In this inspiring two-part interview, Rotimi Williams discusses in detail, Kereksuk Rice Farm and Resolute 4.0, which seek to contribute to zero hunger in Nigeria. Rotimi remarkably employs his knowledge of economics, finance, and development as tools to realise the potential of agriculture in Nigeria. Part I is dedicated to Kereksuk Rice Farm. Part II focuses on Resolute 4.0 and the agricultural landscape in Nigeria.
Flora IP (FI): You received your master’s degrees from the University of Aberdeen and SOAS University of London in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Why did you move into Agriculture?
Rotimi Williams (RW): I will blame SOAS and my job at Euromoney for my move into agriculture. At SOAS, I remember that in one of the development classes, the lecturer asked the class what we wanted to do after our master’s programme. Many of my classmates mentioned that they wanted to work with the United Nations or similar organisations. At that point, I realised that although there are many officials from developing countries (like my classmates and me) in the United Nations system, there has not been much improvement. I decided to return home (Nigeria) in the future, to do something different. I was the last student to answer. After listening to my classmates, I said that I was going to go into agriculture. Then came Euromoney. Working with Euromoney in 2008 allowed me to travel around Africa. I noticed that agriculture was at the centre of conversations around Africa. But in Nigeria, the conservation was still principally about oil and gas; agriculture was missing. I chose to work on agriculture because I knew that Nigeria would catch up in the future, and it has now.
FI: Kereksuk Rice Farm was launched in 2012 with 45,000 hectares of land leased for 50 years primarily for rice paddy production. Could you please tell us more about Kereksuk Rice Farm?
RW: To start with, Kereksuk confuses a lot of people.
What it means is, ‘always remember yourself.’
I adopted the name from my previous partner. It used to be Kereksuk Investment Limited. I created a spinoff for the farm, which is Kereksuk Rice farm. Over the years, we have evolved. I like to describe Kereksuk Rice Farm as a mobile farm. The model we are switching into now is – the ability to move from farm to farm. In other words, we have transitioned from just owning or leasing land in a particular place. For example, if you have inherited 1,000 hectares and you have nothing to do with it, we enter into an agreement with you for a number of years to produce rice on it. This way, we can work on multiple farms across the country. I have identified two countries in West Africa to expand into. Discussions are already ongoing for these.
We currently have land in Nasarawa State. We partner with the Nigerian Army through Nigerian Army Farms and Ranches. We are also operating in Plateau State, where we have 3,000 hectares available for rice production. This is our first season of planting in Plateau State. We should resume planting in Nasarawa State next year.
Anywhere that we go to plant rice, we also make sure that we contribute to the communities.
For our rice production in Nasarawa State, we leased the 45,000 hectares of land for 50 years. We give 20 per cent of our profit to the communities. The communities are stakeholders in our business, which ensures that the project is fruitful. This is the model we have tried and intend to maintain going forward. With this model, we can move from farm to farm or location to location. The ability to move is a way for us to mitigate risk. As we know, there is a lot of conflict in the Northern part of Nigeria, where most of the rice is produced. Do I want to sink in the capital to own property, or is it easier for me to lease land and partner with community members? With partnerships, if issues arise, it would be easier for us to move – to shelve the project for a period while things cool off, and then if possible, resume, or move on somewhere else without losing too much. That is why we are adjusting our model to suit the situation in the country.
FI: Where do you source your seeds/rice varieties from?
RW: I will start with lessons learnt. In 2014/ 2015, I made a mistake. I asked my manager at the time to purchase seeds. Rice grains and seeds look the same; you cannot distinguish between them. We planted the seeds without verifying and suffered for that. Since then, I learned to buy only certified seeds from reputable companies. This year I bought from Syngenta. I know we got a few other bags we tried out, which are foundation seeds from an institute here in Plateau. We plant Faro 44, which is a short-term variety with 90 days to maturity, 120 days to harvest. The reason we chose Faro 44 is because of the height. It is relatively short. The chances of lodging are reduced. In the rainy season, when you have huge amounts of water, say flood comes through the farm, the force with which it leaves the farm usually lodges the rice plants if they are too tall. We suffered that in 2016. Accordingly, everything we are doing now is informed by our experience, even down to choosing the seeds/rice varieties we plant.
FI: Have you considered planting local rice varieties?
RW: To a large extent, the market decides what you produce. You do not want to produce beautiful crops that nobody buys. Local varieties including Abakaliki rice and Kebbi rice are still long-grain rice varieties, that is Faro 44, 52 and 60. The past administration through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development tried to standardise seeds -Faro 44, 52 and 60 – so that it becomes easier for the milling companies to procure seeds to ensure that there is some level of uniformity when you process seeds. As a rice farmer who wants to sell what the market wants, which is long grain rice to substitute for the imported rice, it only made sense for plant Faro 44, 50 or 62. Local varieties are not necessarily in the highest demand because of their post-harvest techniques. For example, Abakaliki rice is known for stones. Many people do not like the smell of Ofada rice. If you want to play it safe as a company, you will choose what the market understands, which is the long grain rice. That is what informs the rice varieties we plant.
While Syngenta is a multinational company, it does not import its seeds. Its seed breeding and multiplication occur in Nigeria. Three advantages of purchasing the certified seeds, for example, from Syngenta are as follows. First, germination: it ensures that its seeds have a higher rate of germination. It guarantees up to 97 per cent germination rate per seed. Second, treatment: it treats its seeds against pests. Third, packaging: it provides proper packaging and removes all impurities. In essence, Syngenta charges a premium for seeds with minimal impurities. Conversely, open market seeds usually have lots of impurities. What we sometimes call local varieties here are often the same varieties that companies like Syngenta produce. The difference is that the companies certify their seeds.
In 2015, we bought (mixed) seeds/varieties from the National Cereals Research Institute in Badeggi. The problem when you plant mixed varieties is this that harvesting is usually a nightmare if they have different maturity dates, for instance, 90 and 120 days. You would have to physically walk around the farm to harvest the crops that are ready for harvesting at a particular point, while you leave those that are not ready. That is not feasible for large farming lands. You have to plant uniform seeds from day one, to ensure that harvesting is seamless.
Practical example: the first day of our last planting was the 15th of June; we planted plot D. Next, we planted plot C on the 16th. Subsequently, we planted the other plots on the 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st respectively. I spray my herbicide, apply my second round of fertiliser and harvest, in that order. If I go to the first plot I planted, and discover that Faro 44 is ready, but Faro 60 is not ready. How do I harvest? The combined harvester would not work because it reaps all the produce at the same time. I would have to have to employ labour, which is expensive. I would just watch my profit erode; I have experienced this. This is the main reason I purchase certified seeds.
Furthermore, many farmers around me wonder why my rice leaves are dark green. It is because the certified seeds fully absorb the nutrients, unlike the seeds/ rice varieties the farmers purchase from the open markets. The farmers cannot verify whether the seeds sold in the market are first-generation, second-generation, or maybe even third-generation seeds. Their plants just grow tall and remain lemon green. Some farmers that are unhappy with the way their plants look have indicated an interest in purchasing certified seeds from me in the future.
FI: You mentioned that you apply herbicides and other inputs. Are these also purchased from Syngenta? Do you have contracts that require the purchase of chemical inputs or limit your use of seeds/rice varieties?
RW: Syngenta neither mandates its customers to purchase its herbicides nor binds them to a contract limiting seed use. You can choose to purchase other inputs from them if you want. I will tell you the reason why I tend to stick to one line or company (for example, Syngenta) for seeds and other inputs. The simple reason is that a seed and chemical company will test its seeds with its pesticide, herbicide and fertiliser. In particular, I am also sure that in the case of Syngenta, the quality control tests are high. Although Syngenta markets their other inputs, there is no obligation to purchase them. Syngenta officials have suggested other herbicides I can employ if specific issues arise. This is because their herbicides do not deal with all the different issues that can arise on the farm. Syngenta also sends a representative of the company to ensure that the seeds are planted properly. This assistance is unavailable for seeds purchased in the open market.
However, Syngenta seeds are hybrids. This means that it produces the best output only during its first planting cycle. A seed company like Syngenta will only make money if it can sell seeds to the farmer every year. The farmer is expected to harvest good yields and make enough money to purchase the seeds the next year. The opportunity cost to save the current stock for replanting would be about the same amount to purchase the seeds in the next year.
FI: You mentioned that you give back to the community through your rice farm. What does this entail?
RW: This year, for example, we were supposed to provide training for female farmers, but we started working on it late. We were not ready until July, and many of the small-scale farms were already covered by water then. On reflection, I realised training is not the main problem for the female farmers. Their main problem is low yield (about 0.5 to 1 tonne per hectare). The reason for this is primarily that they cannot afford fertiliser when the rice needs it.
In response, we have decided to give out fertiliser to subsistence farmers. We are targeting mainly female farmers.
When I see a woman working on her farm, I give her a bag of fertiliser. If there is a group working together as a family, I give them two bags of fertilisers and a bag of good seeds. Recently, we presented a generator to a salon owner in the community. With the generator, the lady can open her salon for a longer time and women that go to the farms during the day can have their hair styled after work. Also, members of the community can charge their phones with the generator (at a reduced cost). Those are the types of needs we meet in the communities. We are also considering issues like primary health care and community insurance.
FI: Kereksuk rice farm’s contributions to food production and socio-economic development are phenomenal. What is the size of your staff?
RW: I keep a very lean system. We have the core team: a manager, an agronomist, and an irrigation expert. However, I do not need the irrigation expert during the rainy season. The expert is only employed during the dry season if I am irrigating. Where we are now, we have six ad-hoc staff that execute certain daily chores. We have over a hundred workers currently on the farm today (25 July 2020). We had a similar number yesterday. At times, instead of purchasing herbicides, I employ people to weed. Money filters into the local economy that way. There is also an economic reason for that decision. It takes about a week to see the effects of the herbicide on the farm. The herbicide kills the weed but leaves the waste on the field. I prefer to use (human) labour to pull the weed out from the root and evacuate the waste from the land when the plant is tillering (and I need space on the farm for this). This human weeding method is also cleaner and costs a third less than I would have spent if I bought herbicides. With the use of herbicides, I would still need to purchase water and pay the people that spray it. I am more than happy to ensure that I always have people on the farm.
See Part II of this excellent interview here.
