Hello Great Farmers in the forum.

Sourcing for Labour has been a great concern for my farming business. Last year we spent close to 180,000 clearing and cultivating about 3 hectares of land. Dont know whether my partner who most of the time is in charge of the farm isnt good at negotiating with the labourers or its something else I cant explain. All I can say is 2014 was a bad year as all of our profit was swept away by labour cost.

We have tried to alleviate this issue, but the problem now is that the guys from Benin republic we are expecting to come work for us this season havent arrived. The agent we gave about 40000 to as transport to bring labor keeps telling there are issues with immigration at the border due to election palava.

Just want to learn how you guys have been able to manage challenges getting labour for your farm work.

Have a great weekend my lovely peeps

Still waiting for inputs from farmers a beg.

@OP......labour management is one of the challenges in agric production. only piece of advice i will drop for now is this: dont flash the labourers with high pay. There is no incentive in doing so.

OLAMIMO12:
@OP......labour management is one of the challenges in agric production. only piece of advice i will drop for now is this: dont flash the labourers with high pay. There is no incentive in doing so.

Just wondering how one gets that done when you have for example weeding that needs to be done to aid crop growth but d labor is no where near and when they come...one is more or less at their mercy. Thanks all the same

Sorry for the loss.
there is no need to give up on your dreams.
Where is your farm located?
Before starting out,labour is very essential and to be profitable,permanent labour is needed and not laborers on a temporary basis.

You made some mistakes (as i perceive it from your statements) which i will highlight here for others to learn and i will proffer solutions as well detailing how to go about getting the right labourers next time.

Mistakes
1.Giving the person money before bringing labourers.
You can do that if the person is a resident of the village where your farm is located.
The ones working for me now got to the village where my farm is located before i pay their agent.

2.You should have done a serious negotiation when you were making use of the temporary laborers


These are what you should do next time
1.Never give any agent transportation fee before seeing the laborers

2.Never employed laborers that are married for farm work
Reasons:They are very lazy,will need daily thorough monitoring before they work.
You will have to bear the burden of transporting,feeding,and accomodating their family.

I hope this will help you and you can take your agribusiness to the another level of profitability.

Lesgupnigeria:
Sorry for the loss.
there is no need to give up on your dreams.
Where is your farm located?
Before starting out,labour is very essential and to be profitable,permanent labour is needed and not laborers on a temporary basis.

You made some mistakes (as i perceive it from your statements) which i will highlight here for others to learn and i will proffer solutions as well detailing how to go about getting the right labourers next time.

Mistakes
1.Giving the person money before bringing labourers.
You can do that if the person is a resident of the village where your farm is located.
The ones working for me now got to the village where my farm is located before i pay their agent.

2.You should have done a serious negotiation when you were making use of the temporary laborers


These are what you should do next time
1.Never give any agent transportation fee before seeing the laborers

2.Never employed laborers that are married for farm work
Reasons:They are very lazy,will need daily thorough monitoring before they work.
You will have to bear the burden of transporting,feeding,and accomodating their family.

I hope this will help you and you can take your agribusiness to the another level of profitability.

Nice contribution bro. You've spoken well and I hope others get to learn from it.

solbash11:


Nice contribution bro. You've spoken well and I hope others get to learn from it.

yes.i hope too
thanks

Lesgupnigeria:
Sorry for the loss.
there is no need to give up on your dreams.
Where is your farm located?
Before starting out,labour is very essential and to be profitable,permanent labour is needed and not laborers on a temporary basis.

You made some mistakes (as i perceive it from your statements) which i will highlight here for others to learn and i will proffer solutions as well detailing how to go about getting the right labourers next time.

Mistakes
1.Giving the person money before bringing labourers.
You can do that if the person is a resident of the village where your farm is located.
The ones working for me now got to the village where my farm is located before i pay their agent.

2.You should have done a serious negotiation when you were making use of the temporary laborers


These are what you should do next time
1.Never give any agent transportation fee before seeing the laborers

2.Never employed laborers that are married for farm work
Reasons:They are very lazy,will need daily thorough monitoring before they work.
You will have to bear the burden of transporting,feeding,and accomodating their family.

I hope this will help you and you can take your agribusiness to the another level of profitability.

Thanks bro. Will work on the aforementioned. My farm is somewhere on the outskirt of Ilorin.

Dude. By or rent tractor na

mikolo80:
Dude. By or rent tractor na

. So na tractor go do clearing of virgin land for you bah abi when u need to clear the weeds on your farm, na tractor go clear am for you. E be like say you be internet farmer

debeey87:
. So na tractor go do clearing of virgin land for you bah abi when u need to clear the weeds on your farm, na tractor go clear am for you. E be like say you be internet farmer

Agreed i have never farmed in my life but na "tractor"(bulldozer) oyinbo de take clear land and not labor.
and he sounds like someone who can afford it(i may be wrong)
but labor is becoming expensive as no body wan break him back for peanuts again(thats what machines are for)
i was just making a suggestion

searcch for hotmass11 thread

Re: Cost Of Mechanised Land Clearing in Ogbomosho With Pictures by PapaBrowne(m): 4:21pm On Mar 17
hotmas911:
we wrapped up the clearing on Friday. a total of 105 acres have been cleared. by evening the total cost of clearing should be available so we know what it cost per acre. thanks

Still waiting to know the cost of clearing an Acre.

Thanks loads!!
(Quote) (Report) (Like) (Share)
Inefficiences = Opportunities. Thats why Africa is the best place 2 be right now!!
Re: Cost Of Mechanised Land Clearing in Ogbomosho With Pictures by hotmas911(m): 9:51pm On Mar 17
PapaBrowne:


Still waiting to know the cost of clearing an Acre.

Thanks loads!!
we spent #18,700 per acre

mikolo80:
Agreed i have never farmed in my life.....

And you shouldn't put your mouth in this matter because you are not a practicing farmer, so you cannot understand what the OP talking of here.

It's better you remain silent seeing that your suggestion is not helpful at all.

solbash11:


And you shouldn't put your mouth in this matter because you are not a practicing farmer, so you cannot understand what the OP talking of here.

It's better you remain silent seeing that your suggestion is not helpful at all.

so if i say don't play with fire you will ask if i have first put my hand inside the fire before you take me seriously ba.

an engineer and architect were in a hotel with too many customers and wondering how many rooms would be lost to create another elevator shaft(you)
a lowly janitor(me) with no engineering or architecture degree suggested they put the elevator on the outside of the building

and hence the first external elevator was built

your stupidity stars where another person starts

good luck in your superiority complex lifestyle

mikolo80:
so if i say don't play with fire you will ask if i have first put my hand inside the fire before you take me seriously ba.

an engineer and architect were in a hotel with too many customers and wondering how many rooms would be lost to create another elevator shaft(you)
a lowly janitor(me) with no engineering or architecture degree suggested they put the elevator on the outside of the building

and hence the first external elevator was built

your stupidity stars where another person starts

good luck in your superiority complex lifestyle

You've been advised to keep quiet and learn from people who have something helpful to share on this thread, but your stupidity will forbid you from learning so you can keep ranting in your foolishness.

solbash11:


You've been advised to keep quiet and learn from people who have something helpful to share on this thread, but your stupidity will forbid you from learning so you can keep ranting in your foolishness.

so...you know what the only person's opinion that counts is th op so to hell with all of you that act without thinking
with all your knowledge and practical expertise you are still farming with hoe and cutlass
if that is the expertise and experience you are exhibitng(not to talk of your use of insults instead of superior argument(thats how i know you've lost the debate)) then i fear for our dear nation's agric future

i pray you will all make use of the expensive educations your parents paid for
cos i assume you are school leavers if not all graduates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQoaGSSmo5E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fJ0WX4bDcc

mikolo80:
so...you know what the only person's opinion that counts is th op so to hell with all of you that act without thinking
with all your knowledge and practical expertise you are still farming with hoe and cutlass
if that is the expertise and experience you are exhibitng(not to talk of your use of insults instead of superior argument(thats how i know you've lost the debate)) then i fear for our dear nation's agric future

@mikolo and solbash...enof of this exchange of words. One thing we should understand is that in Nigeria where govt inputs in terms of machinery are not available for mechanised farming. It is difficult to invest all your capital in labour.

Moreover mikolo,how many places have you seen the videos u posted been used in Nigeria.

Am not as bouyant as Hot mass is cos I have followed his thread very well. As for the cost of bulldozer, it was my first option for clearing but then overhead cost na die so I had to take shelter under manual labour.

Pls let's share our divergent views on this topic without lashing ourselves.

Mikolo,whichever way you thin about it,you need permanent laborers on the farm to do certain kind of jobs. Its saves you more money.

debeey87:


@mikolo and solbash...enof of this exchange of words. One thing we should understand is that in Nigeria where govt inputs in terms of machinery are not available for mechanised farming. It is difficult to invest all your capital in labour.

Moreover mikolo,how many places have you seen the videos u posted been used in Nigeria.

Am not as bouyant as Hot mass is cos I have followed his thread very well. As for the cost of bulldozer, it was my first option for clearing but then overhead cost na die so I had to take shelter under manual labour.

Pls let's share our divergent views on this topic without lashing ourselves.

Mikolo,whichever way you thin about it,you need permanent laborers on the farm to do certain kind of jobs. Its saves you more money.

Agreed. thought you wer buoyant
it's one of you/we guys that will take our country's farming to the next level instead of us telling ourselves that its only reserved for white ppl. Imagine if you guys consulted(skilled labor) for our big cooperatives(universities,ministries,teachers)with their large capital base (you can then afford tractors)

mind you these are the big tractors,we have medium small and I pass my Neighbour tractors. Read more and become masters at your Craft and make us proud instead of forming local champion on nairaland as if you cannot learn new things everyday from even small child

debeey87:


@mikolo and solbash...enof of this exchange of words

Op......I find no pleasure exchanging words with one ignorant internet farmer who according to his statement had "never farmed in his life..." And he will never understand the truth about practical commercial farming business in this present Nigerian economic situation.

Talking of farm Labourers, they are not limited to working with only cutlass and hoes.

Aside from Initial clearing of the weeds on the farmland with bulldozer or it's even better to use a Tractor with plough attached to save the top-soil, Let us say that you have the means to own your small sized Tractors and other farm machineries, who will operate these to work on your farm without the skilled labourers?

Talking of Hotmass clearing his farmland with bulldozer, go and ask him if he will not be needing the manual labourers to work on his cleared farmland for making the mould/beds, planting the seeds, putting irrigation to work, weeding as at when due and even while it's time for harvesting.

@ Ignorant Internet Farmer...... Na so e easy to get all the modern farm machines you dey watch those white people working with in that videos?

I bet you haven't even seen enough modern farm machines for your life and if you request i can show you lot of videos but you will come and tell me the number farms making use of such machines here in Nigeria.....

mikolo80:
Agreed i have never farmed in my life but na "tractor"(bulldozer) oyinbo de take clear land and not labor.
and he sounds like someone who can afford it(i may be wrong)
but labor is becoming expensive as no body wan break him back for peanuts again(thats what machines are for)
i was just making a suggestion

searcch for hotmass11 thread
he cleared about 100acres with about 300k
so go figure

Go nd read d thread again. hotmass cleared 105 acres wt 2.1million. dnt give wrong data.

@solbash, it's ok bros. lets continue with meaningful contributions. we are talking of what is practicable in this present economy of this nation. i hope we will get to the level mikollo is eyeing sooner.

mikolo80:
Agreed. thought you wer buoyant
it's one of you/we guys that will take our country's farming to the next level instead of us telling ourselves that its only reserved for white ppl. Imagine if you guys consulted(skilled labor) for our big cooperatives(universities,ministries,teachers)with their large capital base (you can then afford tractors)

mind you these are the big tractors,we have medium small and I pass my Neighbour tractors. Read more and become masters at your Craft and make us proud instead of forming local champion on nairaland as if you cannot learn new things everyday from even small child

pls mikolo can u help us wit the price of the "I pass my neighbour tractor" and possibly the pic/video of the machine, tnx
@op this is same problem am facing here, really looking at a way of overcoming it. following seriously

Internet farming is quite different from practical farming.
Even if you use buldozer for clearing your farm, you will need permanent labours.
Even countries who has developed their agriculture through technology still makes use of both skilled and unskilled labours

@mikolo,its easier to.give advise and talk about agriculture when you have not experience the practical aspect of.it.

I will advise you to start a plot of farming at your backyard and have a feel of it,then you can come back here to share your experience.

Why do people quarrel on Nairaland? A problem shared is supposed to be half solved and not escalated.

Nigeria has not gotten to the level of using tractors to weed. Some of our farmlands are undulating, so a tractor cannot give a very straight line during ridging. Aside from that, the tractor operators are not so trained to be that meticulous. I worked with them for several years. Majority of them just have this Nigerian mentality of "I just want to do my work and go", not caring how it turns out. Besides, with crops like maize, it might be a bit difficult to carry out.

It is normal for novice farmers to spend more than necessary because they are not yet thinking like business men but after they incur losses, they will start reasoning like correct business people. It is because of such people that I created the thread for agronomic practices because too many times, I have heard the expression "I did not know". Why repeat mistakes that others have made when you can avoid them?

As for what you incurred on clearing your land, we used to spend about N130,000.00 daily on diesel for the bulldozer when we were opening up virgin lands so I don't think that you did too badly, considering that you used manual labour. A tractor cannot uproot trees or remove tree stumps. They can bend its blades in the process. Subsequent tilling is not so expensive. all you have to do is to kill the grass and let the tractor do the rest. the grass that it will churn up during ploughing will be adding more nutrients to your farm. And you will not spend very much to achieve this.

About labour, try to look up the thread on agronomic practices. If you import scores of people for labour and you have to transport, accomodate, feed and pay them, how much profit will you be left with? Business is not done without calculations. You can negotiate with a hausa man around you to source for labour for you from his place. I believe that by the time you do your maths properly, you will not need so much labour.

Please keep up the good work. I am happy you started with 3 hectares. And the fact that you are warming up for this season means that you did a good job last year. I wish you a bountiful harvest this year.

debeey87:
. So na tractor go do clearing of virgin land for you bah abi when u need to clear the weeds on your farm, na tractor go clear am for you. E be like say you be internet farmer

.

Abi, there's no replacement for manpower. Not yet.

In fact unreliable labour has affected the extent of my plans this year. Going smaller than I initially planned.

Farm labour demystified...

Farm labour in Nigeria is simple if you understand the dynamics.

First, understand the community in which the farm is located. Do some ground work. Get to know who the real farmers are. It would be surprising to note that the indigenes are not usually the farmers. For example, in the Yoruba community where my farm is located, the real farmers are people from Benue and cotonu.

Second step is to identify the leader of the farming community. Hold your discussions with the leader. This is to provide for accountability.

Now the main part..you should understand the local unit of land measurement... Not the plots or acres or hectares. If you speak in acres or hectares, it is a tell tale sign that you are a 'book farmer' and there are chances that you would be cheated....seriously.

In yoruba land,the local unit of measurement is alapin. An alapin is 60ft by 60ft. That is approximately half of a plot of 120ft by 60ft.

An alapin is measured using a cutlass on a stick. The length of a new cutlass is 2ft. Three cutlass measutments make 6ft. A stick of 6ft measured ten times gives 60ft.

Once you understand this dynamic, then you can move to the next level...pricing.

Depending on your negotiation skill and the thickness of the bush, an alapin is between 700 naira to 1000 naira to weed.

Bear in mind that you will provide feeding too per person at the rate of N200 per head for breakfast. You might decide to add lunch if you are nice. The nicer you are, the cleaner your work is.

Ura:
Why do people quarrel on Nairaland? A problem shared is supposed to be half solved and not escalated.

Nigeria has not gotten to the level of using tractors to weed. Some of our farmlands are undulating, so a tractor cannot give a very straight line during ridging. Aside from that, the tractor operators are not so trained to be that meticulous. I worked with them for several years. Majority of them just have this Nigerian mentality of "I just want to do my work and go", not caring how it turns out. Besides, with crops like maize, it might be a bit difficult to carry out.

It is normal for novice farmers to spend more than necessary because they are not yet thinking like business men but after they incur losses, they will start reasoning like correct business people. It is because of such people that I created the thread for agronomic practices because too many times, I have heard the expression "I did not know". Why repeat mistakes that others have made when you can avoid them?

As for what you incurred on clearing your land, we used to spend about N130,000.00 daily on diesel for the bulldozer when we were opening up virgin lands so I don't think that you did too badly, considering that you used manual labour. A tractor cannot uproot trees or remove tree stumps. They can bend its blades in the process. Subsequent tilling is not so expensive. all you have to do is to kill the grass and let the tractor do the rest. the grass that it will churn up during ploughing will be adding more nutrients to your farm. And you will not spend very much to achieve this.

About labour, try to look up the thread on agronomic practices. If you import scores of people for labour and you have to transport, accomodate, feed and pay them, how much profit will you be left with? Business is not done without calculations. You can negotiate with a hausa man around you to source for labour for you from his place. I believe that by the time you do your maths properly, you will not need so much labour.

Please keep up the good work. I am happy you started with 3 hectares. And the fact that you are warming up for this season means that you did a good job last year. I wish you a bountiful harvest this year.

Please provide a link to the agronomic section. Your points are noted

I have seen situations where some 'internet farmers' have cleared each acre for N30,000 using the same labourers that I use at N800 per alapin.

Even the labourers laugh at them...in my presence. They jocularly tell me they cant come to work tomorrow because there is a new mumu in town. Someone paid N8000 per plot to clear farm land.!!! What will he be planting? Gold?

Lesgupnigeria:
Internet farming is quite different from practical farming.
Even if you use buldozer for clearing your farm, you will need permanent labours.
Even countries who has developed their agriculture through technology still makes use of both skilled and unskilled labours

@mikolo,its easier to.give advise and talk about agriculture when you have not experience the practical aspect of.it.

I will advise you to start a plot of farming at your backyard and have a feel of it,then you can come back here to share your experience.

that is why i said up front that i have zero experience
but he asked for suggestions and i obliged
all they had to do was ignore my advice instead of feeling that it is only they that know and putting me down
this is the way our teachers have consistently discouraged innovation(syaing mechanisation is beyond our reach yet oyinbo keep buying bigger and better tractors and dumping their cheap produce on us) and now we are in the mess that we are in(poverty farming)
so i have decided to put the little knowledge i have to good use and learn from others
we are all here to learn if not why are they askinf ofor help if they kwow it all

hopefully i will join your ranks of practicing farmers but for now all i have to offer is theory

solbash11:


Op......I find no pleasure exchanging words with one ignorant internet farmer who according to his statement had "never farmed in his life..." And he will never understand the truth about practical commercial farming business in this present Nigerian economic situation.

Talking of farm Labourers, they are not limited to working with only cutlass and hoes.

Aside from Initial clearing of the weeds on the farmland with bulldozer or it's even better to use a Tractor with plough attached to save the top-soil, Let us say that you have the means to own your small sized Tractors and other farm machineries, who will operate these to work on your farm without the skilled labourers?

Talking of Hotmass clearing his farmland with bulldozer, go and ask him if he will not be needing the manual labourers to work on his cleared farmland for making the mould/beds, planting the seeds, putting irrigation to work, weeding as at when due and even while it's time for harvesting.

@ Ignorant Internet Farmer...... Na so e easy to get all the modern farm machines you dey watch those white people working with in that videos?

I bet you haven't even seen enough modern farm machines for your life and if you request i can show you lot of videos but you will come and tell me the number farms making use of such machines here in Nigeria.....

na poverty mentality be dis o
and it is you that is ignorant cos you think you know it all
better change because you are now the leaders of today that them babangida have been talking about
labor intensive farming will never be sustainable(of course you will always need laborers but can you use laborers to farm 5000acres or are you planning to remain at 10acres level till retirement)

why do you think its cheaper to import frozen chicken