@OP, look well well and learn my brother. @Lesgupnigeria, first and foremost i don't think it is gentlemanly of you to be taunting someone that he couldn't sell off his farm produce. No, not at all. I am a follower of your post on NL. Secondly, i will personally want to know why you did not assist jethro2 in getting links to buyers?. I strongly believe you are out to help guys, at least from your postings so far. @Jethro2, things may not always be one sided, what you think is not working here may be working there. Pls let us be sincere in our analysis. I have met great guys on NL who are genuine to the core. Have a nice day everyone.

One fact jumps out:

cassava farming and processing in Nigeria is a highly dynamic market which is location dependent. It is difficult to get a standardized operational format as what works in one region may not work in other regions.

OP, since you are going to be doing your business in Edo State, you need to know the following markets for gari:

- rural markets
- urban markets
- assembly markets.

Know the pricing of the product in these markets, and how the product flows from processors to each of these markets, or from one market to another.

I give you an example. There is a market in Kano called the Dawanau market, which is a major assembly market for gari. Buyers come from Niger, Chad, Cameroun and even as far as Burkina Faso to this market to purchase gari. Now this market is situated in an area surrounded by states where gari production is extremely low. So a cassava farmer or processor operating in the North Central states can position his or her business to become a supplier of processed product to this market so as to get a West African reach.

What am I saying here? It is not just about planting cassava without a plan. Cassava in its raw form has very little value. Once harvested, it rots in 3 days. Indeed, its value starts to drop after 12 hours. So you need to process instantly. I was watching something on TV about mobile processing machines which process cassava into cakes, elongating the shelf life and putting it into a form which can be transported to processing companies without fear of loss.

I think that mobile processing machines may be the stop gap that cassava farmers need. But how much do these machines cost? Food for thought.

Dokitadotun:
@OP, look well well and learn my brother. @Lesgupnigeria, first and foremost i don't think it is gentlemanly of you to be taunting someone that he couldn't sell off his farm produce. No, not at all. I am a follower of your post on NL. Secondly, i will personally want to know why you did not assist jethro2 in getting links to buyers?. I strongly believe you are out to help guys, at least from your postings so far. @Jethro2, things may not always be one sided, what you think is not working here may be working there. Pls let us be sincere in our analysis. I have met great guys on NL who are genuine to the core. Have a nice day everyone.

Thank you for your contributions sir
My main bone of contention is not for him to link us to cassava processors but for him to prove that he has successfully carried out a profitable cassava transaction by providing evidence, figures, testimonies, facts and blue prints as he has been claiming.
With my little experience over time in agriculture, i can categorically states that lesgupnigeria is out deceiving people on cassava investment.
If not i expect atleast one person on nairaland to vouch for his integrity by testifying to having had a real transaction with him and not all this them say them say.
I m still hoping i will be prove wrong.
But sincerely the way its going seem i am 99% right of terming him a scam until otherwise

Russell145:
Good day everyone, my name is Chikezie Russell, a 200lvl student studying maritime management technology at the federal university of technology, owerri. I have seen the recent trend in the Nigerian economy in relation to the fall in the price of oil. With the way things are going in this country, there is every tedency for the Nigerian govt to shift frm oil to agriculture. Many graduates will want to becme involved in agriculture because in abt 5 to 10 yrs frm nw, agriculture will start paying like the oil industry(if nt more than). Only an unwise person( forgive me) will forsee such things and neglect it. To me, any poor man choses to be poor, except maybe circumstances. I cant say that i am frm a well to do hme, bt i intend to change dat. It is funny nowadays wen u see pple looking fr jobs wen most of their parents lands are lying in waste in the village. I would nt like fr smeone to pay my salary, instead i want to employ and pay pple via agriculture. I want to have the biggest farm in Africa. I want to export agricultural produce to other nations. Although these are big dreams, bt big dreams start small wit determination. My mum has abt 5 acres of land where she grows cassava and pineapple bt has nt been able to move frward(which i will attribute to her limitation in education). I will like to start a cassava farm. Whatever profit i make will be reinvested to expand the business. I intend going into exportation of my farm produce(thank God fr the course i am studying) in due time. The only challenge that i am having in my plan is time optimization. How am i going to balance my studies and the farm business 2geda. How am i going to start in this small way nd get to the stage of exporting nd hw to go about it and also financing. The issue of land is solved as well as the cassava stem needed for planting which my mum already has. This why i am here to seek the support of professionals, experts, great thinkers and others alike. Thank you so much for your support. God bless you, God bless agriculture and God bless NIGERIA, Amen.

I could not get your message on my inbox.
Post your email here to get started.

jethro2:

I laugh at the court of law aspect. Anxiously waiting for your summon.
Mind you i am unwavering. You ve got some query to answer.
The game is just beginning
I am well prepared

You can make enquiries from your co-conspirators,they know me well, i follow up my words to logical conclusion.
I don't waver,it will cost me nothing and have got nothing to lose; you have everything to lose.
By the time you start paying damages,you will come back to your right senses.
its better you pay your nairaland clients debt before you start adding mine to it.

This is becoming interesting. Now i know i am not the only one or the first person to read in between the lines.
All i ask for is a single prove of cassava transaction that was successfully carried out as you have been flaunting around on every thread in nairaland.
Atleast i would have exposed you for the scam you are for every one to see.
Stop deceiving people, stop scamming people in the name of cassava project, stop cooking figures for people, stop fleeing them of their hard earned money in the name of feasibility study, e books and e trainings.
I am yet to see a single person on nairaland that has had a successful profitable transaction with you. I am still waiting.

Damages for exposing a scammer? Lets watch and see.
Your integrity is at stake, your integrity is hanging.
Defend it with prove

Lesgupnigeria:

You can make enquiries from your co-conspirators,they know me well, i follow up my words to logical conclusion.
I don't waver,it will cost me nothing and have got nothing to lose; you have everything to lose.
By the time you start paying damages,you will come back to your right senses.
its better you pay your nairaland clients debt before you start adding mine to it.

stagger:
Jethro2,

I recall that when I replied to Amarawa on a similar thread that gari was going for 6000 per 50kg bag, u clearly said I know nothing about the business, and that the said 50kg bag is 2,500 or 3,000.

Amarawa went to a market here in the FCT, and confirmed that what I said was the fact.

There is something you are not doing right, and I think you are in a wrong location. Instead of shooting down people's dreams and acting as a doubting Thomas (mind you, Thomas the doubter was eventually proven wrong), I think you should liaise with others having more success, rub minds, exchange ideas and move forward.

By the way, I agree with you that processing is the way to go. But it is also possible to meet with companies who need cassava as raw materials. They hardly get enough to meet their requirements so they will offer better pricing.

A company like Ekha Agro which produces glucose syrup for use by drinks companies has to fulfill its obligations to its clients such as NBC. They will therefore be quite desperate for raw cassava and will offer better pricing than a local processor who makes gari for sale to end users.

Get my drift?

Na over sabi they worry her.
if.not for amarawa that went to the market to confirm and show the whole house,she will.have been doing the same thing that other people opinion are to scam other intending farmers.

I recall that she was saying people should forget about the analysis of amarawa....I think you need to upgrade your knowledge.
jethro,my advise for you is to create some time to update your knowledge about agribusiness instead of criticising other people.
Go.to seminars,good farms where people are making money to update your knowledge.

I feel that you stays too long on the farm. create time to acquire knowledge.

Dokitadotun:
@OP, look well well and learn my brother. @Lesgupnigeria, first and foremost i don't think it is gentlemanly of you to be taunting someone that he couldn't sell off his farm produce. No, not at all. I am a follower of your post on NL. Secondly, i will personally want to know why you did not assist jethro2 in getting links to buyers?. I strongly believe you are out to help guys, at least from your postings so far. @Jethro2, things may not always be one sided, what you think is not working here may be working there. Pls let us be sincere in our analysis. I have met great guys on NL who are genuine to the core. Have a nice day everyone.

Thanks.my.brother.
You can check my cassava thread and see how the conveesation goes.
She told me she will contact me when the times come to do so.
Since then i did not hear anything from her.
I dont think i should be the one to chase all around because i want to give her links.

Lesgupnigeria:

Na over sabi they worry her.
if.not for amarawa that went to the market to confirm and show the whole house,she will.have been doing the same thing that other people opinion are to scam other intending farmers.
I recall that she was saying people should forget about the analysis of amarawa....I think you need to upgrade your knowledge.
jethro,my advise for you is to create some time to update your knowledge about agribusiness instead of criticising other people.
Go.to seminars,good farms where people are making money to update your knowledge.
I feel that you stays too long on the farm. create time to acquire knowledge.

You are so full of lies. Always perambulating. Finding one link to mix up the post
But you must have known i am unwavering this time around.
I am well prepared for your antics.
I still stand on my point.
please show on nairaland one successful transaction you have carried out on cassava selling. We need evidence. Nairaland farmers need to know.
You owe your followers that explaination.
No amount of justifications and scouting around for word will save you from this one.
I still say you are out to scam people. You are out to flee them of their hard earned money. You have never done any cassava transaction before. You are a big time lier.
Prove me wrong Lesgupnigeria that's all i ask

By the time i descend on that your cassava thread. Picking points where you have lied so much for your followers to see. Believe me you will think you were hit by a moving trailers because nobody on nairaland will want to deal with you at a thousand miles. You think i am joking when i say don't quote me. I never mention names but i know you will. Unfortunately for you i have been so preparing for this day.
I will not deviate. All i want is prove. Prove of transactions, prove of cassava transactions.

Lesgupnigeria:

Thanks.my.brother.
You can check my cassava thread and see how the conveesation goes.
She told me she will contact me when the times come to do so.
Since then i did not hear anything from her.
I dont think i should be the one to chase all around because i want to give her links.

Please I think we need to end all these accusations and counter accusations. The various poultry threads hardly have any of these online fights and more knowledge is coming out of those threads daily.

We should make the cassava threads knowledge based and not turn it into quarrel spots. The OP has raised some issues. Let all who have something to contribute do so and back up their claims with statistics. Where problems are identified, we should all research, come up with solutions and put them all here for everyone's benefit.

At Stagger
I am pleading, please stay by the side and watch. I begged pleaseeeeeeeeeee
I am on a mission that i intend to see to the end.
Its between me and lesgupnigeria. I gave my warning before i start. Because I know things like this could happen.
And sincerely, i will back down when he gives me just one evidence of a successful cassava transaction where he made the millions or else.........
Thank you

stagger:
Please I think we need to end all these accusations and counter accusations. The various poultry threads hardly have any of these online fights and more knowledge is coming out of those threads daily.
We should make the cassava threads knowledge based and not turn it into quarrel spots. The OP has raised some issues. Let all who have something to contribute do so and back up their claims with statistics. Where problems are identified, we should all research, come up with solutions and put them all here for everyone's benefit.

[quote author=stagger post=29250335]

@ lesgupnigeria
@ jethro

E ma ja n'ibi yi o, Mi o Fe wahala ooo!
(make u no wage e-war for here, I no want wahala oooo)

Seriously, you guys should settle ur scores amicably.
May God help you.

well, Op, u don hear am naa.

@pavore and buchika, what do u have to say?

pavore has farmed cassava in the past, so with buchika. I recal one of them complained that there is so.much wastage and that the major issue is peeling with labour(hand). They said mechanical peelers have low conversion ratio. A lot of cassava is also wasted if u dont process within a short time. I recal we were brain storming on how to mechanise cassava farming as labour costs is a huge set back.

My advise- visit cassava farmers in your area and know how they are coping. Since the land is your family's own u dont have much to lose. Dont borrow money to start. Do your initial planting to test. I heard the best specie for starch is tme 419, but i wil advise u to start whith cassava for garri. garri needs no advert . Feeding nigeria since 1906.

You can visit iita website and get info for the most updated stems and for which use. You can call their office and request to speak wit the consultant on cassava. Explain ur fears to him and tell him u are a student and how ur parent have failed previously in d biz. He might have more advise for you.

You maynot be able to do vegatable farming except u have sumone to be going to.the farm for u on daily basis.

Wish u d best.

NB- Agric is not that rosy, but my ppl say, aka aja aja na ebute onu mmanu mmanu.
For intending farmers, dont do ur analysis with mktprice . There is diff btw mkt price and farm price . You budget with the least . That you budgeted wit the least does not mean you cant sell at high price. Also remember that farm produce are perishable, put dt in mind and make plans to reduce the no dt will perish.
Ogwu ka o ha m na onu!

@stagger, poultry section is what it is cos we have real farmers there. Real farmers understand what it takes to be a farmer. They help you when you have issues cos they are practising farmers.

Wait till u have sellers/mkters in dt section and see how it will go. They paint a beautiful picture to make u buy what th have to sell. I saw one post by a seller in poultry section and fnk was quick to put things right, cos he is a practising farmer.

@jethro, so sorry u culdnt get good price for your cassava. I think u should browse and research the starch mill in ur location.
Buika/ pavore told me we have a starch mill here in anambra -nsm, uli. I later confirmedbthey are still in operation though in small capacity.

Note- i have not done any business with them.b4.

Just passing.

mercylicious:
@jethro, so sorry u culdnt get good price for your cassava. I think u should browse and research the starch mill in ur location.
Buika/ pavore told me we have a starch mill here in anambra -nsm, uli. I later confirmedbthey are still in operation though in small capacity.

Note- i have not done any business with them.b4.

the problem is not the unavailability of starch mills. but at what price do they buy? even export price is quite low. I think Jethro's point has been that every intending cassava should have an idea about all these before venturing. maybe am wrong tho. 20 hectares of cassava lying fallow no be small money o.

@mercylicious. you raise some viable points. some people think agriculture is all about throwing seed in the ground and coming after a year or so to harvest. I always say that farming is not done on paper or on nairaland or other websites.
it's a practise, if you are not practising, you are a joker. that's the truth.
And you raise some good points which must be looked into.

Concerning this cassava of a thing, quite honestly, I have met a Thai farmer who told me he harvests 200KG of cassava per stand. And I have also heard of a guy who harvests 50KG here in Nigeria. Am not a cassava farmer but that sounds pretty awesome to me. Farming has gone miles while here in Nigeria we are still using archaic/traditional methodologies. The way I see it, if the price is too low, try and increase productivity by using the latest technologies.

Now, why did I tell the Thai farmer's story? After seeing his harvest, I thought it was the specie of the cassava that was making him harvest so much, but it's not. on the contrary he said it has more to do with the methodology and agronomy. time to water, time to apply manure, land preparation all come to play.
He taught me what he knows, and since I've never tried it on my own, I have not voiced a word to anybody. untill I try what he said, and it works, I can then on start making noise just as I am doing on cucumber

Leave, if na for armchair farming, I would have been a big guru here. I have contacts to companies and firms that buy almost every crop you can think of. I have improved seeds, high technologies and some crazy agrinomy for different vegetables and fruits. But how do I start giving it out when I have not tested them? or practised? na only other people own I see.

My head is not 2 na. and I don't want to deceive anybody with unverified information. na to mis-lead the public be that. what am I saying? SAY NO TO ARMCHAIR FARMERS ON NAIRALAND!! PRACTISING FARMERS ONLY

All info posted here should be verifiable. we are here to help and not to boast. if na to boast, we can do that in bizness section

jasper7:
@mercylicious. you raise some viable points. some people think agriculture is all about throwing seed in the ground and coming after a year or so to harvest. I always say that farming is not done on paper or on nairaland or other websites.
it's a practise, if you are not practising, you are a joker. that's the truth.
And you raise some good points which must be looked into.

Concerning this cassava of a thing, quite honestly, I have met a Thai farmer who told me he harvests 200KG of cassava per stand. And I have also heard of a guy who harvests 50KG here in Nigeria. Am not a cassava farmer but that sounds pretty awesome to me. Farming has gone miles while here in Nigeria we are still using archaic/traditional methodologies. The way I see it, if the price is too low, try and increase productivity by using the latest technologies.

Now, why did I tell the Thai farmer's story? After seeing his harvest, I thought it was the specie of the cassava that was making him harvest so much, but it's not. on the contrary he said it has more to do with the methodology and agronomy. time to water, time to apply manure, land preparation all come to play.
He taught me what he knows, and since I've never tried it on my own, I have not voiced a word to anybody. untill I try what he said, and it works, I can then on start making noise just as I am doing on cucumber

When you mentioned "200kg per stand", what exactly does that translate to in terms of tons per hectare, which is the format we are used to here?

stagger:


When you mentioned "200kg per stand", what exactly does that translate to in terms of tons per hectare, which is the format we are used to here?

sir, I wasn't lying when I said I have never planted cassava in my entire life. so, I can't say how many. maybe the pros like lesgupnigeria can help us out here. but I was told that in Nigeria, we average between 8-20kg per stand. again, am not sure.

mercylicious:
@jethro, so sorry u culdnt get good price for your cassava. I think u should browse and research the starch mill in ur location.
Buika/ pavore told me we have a starch mill here in anambra -nsm, uli. I later confirmedbthey are still in operation though in small capacity.
Note- i have not done any business with them.b4.

@ Mercylicious. Thank you for your kind words. I am already looking at harvesting and processing into gari or tapioca starch. I just need to do more verification before i jump into it.
Meanwhile my qualms with lesgupnigeria is that he goes about lying and deceiving people about cassava profitability. He is economical with the truth.
Yes i fumbled but should i allow others to fall into the same deception.
What i am after is for him to agree that cassava is not as profitable as he is making people believe or give me evidence, facts and figures of the succesful transaction of his so called cassava businesd

jasper7:

the problem is not the unavailability of starch mills. but at what price do they buy? even export price is quite low. I think Jethro's point has been that every intending cassava should have an idea about all these before venturing. maybe am wrong tho. 20 hectares of cassava lying fallow no be small money o.

My brother thank you oooo.
Simple truth is all i am demanding for. Let the intending and interested farmers know the truth. Let them know they want to gamble with their life savings rather than giving silly cock and bull stories. I am not asking for too much

jasper7:
All info posted here should be verifiable. we are here to help and not to boast. if na to boast, we can do that in bizness section

Exactly my point

Ok, I get where you're coming from.

Obviously one of the biggest concerns for intending farmers is how do you manage to sell your produce or livestock profitably after all the investment and hardwork.

Recently all over NL and elsewhere, poultry owners were advertising hundreds of broilers n layers for sale. Even a day before Christmas. This is supposed to be the period when chickens are hotcake.


As more people go into farming, produce & livestock all seem to be ready for harvest/sale at about certain times of the year.

Huge supply can easily reduce prices considerably.

Well, a possible way forward is for co-operatives or groups of farmers to pull resources together and begin processing their produce.

That way, excess produce can be mopped up and prices stabilised.

Even in the West, supermarkets/middle men pay peanuts to buy milk from dairy farmers, same with strawberries, oranges,lettuce, etc.

With cassava, it could get worse with time. Processors may decide to plant large number of hectares of cassava themselves.

Many banana companies that were previously just buyers, now produce millions of bananas from their own farms in Central/South America. Orange juice makers too.

jethro2:

I stay in the South West. Oyo state and Ogun State majorly. That's where the concentration of cassava factories are.

I fell victim of those lies and i will do anything possible to prevent others that will listen not to fall for the same stories.

its true, our cooperative group planted 20 hectares in Sepeteri, village in the Saki East LGA with the expectation of making returns after a year.
In the process we made arrangement with some of the companies in Ogun State. The truth is they are privately owned so they have all the aces and cards.
Some of the companies have visited the farm several times and they follow up.
Only to start offering ridiculous price when its harvesting time.
Then you can imagine some one coming to make bogus claims that he made N1,000,000 from 5 acres, claiming to lead someone to the company, saying cassava is profitable.
Yes cassava is profitable of you are the processor but not as a farmer.

I have been reading a lot of misleading thread on cassava which i kept quiet to. I made it a point not to comment because i am not out to spoil any ones business.
But my conscience has not been at peace for allowing others to fall victim while i know the truth.
I intentionally warned people not to quote me if they don't have concrete evidence to back it up. The reason is i want to be allowed to express my opinion in the best way possible without hurting anyone's business
Let the farmers decide and be able to say some one did warned but no:
He quoted me because he felt he is up to the task. He has been making the millions and we need to see how. He needs to bring in evidence and back ups.
Believe me I am willing and ready to see the end of this. That's why i gave the noted warnings.
Enough of the lies

AreaFada2:
Ok, I get where you're coming from.
Obviously one of the biggest concerns for intending farmers is how do you manage to sell your produce or livestock profitably after all the investment and hardwork.
Recently all over NL and elsewhere, poultry owners were advertising hundreds of broilers n layers for sale. Even a day before Christmas. This is supposed to be the period when chickens are hotcake.
As more people go into farming, produce & livestock all seem to be ready for harvest/sale at about certain times of the year.
Huge supply can easily reduce prices considerably.
Well, a possible way forward is for co-operatives or groups of farmers to pull resources together and begin processing their produce.
That way, excess produce can be mopped up and prices stabilised.
Even in the West, supermarkets/middle men pay peanuts to buy milk from dairy farmers, same with strawberries, oranges,lettuce, etc.
With cassava, it could get worse with time. Processors may decide to plant large number of hectares of cassava themselves.
Many banana companies that were previously just buyers, now produce millions of bananas from their own farms in Central/South America. Orange juice makers too.

Thank you sir for understanding

Thank God you know one needs to show transaction details for intending farmers to believe you are genuine. Please lead by example. Show us one transaction details that was succesfully carried out on cassava planting and selling.
Its your word
Lesgupnigeria:
Beware of some nairalander especially on the agric section especially the ones telling you they have co-operative,Do not join their co-operative, they are there to rip you off by telling you to join their co-operative.
They also set-up and manage farms for intending farmers with no success to show for it.
Please beware of them.
I will tell you what to do when you want to do business with them.
Make sure you sign an agreement with them before doing business with them and one of the condition that must be stated in their agreement before you do business with them is to show you their transactions of profit they have made from their agribusiness.Failure to show you that, please run with your hard-earned money.
2015 is around the corner.
Beware Of Foxes that comes in sheep skin.

The year is coming to an end. So many people died, and God has spared our lives to see this day. Let us not dishonour Him by getting into silly fights that will get us all nowhere.

I want to urge Legsupnigeria and Jethro2 to stop this madness they are trying to engage in before someone gets hurt. None of us is better than those who have left this world in 2014. Let us end the year in peace. Please.

stagger:
The year is coming to an end. So many people died, and God has spared our lives to see this day. Let us not dishonour Him by getting into silly fights that will get us all nowhere.

I want to urge Legsupnigeria and Jethro2 to stop this madness they are trying to engage in before someone gets hurt. None of us is better than those who have left this world in 2014. Let us end the year in peace. Please.

.

Seconded.

Just yesterday I lost a relative that I was chatting with on Christmas day. A young and fit person that was hale & hearty.

Please in the light of this, all this little e-fight pale into insignificance.

Peace guys.

@jasper, e be like say na thailand i go go my next vacation. The thing don dey do me ajigbijigbi for head like papa ajasco.

@jethro, plz calm down. U have made your point and ur conacience shld be at rest now.

@Legsup, let us be our brothers and sis keepers.

The aim of agric section thread in nairaland will not be defeated.