Good day nairalanders. I have observed that most of our food crops comes from the north, thanks to their effective irrigation. But some research that I carried out on the net showed that these crops can be grown in the south too, especially beans and groundnut.

So I am throwing a question to the house..... Between groundnut and beans, which is more suitable to grow in the south south region...Edo state to be more specific.

God bless all the experienced farmers, agric students and others who will be willing to display their wealth of knowledge on the topic.

Pls the mods should kindly move this to the front page so that we can have enough view and answers......thanks.

Which part of Edo please? because u have to consider the availability of water for irrigation. Just state the local govt or town

saintalb:
Which part of Edo please? because u have to consider the availability of water for irrigation. Just state the local govt or town

Iguobazua town in ovia south Lga.....obobaifo village to be precise.

I guess water is available there. I advise you go for beans though because the north have economies of scale on Groundnut already and you may not be able to compete profitably. you can also try a combination of both if your land is big enough.

saintalb:
I guess water is available there. I advise you go for beans though because the north have economies of scale on Groundnut already and you may not be able to compete profitably. you can also try a combination of both if your land is big enough.

Ok...thanks a lot. I am actually preparing to sink a borehole for irrigation purpose.

I just wanted to know if the rainy weather is gud for it........though I will be intercropping it with plantain b4 the suckers grow bigger leaves to cover the land.

The land is about 2hectares.

Russell145:


Ok...thanks a lot. I am actually preparing to sink a borehole for irrigation purpose.

I just wanted to know if the rainy weather is gud for it........though I will be intercropping it with plantain b4 the suckers grow bigger leaves to cover the land.

The land is about 2hectares.

What is the driving distance between your place and Benin City? Where is veggies like lettuce being sold in Benin City being supplied from?

Pavore9:


What is the driving distance between your place and Benin City? Where is veggies like lettuce being sold in Benin City being supplied from?

Its about 30-45 mins drive to Benin........most veggies are sold at the general market, Oba market for example...bt we still have vegetable market.....their supplies comes from the north.

Russell145:


Its about 30-45 mins drive to Benin........most veggies are sold at the general market, Oba market for example...bt we still have vegetable market.....their supplies comes from the north.

That is your opportunity right there! With that size of land you have, you do not have comparative advantage over the North as regards cereals. Go into vegetable cultivation as the return on investment is higher and has shorter cycles. Lettuce as an example, is what one can get to harvest in 2 months. Since you are going to have irrigation facilities on site then you are sure of all year round cultivation. If you can get to understudy how to grow lettuce, cabbage, capsicum, parsley etc you will have every cause to smile as you will be supplying these to Benin reducing the dependency on them coming from the north.

Thats good.the borehole will be useful after the rainy season. Plus the land is big enough,you could also add livestock on a plot or two if interested. The livestock will help you with grazing and you can also feed the groundnut waste to them. Wish you luck though. am sure you will do just fine.

Pavore9:


That is your opportunity right there! With that size of land you have, you do not have comparative advantage over the North as regards cereals. Go into vegetable cultivation as the return on investment is higher and has shorter cycles. Lettuce as an example, is what one can get to harvest in 2 months. Since you are going to have irrigation facilities on site then you are sure of all year round cultivation. If you can get to understudy how to grow lettuce, cabbage, capsicum, parsley etc you will have every cause to smile as you will be supplying these to Benin reducing the dependency on them coming from the north.

You are right about the veggies....I also thought about them and it was a nice idea for me......but my only obstacle with the veggies is that it needs one's attention, and I am a student, schl in Imo state. The labourer that will be taking care of the farm might not have good knowledge about veggies....bt they do have good knowledge about plantain pdtion.... my mum was a plantain farmer and she stays close to the farm.

The only time my presence will be there is during the planting period, occasional visit to the farm(maybe 3 to 4 wks intervals) and the harvesting period.
But I must say that u are right.....and I don't think I will be able to sleep well tonight with ur point in my head.

Thought lettuce was for temperate(cold) weather

saintalb:
Thats good.the borehole will be useful after the rainy season. Plus the land is big enough,you could also add livestock on a plot or two if interested. The livestock will help you with grazing and you can also feed the groundnut waste to them. Wish you luck though. am sure you will do just fine.

Thanks for the vote of confidence.....I think I will go for Beans...

I will be entering the market next week for infos and contacts.

Russell145:


You are right about the veggies....I also thought about them and it was a nice idea for me......but my only obstacle with the veggies is that it needs one's attention, and I am a student, schl in Imo state. The labourer that will be taking care of the farm might not have good knowledge about veggies....bt they do have good knowledge about plantain pdtion.... my mum was a plantain farmer and she stays close to the farm.

The only time my presence will be there is during the planting period, occasional visit to the farm(maybe 3 to 4 wks intervals) and the harvesting period.
But I must say that u are right.....and I don't think I will be able to sleep well tonight with ur point in my head.

Thought lettuce was for temperate(cold) weather

No lettuce is not for temperate regions, just like cabbage, cucumber, celery, parsley, aubergines etc it will do well across Nigeria. Just like with right knowledge one can even grow Strawberries right there in your village!

90 METRIC TONNES OF GROUNDNUTS AVAILABLE FOR SERIOUS BUYER...KINDLY CALL BABA ALARAPE 08037171978

Groundnut intercropped with maize . gnut takes 3months and maize 2-3months.beans is better towards dry season like september/october