Great men have great stories. The usual script has been a sour experience turning into a sweet one. There are others who cross out these popular notions with their bold steps changing from what seems to be an ideal dream for many to areas few dare to tread.
So is the story of the young entrepreneur who owns the 2nd largest commercial rice farm in Nigeria. His name is Rotimi Williams, a former banker, journalist, and the founder and C.E.O of Kereksuk Rice Farm located in Nasarawa state in the Northern part of Nigeria.
Many wonder why a young man would leave his well-paying job to opt for farming with little experience coupled with many uncertainties. In an interview, he mentioned that it came as an opportunity and so he took advantage of it. His rice farm sits on 45, 000 hectares / 111, 198 acres. He recounts how in the near future his country, Nigeria, can be self-sufficient as far as rice production is concerned.
His background includes Economics, Finance, and development studies in the University of Aberdeen and School of Oriental and African Studies London respectively. He worked as an analyst at the European Economic and financial center in London. The magazine, Euromoney employed him later to cover the African business stories.
The advantage came in when he was on trips around the continent from one African country to the other.
He fell in love with agriculture seeing how the majority of African lands were used for farming with different crops using different mediums and techniques. Mr. Williams thought carefully about this and finally made a bold decision to move back to his mother country to contribute to the growth of agricultural space. He felt the need to assist his country nationals to assess funds for the expansion of their Agri-businesses. That was when he started his job at the Premier Bank where he worked at the agribusiness desk which gave him a lot of knowledge in the Agric sector.
Although he passionately wanted to help the agri-business space using the bank’s services, his efforts were stifled by the bank’s policies and measures not to invest hugely into the agribusiness space. After he left the banking sector, he started consulting for companies on financing their agro-projects. A deal he was pushing go through but had challenges with redrawing the funds. The client of his was finding it difficult to pay for his services and as such opted to strike a 50-50 deal of the farm with him. The client agreed and gave part of the land which was 17,296 hectares of farmland.
This was when the breakthrough started, after thorough research, his company decided to produce rice in commercial quantities. Currently, his company supplies to major milling companies in Nigeria. It would be realized that although his background was not in agriculture, he did enough research and consultation with the internet as a backing guide. A lot of information can be assessed in many areas you would want to enter into.
The people of Nasarawa state are very grateful for the opportunities this project has given them- jobs, an increase in the standard of living, community goodwill, etc. His approach to the community has been very unique, involving all stakeholders, respecting cultural values, and above call on respecting the people as well. He created the Farm-Out Of Poverty which gave the people a sense of belonging. This initiative empowered the local people to be change agents in their communities.
One of the core visions of Kereksuk Farms is to reduce the high burden on Nigeria’s economy due to the importation of rice through to commercial production. The Annual production of farms is 8,000 metric tons of rice per where there are also avenues for expansion in the near future.
When asked about the efforts of the Government in building the right atmosphere of the agricultural economy, he answered that the government ought to lay the necessary foundation for wealth creation not only for jobs creation.
Lessons to be learnt
- Make good use of opportunities
- Conduct extensive research and consultations
- Be bold to take a step
- Impact society positively, don’t be selfish
- Be consistent and committed.
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