Perched on the edge of his office armchair, Y.M. Popoola casts an eye down a list of 85 Nigerian students, detailing names, ages and places of origin, plus the value of the "inputs" they received - N5,607 for everyone - and the value of their "output".

It is a league table of Nigeria's agricultural potential, reporting what each student produced over the course of a year from a half hectare plot, one of dozens that make up the estate of corn fields, bamboo groves and pineapple plantations around Mr Popoola's office.