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By Torkwase Nyiekaa
The Chief Executive Officer of Davidorlah Nigeria Limited and Founder of Davidorlah Farms, Segun Alabi, has criticised Africa’s continued reliance on raw agricultural exports, describing it as a major setback to the continent’s economic development.
Alabi made the remarks on Wednesday in Abuja while addressing journalists, calling for a fundamental shift from the export of unprocessed commodities to the development of local value-added industries.
He warned that Africa’s current agricultural model continues to trap the continent in a cycle of low value creation despite its vast natural resources.
“Today, I stand before you not just as a business leader, but as a voice for a continent that has given so much to the world, yet received so little in return,” he said. “Africa is rich. Nigeria is rich. Yet our people are struggling.”
According to him, the persistent export of raw agricultural produce has deprived African countries of jobs, industrial growth, and significant revenue opportunities.
He argued that the pattern of exporting raw materials and importing finished products amounts to exporting jobs and importing unemployment.
“For decades, we have exported our wealth in its rawest form. We grow the crops, we harvest the fruits, we ship them out, and then we import them back processed and at higher prices,” he said.
Alabi described the situation as a structural economic problem that continues to hinder development across the continent.
He stressed that significant value is lost at every stage of raw exportation, noting that Africa fails to benefit fully from its own resources.
“We are not poor because we lack resources. We are poor because we have not captured value,” he added.
To illustrate his point, he cited the example of pineapple production, explaining that value addition significantly increases economic returns.
“A single pineapple sold raw may fetch between $3 and $5, but when processed into juice, dried fruit, or pharmaceutical products, its value can increase five to ten times,” he said.
Alabi explained that this realisation informed the establishment of Davidorlah Nigeria Limited, which he described as an agro-industrial platform focused on value addition rather than traditional farming.
According to him, the company is structured to integrate production, processing, and export of high-value agricultural products.
He said the model is designed to benefit multiple stakeholders across the agricultural value chain, including farmers, investors, and the wider economy.
“We are building a system where farmers earn more, investors gain returns, Nigeria earns foreign exchange, and Africa builds industrial strength,” he said.
Alabi further warned that failure to adopt value addition could worsen unemployment, weaken food systems, and increase dependency on imports.
He called on government at all levels to support agro-processing infrastructure, improve access to financing, and promote export-friendly policies for local producers.
“We need policies that support agro-processing, export facilitation, and access to finance. Supporting companies in this space is supporting economic transformation,” he said.
He also urged investors to shift focus from raw production to value chain development, describing it as the future of agriculture.
“The future of agriculture is not in raw production but in value chain processing and export,” he said.
Alabi maintained that Africa is not poor in resources but in value capture, adding that the continent must begin to process what it produces in order to truly prosper.
“The time has come to stop exporting our future, our jobs, and our wealth. The time has come to process, produce, and prosper,” he said.
He concluded that agro-industrialisation remains key to unlocking Africa’s economic potential and repositioning the continent in global trade.