Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has said his agricultural enterprise pays graduate employees no less than N500,000 every month, presenting the figure as evidence of the opportunities available in private-sector farming.
He spoke in Lagos at the FirstBank Agric & Export Expo 2026, held under the theme, “From Farm to Global Markets: Building Nigeria’s Export Value Chain.”
Bago used the occasion to urge investors to view agriculture as more than a means of producing food, describing it as a sector capable of generating well-paid jobs and driving economic expansion. He placed particular emphasis on livestock production. The governor said the remuneration at his farm was higher than the earnings of many public-sector employees.
“On our farm, we pay a graduate a minimum of N500,000 monthly,” he said.
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He jokingly suggested that his farm could attract employees from FirstBank and other organisations if they earned below that amount.
“It means I can poach all FirstBank workers who earn less than my minimum wage to my farm,” Bago said.
Beyond the comparison, he called on private businesses to increase their participation in agriculture. In his view, greater investment would expand employment, improve food production and help build a stronger agricultural economy.
“So, I want to encourage the private sector to do more,” he said.
Bago also raised concerns about Nigeria’s reliance on imported food, warning that the trend was not sustainable. He advocated a coordinated national effort to boost local production and secure what he described as the country’s food sovereignty.
