Some youth’s friends have asked me this question: Is there
money in Agriculture? This shows that their attitude
towards agriculture is as a result of lack of information
or misinformation, information and enlightenment is
indeed Power. A lot of youths should know that one of
the thriving areas in any economy in this world is
Agriculture because people whether rich or poor,
employed or unemployed, white, black or green will
ALWAYS have an urge to eat and that is where
Agribusiness comes in!
Today, I will be sharing unique and innovative ideas
on how to start an agric business with little or no
capital and how youths can indeed benefit from this,
however you will only tap from this ideas if:
You are a patient and perseverance individual who
have a passion for a change in the Agric sector.
You have always wondered whether there is money
in Agriculture and want to really know (inquisitive
about Agric)
You have been unemployed for some time now and
you are looking for job.
You are currently working part time but you want
something you can do in your spare time.If you fall
into any of this category, then read on…..Before I
divulge these innovative ideas, I’ll like to correct any
views you must have had or heard about Agriculture
or Agric business.
Myth: Agriculture is a poor man’s business or for the
low class.
Fact: Agriculture when run and managed properly as
a business will not only provide you good money but
will also provide food and employment for you and
many others!
Myth: Agric business is a big risk; you’ll lose
everything you invested!
Fact: No business is not risky, however before you
venture into any business(Agric inclusive) you need
to count the costs and acquire good experience in
the field then start small(even if you have the
capacity to start big), then expand little by little.
Applying this principle would help you reduce these
risks to the barest minimum and makes you
understand the business at each level.
Myth: Agriculture takes time to start earning; I have
to wait for one year before I harvest my produce.
Fact: There are various low maturing vegetables that
are ready for harvest in less than a month and with
proper management you can be making cool money
from it.
Finally and most importantly, the biggest myth:
Agriculture is so stressful, I have to use a hoe and
cutlass in the hot sun to farm.
Fact: You can outsource the clearing cultivation and
even planting of your farm to people who are skilled
in these at very low costs, if you take agric as a
business which it is, you would treat it as one!
A business man/woman will not be the secretary,
cleaner, security personnel all the same time will S
(he)? , certainly not!
The fact is, depending on the type of agriculture/
Agric business you want to go into, you may never
have to use a cutlass, hoe or even stay under the
sun!
In the coming days I’ll be giving you several
innovative business ideas on how to make money in
Agriculture, in the blog series entitled: Using
innovative ideas to make money in Agriculture!
You’ll learn how to use innovative ideas to make
money in: Crop Farming, Crop Processing and
packaging, animal farming, Animal processing and
Packaging.

I think we should have agric section so does blog series will be on one column ....a lot of blog series are on niaraland like catfish blog, poultry etc thanks

Ask any young person, even in developing countries,
what she or he thinks about agriculture and you will
get the same answer: agriculture is not for me!
These young, ambitious people have never looked at
agriculture as a source of income and livelihoods. It is
hard to involve them in activities related to agriculture
because they think it is meant for the old and does not
make a good living.

Pls more buiz idea cos am so much full of passion for agriculture. Hoping to get more knowledge and inspiration from you.

kelvin just keep your eye on the topic I will be updating it regularly

There are
various food products you can add value to that will
fetch you cool cash, have you ever thought of blending
Mallow Leaves (Ewedu in Yoruba) and packaging them
in small containers at a price 5 times the retail price of
the fresh leaves!
Other products you can add value to by processing
and packaging include: Cassava tuber:
Cassava Flour, Garri, Odourless fufu(wet fermented
cassava paste), Cassava starch, Lafun( dried
fermented cassava paste), cassava flakes.
Plantain: dodo (fried ripe plantain), kpekere (fried
unripe plantain), Plantain flour.
Cocoyam: Cocoyam chips, cocoyam starch and
cocoyam flour.
Tomatoes, Pepper & Onions can be blended together
and packaged in small fancy containers.
There are numerous Agricultural Products you can add
value to, by processing, packaging and branding

few innovative ways
you can make money from Animal farming. The
options may not be so popular to many but they sure
will give you good returns when you are consistent
and dedicated to the business!
You can make money from:
Grasscutter / Rabbit Farming
Grasscutter seems to be the easiest and cheapest to
invest in, the reason being that in grasscutter farming,
you don’t need to buy feed like you do in fish farming,
pig farming and poultry farming. Its a business one
can start with N50,000. This enables the beginner to
purchase a family of grass cutter comprising one male
and four females referred to as a colony. A colony is
sold for between N35,000 and N45,000 depending on
the age, weight and specie. They can be reared in
cages which cost N5,000. Grasscutter farming is
probably the easiest way for people to become involved
in agriculture. Grasscutter can be reared at home. The
cages can be kept in the
house, compound, under staircase or within a kitchen
space if there is no money to rent or buy a land for the
business. Grasscutter feeds on grass, occasionally you
may need to feed with concentrates.
The good thing is that one female grasscutter can give
five to eight litters (babies) at a go. Four female means
at least five litters (babies) each. This gives up to 20
litters at the end of the day. One can buy young
grasscutter breeding stock at four months and rear
them for
another four months, they will start making babies
when they are eight months old.
If one does not have enough space to expand, the
best option is to sell the babies to potential farmers.
There are demand always coming from hotels, eateries,
beer palours and restaurants because of its dietary
and nutritious value.
Pig farming
Pig farming is also profitable. The business requires
patience. Anyone who wishes to go into pig farming
must have passion for the business. Feeding pigs
takes a period of 5 to 7 months before they mature for
selling. You need to start with the weaners and they go
for about N4,000. Those who don’t have good
knowledge of the business can end up feeding their
pigs for 10 months and get just 50kg.
But if you really understand the nitty-gritty of pig
farming, at seven months after weaning, you can get
75kg to 90kg. Pigs are sold according to their weight.
If a pig weighs 90kg that means it will be sold for
N22,500 at the rate of N250 per kilogramme, one can
get between 12 to 18 piglets from sow at a go.
Snail production
Commercial Snail farming is profitable, if you stock
1,000 snails, all of them are potential egg layers
because snails are hermaphrodite. A snail has both
male and female reproductive organs. A snail can lay
eggs between nine to ten times a year. This means that
one snail can give you over 100 eggs in a year, this
will amount to 100,000 snails in a year if you are
using free range snail farming method.
The demand for snails at the moment is higher than
supply. The five star hotels, eateries, relaxation centres
and beer parlours are regular buyers of this meat.
Interestingly, a snail farmer using free range system
can as well incorporate banana plantation into the
system thereby creating more than two businesses with
one facility, snails are also in high demand outside
Nigeria.

Cattle farming
Cattle farming is a business that appeals to people
who the needed vacant land and resources to make it
work. Now as long as milk, meat, leather products, etc
are in demand, cattle will remain a profitable business.
For those who are interested in this cattle business, it
is important you know that there are several avenues
to make money from this business. You can either
choose to breed bulls or cattle for their beef or go into
full scale diary farming (milk products). In fact, you
can also make money by selling their dungs to organic
fertilizer production companies.
2. Goat farming
Goat farming is no longer a new business. Rearing
goat is a very lucrative and profitable business
because goats have a low mortality rate as they are
resistant to diseases, weather, and they are
omnivorous.
3. Sheep farming
Sheep breeding business can be very lucrative and a
profitable venture more especially if you raise a good
number of them. However, for an entrepreneur to
succeed in such a venture, patience is required as well
as understanding the cycles of your business.
4. Poultry farming
Poultry farming is a viable business anytime any day
and the good thing about poultry is that its demand is
rising; since people are now reducing their intake of red
meat due to health issues. There are several aspects of
poultry you can venture into such Chicken farming,
Turkey, Guinea fowl, Quail, etc.
5. Pet Birds Farming
Another livestock farming business you can consider is
pet birds farming. In this case, you will be breeding
birds for pet purposes and other domestic use, not for
consumption. Example of pet birds include Parrot,
Doves, Pigeons, Peafowls (Peacocks and Peahens),
etc.
6. Fish farming
Fish farming can be divided into two basic categories;
which are fresh water fish farming and salt . The
demand for fish can never be met and about 70% of
fishes consumed in Nigeria are still being imported;
thus making fish farming a profitable venture.

doctor isa: Cattle farming
Cattle farming is a business that appeals to people
who the needed vacant land and resources to make it
work. Now as long as milk, meat, leather products, etc
are in demand, cattle will remain a profitable business.
For those who are interested in this cattle business, it
is important you know that there are several avenues
to make money from this business. You can either
choose to breed bulls or cattle for their beef or go into
full scale diary farming (milk products). In fact, you
can also make money by selling their dungs to organic
fertilizer production companies.
2. Goat farming
Goat farming is no longer a new business. Rearing
goat is a very lucrative and profitable business
because goats have a low mortality rate as they are
resistant to diseases, weather, and they are
omnivorous.
3. Sheep farming
Sheep breeding business can be very lucrative and a
profitable venture more especially if you raise a good
number of them. However, for an entrepreneur to
succeed in such a venture, patience is required as well
as understanding the cycles of your business.
4. Poultry farming
Poultry farming is a viable business anytime any day
and the good thing about poultry is that its demand is
rising; since people are now reducing their intake of red
meat due to health issues. There are several aspects of
poultry you can venture into such Chicken farming,
Turkey, Guinea fowl, Quail, etc.
5. Pet Birds Farming
Another livestock farming business you can consider is
pet birds farming. In this case, you will be breeding
birds for pet purposes and other domestic use, not for
consumption. Example of pet birds include Parrot,
Doves, Pigeons, Peafowls (Peacocks and Peahens),
etc.
6. Fish farming
Fish farming can be divided into two basic categories;
which are fresh water fish farming and salt . The
demand for fish can never be met and about 70% of
fishes consumed in Nigeria are still being imported;
thus making fish farming a profitable venture.

Thx a mmillion for sharing ur vast knowledge with us. What do you think about Fruit n vegetable farm? Any advice or tip?

fruit and vegetable farm is one of the top 5 best ways to make money from farming you can start with a plot of land and if you have the money acquire a large acres of land and start but always have it at the back of your mind those who sell the finished product make the most profit don't just plat orange trees and sell the orange continue and process it into juice and some other things...show your friends and family your business plan to raise money below I will explain how to established a fruit and vegetable process center

fruit and vegetable processing centre
needs a good, specific preliminary study including,
among other considerations, the following aspects:
a. Raw material availability;
b. Raw material quality in adequate varieties for
the types of finished products that will be
manufactured;
c. Harvesting and transport practices and
organisation from the field to the processing
centre;
d. Processing capacity related to raw material
availability: quantities, seasonability, etc.
e. Processing equipment size/capacity suitable for
above points;
f. Availability of trained operators and resources
to improve their knowledge;
g. Availability of workforce in the area and
resources for training them in order to be able
to assure adequate trained operators;
h. Availability of utilities: electricity, etc.
i. Position of the future processing centre as
related to raw material fields and to closest
transportation means; road access, railway
access.
j. Last but not least, market availability for
finished products and for optional semi-
processed products.
The decision to invest in fruit and vegetable
equipment MUST be taken case by case and only
after an adequate, specific preliminary study has
been carried out by specialists or a specialist
organisation.

Additional recommendations and "hints" to prepare,
start and operate a fruit and vegetable processing
centre are as follows:
a. Assure a raw material temporary storage
capacity/ surface for 2-5 processing days.
Invest in an adequate size cold room for
sensible raw materials;
b. Plan the equipment to operate at the start-up
for at least one working shift (about 7-9 hours)
per day, for 5 working days per week; when
needed, a second shift could be organized;
c. Plan to operate the processing centre for a
maximum number of working days per year).
In order to achieve this, invest in the buildings
and equipment which will be able to:
process as many species of fruits and
vegetables as possible / as available;
use as many preservation methods as
possible, e.g. drying, dehydration,
concentration, sugar preservation, etc.
d. Whenever possible, "rush" the utilisation of
available raw materials during crop season by
additional manufacturing of semi-processed
products and transform these in consumer
finished products during the off-season.
e. Excessive automatization of processing
equipment DOES NOT directly imply a good
quality of finished product;
f. Raw material quality is a major element with
positive impact on finished product quality;
g. Initial and continuous personnel training and
motivation is also an important factor in the
success or failure of a processing centre and in
assuring a constant finished product quality;
h. Keep finished product stocks at a minimum
adequate level;
i. Remember that the three main "outputs" of the
processing centre have to be prioritized in the
following order:
Priority 1: Finished product quality conforms to
specifications and standards: national and/or
international, consumer special requests, etc.
Priority 2: Continuous and reliable supply of
finished products to the domestic and export markets
throughout the year (or at least throughout the
"marketing season" of specific products);
Priority 3: Manufacturing and transport costs as
low as possible, inside the stringent need to cover
the first two priorities;
j) When deciding on the equipment output, take into
consideration all elements specified and mainly raw
material availability and market demand for a
specific finished product;
k) Invest in simple, modular processing lines which
can, with some simple on-site configuration
modifications, process various types of finished
products; this is mainly important for the first
technological steps (preparation of raw materials,
etc);
l) Plan to use as much as possible of the raw
materials supplied / received to the processing
centre.
This should be facilitated by the initial design and by
a good day-to-day organisation and management;
all these should enable, if necessary, to make a
different use of each "quality" or grade of raw
materials, e. g. using them for different finished
products: one quality for drying/dehydration, an
other quality for juices, etc.
m) Take into account the fact that the marketability
of finished products will be differ in terms of types
and quality for domestic and export markets.
Be sure that an export specialized staff/organisation
will help with specific export advice. To export
successfully is a different job to processing fruit and
vegetables.
n) Avoid investing in one "big" processing line, very
sophisticated in terms of automation, etc. with a
high output capacity but having potential following
drawbacks: being able to "generate" / produce only
one finished product type from only one raw
material; having too high a degree of equipment
fixation work for installation and therefore very
high difficulties in using the processing equipment in
a modular " interchangeable " way.
o) As an initial investment prefer small size
processing lines, with modular equipment
arrangement (i.e. able to be integrated in various
technological configurations for processing of as
many raw materials as possible and generating
different finished products).
p) As compared with important processing units in
developed countries, it is possible to formulate as a
very general rule for developing countries, that for
the usual size of equipment, for a comparable
environment frame, the scale / size should be
approximatively 1:10 from those actually in use in
developed countries.

Gud post

Thx a lot. Yeah,I'm thinking of d processed fruits,not as Fruit juice manufacturer at d moment but to start with Juice bar and as time goes on,depending on d landmark achievement,I'll shift gear 2 Juice man.company.
I really wnt to be organic as much as possible. Fruits r perishable this is a major challenge to me(reason why I wnt to start small with maybe smoothies n fruit mixing)
All in all,thx so much for this insight. I wonder why educative n informative topic like this is yet to make the front page

waiting for more reply before I continue

@op tanx for the inspiration.please i wud want to know how to grow plants like cabbage and carrots in a place like delta state.

Re=Awakening

I've always had this unfound love for agriculture and Will surely venture into it sooner. Thank you for this informative post.

@ Dr Isa, U may not know, hundreds of lives are being touched right now through this post, it's an eye opener, keep it coming Dr.

Nice thread. The media also share a blame in the way the public view agriculture. Agric issues have never been in the frontburner,secular topic always becloud discussion on agriculture. This post ought to make the frontpage but I doubt it would.

Join www. for unrestricted discussion and opportunities in agriculture

@eddy spice Growing carrots from seed is easy, but there are a
couple of tricks to growing really superb carrots. The
first challenge facing carrot growers is that the seeds
take a relatively long time to germinate. Twelve to
fourteen days is not unusual. During this time, the soil
needs to be kept evenly moist.
1. Prepare your carrot bed. Carrots need loose, fluffy
soil. Before planting, the soil should be thoroughly
loosened with a fork or spade. Stones should be
removed. This is a good opportunity to add some
organic matter to the bed, but only use compost or
manure that is completely rotted. If the organic matter
is too “fresh,” it can introduce an overabundance of
nitrogen – which is great for beans and lettuce, but
not good for root crops.
2. Start them in April, when the ground is still cool.
Once soil warms up in late May, it’s harder to keep the
surface layer evenly moist. Sowing at two to three week
intervals will result in a much longer harvest period.
3. Use organic carrot fertilizer -BC carrot
formula is a carefully blended mix of kelp meal, rock
phosphate, and greensand for an NPK ratio of 1-9-3.
This results in big, strong, flavourful roots with strong
tops. Decide where your row will be, and mix one cup
of carrot fertilizer for every eight feet of row.
4. Irrigate before planting. Give the bed a good deep
watering prior to planting so you don’t disturb the
shallowly planted seeds.
5. Use a piece of 1x1 lumber to mark your row. Press
the piece lightly into the soil on the diagonal (as
opposed to a flat side). This will create a shallow, V-
shaped trench. When you drop the seeds into the
trench, they tend to roll to the centre, resulting in a very
straight row. Carrot seeds are tiny, and notoriously
hard to sow evenly. Try not to over-sow. Two seeds per
inch of row is ideal.
6. Barely cover the seeds. Avoid planting carrot seeds
more than 5mm (1/4”) deep.
7. Thin your seedlings! It is important that each carrot
has enough room to expand in the soil beside its
neighbour. When seedlings are 2cm (1”) tall, remove
enough of them so they stand 4-10cm (1½ - 4”) apart
in the row. If carrots are too close to each other, it’s
common for the roots to wind around one another in a
spiral.
8. Try to keep your carrots evenly moist throughout the
growing season. Watering after a very dry spell tends
to result in splitting.
9. Plant more seeds in the first week of July for
harvesting in the fall and winter.

@eddy spice Purchase or prepare cabbage seedlings for planting.
Hardened plants that can tolerate frosts may be
planted as early as other cool-season plants, and
the time of year to plant the seedlings is dependent
upon where you live. Spring plants should produce
before the heat of the summer and can be planted 4
weeks before the last frost. Fall cabbage is best to be
in the ground 6 to 8 weeks before the first frost. You
should also try to plant the seedlings on a cloudy or
overcast day to minimize the shock of transplanting.
2
Mix nitrogen fertilizer and compost with the soil with
a garden fork . Cabbage requires three key items in
the soil for growth: nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium. The soil pH should be between 6.5 to 6.8
for optimum growth and to discourage certain
diseases.
3
Wear garden gloves, and space the plants 12 to 24
inches (30 .5 to 61 cm) apart in a row, depending
upon the variety and size of the cabbage head you
desire. The narrower the rows, the smaller the heads.
It is best to grow cabbage in full sun, but the plants
can deal with partial sun. Plant in the ground at a
depth level that is level with the first set of leaves.
4
Water the seedlings regularly with a watering can or
garden hose, applying 1 to 1 .5 inches (2.5 to 3.8 cm)
every week unless it rains. When the weather is
warm, plants may need extra water. Ensure that
weeds don't take over your plants by mulching the
area. Mulch also keeps the soil temperature cool.
5
Use a sharp knife to harvest the cabbage when the
heads are firm and the interior is dense . Avoid
waiting until the heads are overripe as they will split.
Excess moisture will also cause the heads to split.
You can leave the rest of the cabbage plant and
harvest a later batch of cabbage sprouts, which will
be 2 to 4 inches (5.1 to 10.2 cm) in diameter.
Cabbage heads can be placed in the refrigerator for
up to 2 weeks if covered loosely with a plastic bag.

Great doing, am into quail and chicken farming but i want to invest on grasscutter and snail rearing farming i need full guide on how to start, feeding and treatment cos am novice on it.
Regard Dr.

plz don't forget there are 4 varieties of cabbage so always ask before you buy

Spring cabbages , sow: July and August, plant: October
and November, harvest: April and May
Summer cabbages , sow: February to May, plant: May
and June, harvest: June to October
Autumn cabbages , sow: March to May, plant: May and
June, harvest: September to November
Winter cabbages , sow: May and June, plant: June and
July, harvest: November to March

@quaibirdfarmer. Snail Farming can be started in a small way with the
potential of great profit in the near future.
Snail farming is a very Good business if you have
patient.
The Achatina achatina locally called igbin in the
yoruba language known as Africa giant land snail.
It lays between 50 to 400 eggs at a time. They can lay
up to 1,200 eggs per year.
Here is a simple steps by steps approach to start
your snail farm
Snails can be reared in a earthen pot , wooden
boxes ,old car tyres,basket
Use mosquito net to cover to keep away pests
Create a micro-climate for the breeding place for the
snail.That means that the place must be dark, snails
love dark places do expose them to direct
sunlight.Always have them under a shade
The place must be moist which means that you need
to sprinkle water on the snail within regular internal
to keep the place humid .As if it is raining in the
place for the snail to lay more eggs.
put loamy soil in the breeding place .Heat the loamy
soil to keep any predators in the soil.
put Dry leaves on the soil to keep the place cool and
to serve as shelter for the snails
put your snails in the breeding area .You can get
your breeding stock from the market.Buy medium
size snails.stock your place with snails.There should
be enough space for the snails o move around.
Feed snails with leaves, fruits, vegetables.Their food
includes pawpaw, cassava, mango, coco yam leaves
and tubers, plantain, maize, banana, cabbage,
lettuce, palm nuts, carrots etc.
You can supply the snails supplementary calcium
through dried shells, eggs shells, and oysters shells.
When the snails start growing , separate the big ones
from the small ones
Hotels, first foods, restaurants and regular people
are constantly demanding for supply
snail don't normally contact disease just keep the surrounding clean from different type of ants and clean there house every week

the demand for snail has increase by 400% in the past few years because of its health benefit
below is how to construct your snail house if you are planning to go into large scale lake 20k-200k that's when you make most profit from it

@doctor isa tanx for the information.i highly apprreciate

@ doctor isa,
God bless you for the info.

I would like to know if you own a farm of your own.
The reason for d question is because a practical training is d only way out for someone who really wants to bcom a full time farmer and who is not ready to waste his funds b4 getting it right.

Thank you once more,waiting for your reply.

@ doctor Isa, yu're doing a great job here. Thank for the information.

@enilove thanks am a farmer

@ Dr,
I like you and am glad with the infos you are supplying.
I am an agronomist by profession, a post graduate student, a farmer and consultant(crop production and livestock). I am a field agriculturist.(Not praising myself thoug h because we are all learners)
"I think agric business is not this "Rossy" as you portray it sir!

Agric is very profitable but
1.It is capital intensive.( You can start small though)
2. There is drugery in it(labour intensive)
3.To maximise profit, you need to know the techniques or be close to people that are in the business and wants to help you.
4.you need to know the short cuts.
5.you need to be mobile(have a vehincle)at least a bike(okada).
6.you need a large heart
You don't need to have all dis qualifications at start of business but you will get better on the work.
Good luck friends.