It started as a quest to expand our growing farm business .....a path least traveled by many, and having successfully established other agricultural enterprises. However as expected of a starter in a a new and proposed project, consultations were made; and widely as is. From tens of local subsistence/traditional farmers to a few commercial and formally educated (white collar turned brown) agripreneurs, the verdict was same across board.

The choice of rice was overly commended due to its social, economic and developmental implications. However there was a consistent and stern warning by ALL stakeholders against the #1 threat....i.e. the menace of BIRDS, particularly during the last month preceding the farmers harvest. The message was clear: rice farming though stressful (which business isn’t ), is lucrative…but yield and returns mostly dependent on the consequence of different bird scare tactics that range from the physical (scarecrows, human scarers, tapes etc.) to spiritual (juju, prayer & fasting etc.).

Every rice farmer in these parts will gladly tell you that his yield can be as inconsistent as 1.5 tonne to almost zero tonne per hectare dependent solely on this menace of birds…and of course after employing best practices through land preparation to seed selection to fertilizer application to weed & control to harvesting procedures.

So armed with this verdict by ALL I sought to take on the challenge to research and proffer a permanent solution to this issue that threatens the local production of a major staple food in Nigeria and for which there has been several calls to save the local farmers, whose numbers continue to dwindle in view of their inability to successfully win against the fight of birds and as such guarantee their marginal profits in the value chain of production.

I dare say that we have only just successfully tested THE SOLUTION!!!

Land preparation et al commenced on May 8, 2015 in a 4 hectare farm land located in Owode L.G in Ogun State, and harvest was completed on September 14, 2015; having grown the 4 month variety of Ofada rice.

Pictures will follow….and testimonies are rife, so at last rice farmers can rest easy and focus on their core business of nurturing….whilst our SOLUTION takes care of the rest.

@op, finally you didnt say anything.

emmydeep:
@op, finally you didnt say anything.

And you have said it all.

Looking forward to this. Any idea about where to get rice seeds?

emmydeep:
@op, finally you didnt say anything.

Seriously!
It's more than a week after all the bragadoccio, and he still hasn't tried to explain what the noise was all about.

We still await your latest innovation, @OP.

Ok

And almost a year after. Still no detail,