By Boluwatife Adedokun
“You have to be a spy to the market,” says Abioye Emmanuel Oluwatoyosi, his face serious but determined. “Every businessman must know what people want.”
Sitting under the shade of a mango tree in Ila Orangun, Osun State, Emmanuel isn’t just talking about crops. He’s talking about survival, and strategy.
In a country where young people are often told to “think tech” and abandon the soil, Emmanuel has chosen a different path. He is a farmer, proudly so, and with over 15 years of experience starting from his father’s cocoa plantation, he’s still standing tall, machete in hand, eyes on the future.
But farming for him isn’t just a legacy. It’s a battle — with landowners, weather, and poverty.
A Farmer Armed With Just A Phone, Hoe and Hope
In an interview with The Harbinger, Emmanuel revealed that most of his work is done not with large tractors or high-end equipment, but with a hoe, a cutlass — and a smartphone.
“I use my phone to measure land size, detect diseases through apps like Plantix, and research solutions,” he said. “I’ve not started using big tools because I’m not on a large-scale farm yet — but for now, I use what I have.”
This tech-meets-tradition approach is part of his philosophy: start small, but smart. He’s now growing maize and cassava and is expanding into cucumber farming — not just because it’s fast (just 50 days to harvest), but because the market wants it.
“We Can’t Feed a Nation With Just a Hoe”
Despite his optimism, Emmanuel is blunt about the realities facing local farmers.
“The future of agriculture is in the hands of the youth,” he said, “but the government needs to provide tools. You can’t feed a whole country using only hoes. We need machines. We need access to land. We need funding.”
Land, or rather, the lack of it, is one of his biggest challenges.
“Some people have land but won’t release it,” he explained. “I’m still struggling to get more land for farming, even though I’m doing my best through research and networking.”
Cocoa Roots, Modern Vision
Emmanuel’s journey began in cocoa, working alongside his father. But it wasn’t just the beans that shaped him — it was the lesson of long-term investment.
“To grow cocoa, you first have to plant banana. That taught me patience,” he said. “And I learned that aside from cocoa, you can still make money from other crops if you plan well.”
Now, with over a decade of experience, he’s not farming out of sentiment but out of strategy. He believes agriculture must be approached as a business, not just a passion project.
“Take farming like a business,” he advised. “Converse with local farmers, learn the farming chain in your area, and spy on the market. That’s how to grow sustainably.”
Climate Change: The Enemy Beneath the Sky
Last year, Emmanuel lost nearly all his maize to an unexpected drought. “Rain stopped suddenly,” he recalled, “and I lost everything. That was the work of climate change.”
Yet even this, he sees as solvable, with the right support. “Water integration is the solution. If we had irrigation, we’d survive these weather surprises.”
No Tools Without Money, No Farming Without Tools
For many young farmers, starting is the hardest part. Emmanuel says it plainly: “In my ideology, there’s no such thing as small-scale farming — because without money, you can’t even buy the small tools.”
Access to finance, grants, and basic tools could be the difference between survival and surrender for many in his shoes.
Learning from Experience, Sharing the Light
He credits part of his growth to community-based knowledge. “My dad taught me the basics. Then I joined programs like Farmer Samson’s in Eiya — they teach farming for free.”
In a country where knowledge is often hoarded or monetized, Emmanuel believes in shared learning. He dreams of building a farming ecosystem where young people can grow — both crops and careers.
The Bigger Picture
Emmanuel’s story is not just about one farmer in Ila Orangun. It is the story of many young Nigerians fighting to rewrite what farming looks like — combining old-school experience with new-age tools, defying climate, capital, and the odds.
And though his resources are few, his vision is clear: a Nigeria where farming is respected, resourced, and rewarded.
“We’re not just growing crops,” he said. “We’re feeding the nation. But the nation needs to feed us too — with tools, land, and trust.”
