot sell your product for the same 550/500 that is being sold out there, you have to come down so people can indicate interest. All these have given me serious cause for concern, but I am very determined.
Startupnigeria: What is your vision for Leumyks Resources?
In the next 5 years, I want to see Leumyks product in every household. I don’t plan to stick to just poultry, I plan to expand into fishery, piggery and other areas as I have already undergone the training for that too. I want to be able to export my products; I am tired of hearing that Nigeria imports agricultural produce when we have the capacity to produce ours. In 10 years, I hope to engage a minimum of 100 people at Leumyks because I do not want youths waiting for white collar jobs anymore. Let us create our own white collar jobs for ourselves.
At the end of the tour and interview, Michael saw us down to the Ogoja highway which was a mere 5 minute walk from his farm where we proceeded to embark on our next one hour trip to Ikom Local government Area to see yet another enterprising young Nigerian; more on this story coming up in our next post.
Writer:Chinwe Owhorji
