mercylicious:
@jethro, while u are researching on dt, the key factors shld be how to keep the tomatoes fresh till in lands in south south due to days for transportatn.
Did you see d story of the lady dt d husband was transfered to d north and she hit a goldmine in trading onions? That story says a lot. It is on business section.
https://www.nairaland.com/2153616/nairalander-tales-onions-business

There are some varieties of tomatoes that can stay 2 to 3 weeks without getting spoil.
Another is packaging and handling method. Our raffia basket contributes to destroying the tomatoes. Its advisable to go for plastic crates.
I went through the story, its really amazing

jeffmyson:

It is still too early to say the woman hit Gold mine! She has only done 1 transaction and from my business experience it is not enough to call it a success! That is more reason why people fail in business because lots of folks will jump into the business without proper analysis of the risks and the mitigating factors. If you observe carefully she has been avoiding all the questions I put to her because she knows that I know she is not divulging the full details especially the risks. In a few weeks time you will hear new tales from those who jumped in and are now sweating "Onions".

The story sound too smooth to be true. But who am i to say so?
the doubting Thomas

jethro2:

Agribusiness opportunities are wider than you can imagine. Which aspect would you like to venture in. Search for a certain need in your immediate environment which you can take advantage of.

morning jethreo2 I want to go into farm product sales. how can I go about it?

gabriel212:

morning jethreo2 I want to go into farm product sales. how can I go about it?

One need to locate and associate with farmers based on the commodity you want to deal with.

jethro2:

One need to locate and associate with farmers based on the commodity you want to deal with.

i have sent you PM so that we can talk off line.

@ jethro2 , pls hw much is an acre of farmland in Saki?

securi:
@ jethro2 , pls hw much is an acre of farmland in Saki?

guy, u no dey tire to buy land? hw ur plantain farm sef?

securi:
@ jethro2 , pls hw much is an acre of farmland in Saki?

Saki people dont have land for sale

SitL,
Dats my new found oando and forte oil o, since I got my fingers burnt on NSE. . The farm is doing well, we're preparing to plant more plantain now. We planted tomatoes, sweet and hot pepper last week too thanx to Jethro2 for insight into tomatoes.
How is your own farm doing too? Am sure d plantation is doing well, how are the new suckers emerging?
What's up on NSE? How the JIJO crew doing? Merci!

mercylicious:

guy, u no dey tire to buy land? hw ur plantain farm sef?

Really? I thought there is land around dat area. Ok, thanks

jethro2:

Saki people dont have land for sale

securi:
Really? I thought there is land around dat area. Ok, thanks

Yes. There are plenty land. Just that the few I know are family lands which they are nit selling for now

Try posting some tomato pictures from the farm. But seems the network is bad. Will try some other time

Jethro u made me laf wen u said d woman ddnt hit goldmine. She's sending 2bags of onions to me down ph dis wk.infact she has many clients dat my chats has to take tym before she replies me. We need ppl who can do dese supplies to us dat is nt dia thereby creating utility of space. Pls fink of wat I said u can. If u do pls a basket of tomato is how much now down to southsouth. Wat else sells cheaper dia

It will be quite nice if we can achieve that and am sure Jethro2 will take up that challenge, she's resourceful and bold enough to take it up.
So how much is onion and tomato in ph and how much is the Lady supplying you the onioin. Just keen on the figs, it may be useful to bring out the giants in farmers in here to take the feat

biggal:

We need ppl who can do dese supplies to us dat is nt dia thereby creating utility of space. Pls fink of wat I said u can. If u do pls a basket of tomato is how much now down to southsouth. Wat else sells cheaper dia

biggal:
Jethro u made me laf wen u said d woman ddnt hit goldmine. She's sending 2bags of onions to me down ph dis wk.infact she has many clients dat my chats has to take tym before she replies me. We need ppl who can do dese supplies to us dat is nt dia thereby creating utility of space. Pls fink of wat I said u can. If u do pls a basket of tomato is how much now down to southsouth. Wat else sells cheaper dia

My Oga. No laff me. Its just my opiinion. My team has been working on logistics to see how we can move goods down to South south and South East. Just a lit bit of time to put things in places. We want to make the goods available all through the season so we are engaging with a lot of rural farmers to upgrade their production.
We will appreciate every network that we can get when we are set.
I am concentrating mainly on vegetables for the main time. You can assisst by giving us the majorly consumed vegetables in your area. We will surely work on it.
Basically we are dealing with Tomatoes, Cucumber, Cabbage, Green pepper, Water melon, Okra, Chilli pepper as at now. We will be epaaanding into others gradually.


Attached are some of the vegetables that we have

securi:
It will be quite nice if we can achieve that and am sure Jethro2 will take up that challenge, she's resourceful and bold enough to take it up.
So how much is onion and tomato in ph and how much is the Lady supplying you the onioin. Just keen on the figs, it may be useful to bring out the giants in farmers in here to take the feat

Thank you sir for the vote of confidence. Underground work has started as regards that. Though we need more farmers to join in the production because 1000 farmers with an acre each of tomatoes can easily combine their produce to fill a truck or trailer that will move to the east or south than 2 farmers that have 50 acres each.
The overhead cost will be shared.

Some of the tomatoes that got infected at fruiting

Sweet pepper doing nicely on the farm

Lesson learnt from my experienc:
As a farmer
1. One need to be an expert in his/her field.
2. One need advance planning business management
3. One also need to know how to market ones product.
To be sufficient in this discipline, a farmer needs both theoretical knowledge and practical experience.

Some of the biggest constraints faces in vegetable production are;
1. Fertilizer is expensive.
Forget all the GES stuff and whatever story. I was among the facilitators that register farmer in Abeokuta South LGA of Ogun State in 2013. Several months later I got an alert to go and pick 2 bags of fertilizer, maize seeds and cassava cuttings for N6,500.
Wow "quite cheap " I thought
So i went in search of the quoted address to pay and pick the subsidized commodities.
I searched and searched but the address is non existing

Then................
The Federal Government has distributed N10,000,000 worth of fertilizer to farmers is the news all over the radio station.

And ................................
Some of the farmers that I registered start bombarding me with calls.
" When did they share it?
"When is our own coming?
"We couldnt locate the centre
" Whats happening?

Hmnnnnnnn
"If you ask me who I go ask?

SOLUTION
Go for organic fertilizer. They are less expensive though tedious to access.
EG Poultry waste, Cow dungs, Sunflower from Pavore,s thread etc.
Liquid organic fertilizer too seems to be cheaper.

2. Lack of irrigation capacity in the dry season.
I tells people that 2014 was when I start keeping rainfall records.
"I became a prayer warrior for rain to fall"
My sincere advise.
Please dont venture into vegetable if you dont have an irrigation back up.
Vegetables are heavy feeders. They need constant watering.
Infact morning and night if one can afford.
The more water it gets, the bigger your fruits size
The bigger it is the bigger the price it commands
With your irrigation system,
You can plant all the year round
You have bigger fruits and increased production
You can fix a standard and stable price
Rain will just be added advantage.
Plan to invest in your drip kit

Once a Tomato plant is infected with any disease, the best option for you is to remove and destroy the infected plant by burning or pouring chlorine on it. Leaving an infected Tomato plant on your field may be detrimental to all your crops and some insects may spread the disease all around your field.


The two diseases that wreck Tomato farms often are Blight and Bacteria Wilt. Bacteria wilt is prevalent in SW Nigeria so Bacteria Wilt resistant tomato variety is advised to be planted. This disease has no cure once it infects your tomato plant. You can however get your soil cured from it by using plastic solarisation or the use of methyl bromide (most countries have banned its use). I also heard that the use of organic inputs can significantly reduce the incidences of bacteria wilt. Hydroponic farming or the use of sterilised soil in planting bags will solve most of these disease problems.


For Blight, the best remedy is prevention. You must make sure your tomato plants have a fungicide coating always. Some farmers drench their tomato plants with fungicide before and immediately after any rain.


The black spot below the tomato fruit looks like Blossom End Rot to me. Its either your soil has inadequate calcium or your tomato plant did not get enough water hence its inability to fully get enough calcium from the soil.


I am not an expert anyway but I am talking from experience.

Drip irrigation

innovationafrik:
Once a Tomato plant is infected with any disease, the best option for you is to remove and destroy the infected plant by burning or pouring chlorine on it. Leaving an infected Tomato plant on your field may be detrimental to all your crops and some insects may spread the disease all around your field.
The two diseases that wreck Tomato farms often are Blight and Bacteria Wilt. Bacteria wilt is prevalent in SW Nigeria so Bacteria Wilt resistant tomato variety is advised to be planted. This disease has no cure once it infects your tomato plant. You can however get your soil cured from it by using plastic solarisation or the use of methyl bromide (most countries have banned its use). I also heard that the use of organic inputs can significantly reduce the incidences of bacteria wilt. Hydroponic farming or the use of sterilised soil in planting bags will solve most of these disease problems.
For Blight, the best remedy is prevention. You must make sure your tomato plants have a fungicide coating always. Some farmers drench their tomato plants with fungicide before and immediately after any rain.
The black spot below the tomato fruit looks like Blossom End Rot to me. Its either your soil has inadequate calcium or your tomato plant did not get enough water hence its inability to fully get enough calcium from the soil.
I am not an expert anyway but I am talking from experience.

Thanks for your contribution. I sincerely appreciate it. Extensively working on damage control.

3. Many of the plants die during transplanting.
Somebody once ask me if one can plant tomatoes without nursing it.
My reply was" No tomato, No nursery"
During the last planting season, I gave some tomato seeds to my farm manager to plant in the nursery.
While I was not around he instructed the labourers to plant it directly.
Probably 80% germinates and the remaining 20% couldnt survive the droughts and weather conditions.
Nursery is one of the most delicate stages for vegetables generally.
Tomato seeds are extremely delicate.
They needs to be pampered at all stage and most especially at the nursery.
Please ensure you have an adequate knowledge of the nursery preparation before venturing into tomaato production.

Nursery stage

@Jethro

Why not try nursery trays and sterile medium. None of my tomato plants died during transplanting. The roots of tomato seedlings are often disturbed when you transplant from the soil. In fact, I know a farmer who imports tomato plugs (seedlings germinated in nursery trays) from India to Nigeria.

Do you have a friend in Lagos, I can give you a bag of sterile medium free of charge to try but you must have a nursery tray.

innovationafrik:
@Jethro
Why not try nursery trays and sterile medium. None of my tomato plants died during transplanting. The roots of tomato seedlings are often disturbed when you transplant from the soil. In fact, I know a farmer who imports tomato plugs (seedlings germinated in nursery trays) from India to Nigeria.
Do you have a friend in Lagos, I can give you a bag of sterile medium free of charge to try but you must have a nursery tray.

Thank you for the offer and i do appreciate the gesture.
I work with rural farmers in partnership with IFDC. International Fertilizer Development Centre.
The basis is for sustainable agriculture at the cheapest rate possible. They are taught to maximise yield at the lowest cost.
We have made some pretty headway success without using nursery tray. We try as much as possible to use local materials
Secondly I am an advocate for export. I would go for imported things when there is no locally made alternative.
Even if i took up the offer, will you extend the gesture to my farmers?
It was nice of you to offer and i do sincerely appreciate it. Thank you

Ok, I get your point. I once watched a video on youtube where farmers used Egg trays instead of plastic nursery trays, I haven't tried this, so I don't know the success rate. If your current method is cheaper, then its better you stick to it. Well done.

innovationafrik:

Ok, I get your point. I once watched a video on youtube where farmers used Egg trays instead of plastic nursery trays, I haven't tried this, so I don't know the success rate. If your current method is cheaper, then its better you stick to it. Well done.

Thank you

innovationafrik:
Once a Tomato plant is infected with any disease, the best option for you is to remove and destroy the infected plant by burning or pouring chlorine on it. Leaving an infected Tomato plant on your field may be detrimental to all your crops and some insects may spread the disease all around your field.
The two diseases that wreck Tomato farms often are Blight and Bacteria Wilt. Bacteria wilt is prevalent in SW Nigeria so Bacteria Wilt resistant tomato variety is advised to be planted. This disease has no cure once it infects your tomato plant. You can however get your soil cured from it by using plastic solarisation or the use of methyl bromide (most countries have banned its use). I also heard that the use of organic inputs can significantly reduce the incidences of bacteria wilt. Hydroponic farming or the use of sterilised soil in planting bags will solve most of these disease problems.
For Blight, the best remedy is prevention. You must make sure your tomato plants have a fungicide coating always. Some farmers drench their tomato plants with fungicide before and immediately after any rain.
The black spot below the tomato fruit looks like Blossom End Rot to me. Its either your soil has inadequate calcium or your tomato plant did not get enough water hence its inability to fully get enough calcium from the soil.
I am not an expert anyway but I am talking from experience.

Thanks very much for the info. Learn alot from this cos i experince same on a plot i tried last year.
Can explain how it pains me when i missed Jethro's class at Yabdi Abeokuta last two month.
Where is your farm location sir,i like to visit so as to learn more as am already on pepper nusery now(am in Ijebu-ode)
Once again,thanks alot.

jeffmyson:
Just as I initially promised, I finally started a pilot project for tomatoes marketing. We have developed a model which we intend to spread across Nigeria. We have started a trail run in Abuja to better understand how the final system will work. Just this week we have started delivering to wholesale markets at least 5,000 Kgs (100 Basket) of tomatoes daily which we are also able to sell of almost immediately.

There are challenges in the marketing of the commodity, one of which is lack of standardized quality, quantity and price mechanism. From our brief sojorn so far, I have come to realise that the farmers pay for the risks involved in the business as most dealers are not willing to offer better prices for the produce for fear of losing money either during produce transit or flooding of the market with products which may undercut their margins! Imagine right now we currently buy almost 70KG of tomatoes from farmers in Zaria and Kano for around N1,300.

I am sharing my experience so that farmers of the commodity will better understand the marketing aspects and it challenges!

Though the tomatoes we are trading on is for the wholesale mass market.

pls can use give me your email or number, I wish to see u in person and I have only days to spend in Abj. Mine is jimbod1919@gmail.com.