By Ayo Alonge

[email protected]

After bagging a degree in Industrial Mathematics, Raji Riliwan thought of nothing else than taking up a poultry business and according to him, that was always his ambition. At the moment, he runs Dekoraj Farms, which specialises in poultry, consultancy and farmlands. As an expert in the business, the young and successful entrepreneur, in this interview, provides tips for running a successful farm while declaring the venture very profitable. Excerpts:

How long have you been in the business?

The business was my father’s and I was born into it. Immediately after I graduated, I just took up the business because my father is late. On my own, I have been doing it for four years.

Why did you choose to do this, rather than getting a white-collar job in town, after graduation?

Maybe that is because it’s our upbringing. My senior siblings after graduation went into our businesses. It is a family trend. I have always said I cannot work for anybody.

Related News

What does it take to start up a poultry business?

The most important thing is passion. People that aren’t passionate about it fail in the business. It is not a business you can just go into. If you’re not naturally passionate, develop it. It also needs attentiveness.

Could you be more specific and tell us what one needs to put in place in order to be successful in the business?

To be successful in the business, apart from passion, you need capital. It is capital intensive. It is a business of numbers. The more birds you do, the better the business for you. If you are doing like 100 birds and another person is doing 1,000 birds, you cannot compare your profit margins and the cost of running both may not be too different. If you want to buy the feeds, on transporting feeds, you are both likely to spend the same. You must also be mobile. You either need to get a vehicle or get someone that would always be moving things for you. Another thing you have to consider is managerial acumen as well as insurance. You must insure your birds. I tell my clients that they must insure their birds. If you don’t, a disease can break out and you lose all your birds. For someone doing 15,000 birds, when bird flu strikes, automatically the person is out of business already.

Maybe you should address how to prevent such diseases like bird flu on the farm, since that seems to be the major fear of investors…

Yes, there are ways to counter that. Thank God for advanced technology, there are so many vaccines now. Bird flu is not really a major issue now. If you look back, as far back as 2001, bird flu used to be a major problem but because of the biosecurity measures people take now, it has abated. That is why people first disinfect their farms before starting. Government is also giving people the orientation on how to protect their farms from bird flu. The agricultural sector is really equipped, especially in the area of how to cure sick birds. Bird flu comes from the birds that live on water like geese. It is also airborne. That is why you are advised to give a minimum of 100 feet distance between your farm and another farm.

You must keep that distance. The longer the distance you keep, the safer your birds are from infection. You also tell your staff to always wash their hands before entering the farm. If you touch any sick bird, ensure you clean your hands very well before attending to the healthy ones. You must also have a veterinary doctor on ground that would help you out. What people do now is self-medication. Quacks would come and tell them to do all what not. They don’t want to pay an expert who may be charging them, maybe on monthly basis..