₦airaland Forum

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Cc:maclatunji, Lalasticlala and mynd44

YAM FARMING (How To Start Yam Farming - Beginners guide) Yam is considered the most important food staple in West Africa where 70% of the total yams produced worldwide comes from. Every year, festivals and rituals are carried out in different parts of the region to mark the arrival of the new yam. Apart from these festivals and rituals, there is huge profit in yam farming business as discussed in the previous article Five hundred by five hundred meters size of farmland could yield you 50,000 tubers of yam which is valued at N10 million ($50,000) at one dollars per yam.
This is a golden opportunity for any serious farmer who would like to take advantage of this season to cultivate yam in large quantity. Apart from selling locally, yam can be exported to the United States of America, United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Germany, and even Japan. While Nigeria is the major producer of yam in the world followed by Ivory Coast, Ghana is in the other hand the major exporter of yams, accounting for over 90% of total yams exported from West Africa annually. Why have Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon not been fully involved in the exportation of yams, leaving the opportunity only in the hands of Ghana? I think ignorance may have played a role in this. Yam farming is important, exporting it is also important. I wonder why we keep overlooking this very important farming business opportunity. For those who are serious about doubling their investment this year through yam farming, here are step by step how to start yam farming anywhere you can find suitable land.
This article focused on “White Gunea Yam” ( Dioscorea rotundata ) the popular species cultivated in West Africa. Locate Suitable Farmland For Yam Farming Yams prefer growing in upland and they should be planted in a well-drained field. Optimum yields are obtained from sandy loam and silt loam soil although acceptable yields are also obtained from clay loam soils, particularly those high in organic matter. While some yams does relatively well on stony soil, it is however not advisable to plant yam on stony hard soil. Forest lands in most tropical region offers ideal environment for growing yam both in soil quality and climate conditions.
Preparation Of The Land Properly clear the bush and burn the grasses with fire at the appropriate time. Yam is best planted within the months of February and April when the rainy season is just beginning. These are the best periods for land preparation. After the bush had been cleared, make hips of loose soil of about one meter in height and one meter apart.
Ridged bed types are also good for yam planting. When the latter is used, the ridges should be constructed one meter apart. In the case of sloping or rolling fields, construction of ridges should follow the contour to minimize soil erosion. This is essential in yam farming. While making the ridges, it is important to remove any hard objects that could hinder the growth of the yam tuber.
Preparation Of Setts Setts are whole tubers or tuber that is cut in pieces used for planting. If the tuber is small, it can be planted whole, but if it is big, it has to be cut in pieces to the size of 60g to 100g. As a rule, the bigger the sett used, the higher is the expected yield but shouldn’t be too big, else, you will be wasting resources. Setts should be taken from healthy tubers of healthy plants. Appropriate sett size are not sliced while larger tubers are sliced into the desired sett size so that each sett has sufficient skin surface area. Thus, four types of setts are obtained and are named according to their positions on the tuber as follows: head setts, middle setts and tail setts for the tuber pieces and whole setts for the whole tubers. Cut sides of the setts are treated with ash or with fungicide and air dried.
After air drying, setts are either pre-sprouted or planted directly. Pre-Sprouting Of Setts Because the emergence period of most freshly prepared setts in the field lasts from three to twelve weeks, it is desirable to pre-sprout the setts before they are planted. This procedure assures the emergence of setts when planted and minimizes expenses on weeding before sett emergence. To pre-sprout a sett, a shallow ditch is dug in a clear shaded area under trees, under bananas, or under a shed constructed for the purpose. Setts are placed side by side in the ditch and covered with dry grasses or dry banana leaves. In cases where no ditch is dug, the setts can be placed side by side on the ground instead. Setts are grouped according to type. For setts cut from large tubers, the orientation is either skin up or crown sideways. Setts can be covered with a thin layer of soil and are watered at least once a week until all the setts have produced sprouts. With sett pre-sprouting, it may be desired to stagger planting and land preparation since setts do not sprout at the same time. In general, whole setts and head setts sprout ahead of other sett types.
Planting pre-sprouted setts can, however, also be done at one time. 1. Preparation of pre-sprouted setts for staggered planting. To prevent sprouts from becoming too long, setts that have already sprouted are removed from the pre-sprouting seedbed and placed on a platform in a shady place. The process is repeated every week until the desired number of sprouted setts is obtained. The sprouted setts on the platform are not watered. Setts should be planted before sprouts become very long. The same procedure is performed for setts intended for the second and succeeding plantings. This is especially the case for yam farming in West Africa. 2. Preparation of pre-sprouted setts for single planting. The procedure followed in single planting is essentially the same as that used in preparing setts for staggered planting.
The former is done only after most, if not all, setts have produced sprouts. By this time some sprouts which may have grown quite long should be trimmed before the setts are planted.
Planting Procedures The usual planting time for white yam is March to April, depending on the time the tuber dormancy is broken, as indicated by the sprouting of tubers under storage and upon start of rain in a particular area. This means that you have to start the pre-sprouting process well ahead of the planting time, at least for 3 weeks Like I said before, the distance between the planted yams should be 1m x 1m and at a depth of about 10cm. When planting coincides with a dry spell, setts are planted in any orientation about 15 cm deep if the field will not be mulched. About 20,000 to 27,778 setts are needed for one hectare of farmland. Pre-sprouted setts: Setts are usually planted at the start of rain if the field cannot be irrigated or will not be mulched. The same planting distance and depth for non-pre-sprouted setts are used. When planting, setts should be oriented so that sprouts are up. To achieve this, the cut surface has to face the ground. In staggered planting, the field is divided into four up to six sections – a section for a batch of setts ready for planting.
The size of each section and the time each section is prepared, is guided by the rate of sprouting of setts. Mulching The Ridges In order to reduce soil temperature, conserve soil moisture and suppress weed growth, it is preferable to mulch the field where the yams are planted. Dry coconut fronds, corn stalks, rice straw and other similar materials may be used as mulch. If rice straw or similar material that rots readily is used, the mulch is made thick (about 10 cm) so that it will not rot completely within four or five months. For yam farming and to further to protect the soil from excessive loose of moisture, mulching tends to add some nutrient to the soil from the decaying materials used. Weed Control The number of times a yam farm needs to be weeded depends on the use of pre-sprouted setts, the application of mulch and the rate of weed growth. If non-pre-sprouted setts are used and the field is not mulched, two to three weeding operations are needed before the yam canopy covers the space between rows to partially suppress weed growth. If pre-sprouted setts are used and the field is mulched, at most only two weedings performed about two months apart are needed. Hand tools are the only method I recommend. Uses of other methods such as animal powered plows are dangerous to the plants as the vines may get damaged in the process.
Use of herbicides may be acceptable in some areas. Replanting (Replacing Dead Yams) Some amount of sett mortality can be expected, particularly in while Guinea yam when non-pre-sprouted setts are used for planting. Thus replanting is done, usually about two months after the original planting. Hills with no sprouts are checked to see if there are rotten setts which should be removed and replaced with new ones. Unsprouted setts that did not rot should not be replaced because they still can produce sprouts later on. Staking The Yam Vines Plants are staked before vines start crawling on the ground.
The recommended stake length is five to ten meters and a stake to every plant. Bamboo poles are the most desirable staking material; similar material that can support the yam vines for at least seven months can be used as stakes. There are various methods of staking; three of the more popular ones are as follows: Trellis method; this stake setup is not very stable and requires more materials to support the stakes (posts and tie wire).
However, weeding and hilling up operations using animal-drawn implements can be done easily under this setup. Modified trellis method; with this method, ground spaces under the stake arch need not be weeded as the foliage becomes dense. Also, stakes formed in this manner provide stable support. However, weeding and hilling up operations that utilize animal-drawn implements cannot be done under the arches. Pyramid method; this staking method has the advantages and disadvantages of the modified trellis method. In addition, it requires fewer, though sturdier, materials for stake construction and requires lesser amount of labour to construct. On the other hand, it has an additional disadvantage because yams grown under this method usually yield lower than those grown under the modified trellis method of yam farming. Training The Vines The water yam (Dioscorea alata) vine twines to the right while that of white Guinea yam (Dioscorea rotundata) twines to the left. When vines start crawling on the ground, they are trained to climb their respective stakes. They are trained again when long branches start crossing the rows or when weeding operation is about to be done.
Fertilizer Application A hectare of water yam is able to remove about 128 kg nitrogen, 17 kg phosphorous and 162 kg potassium from the soil. This represents more or less its fertilizer requirements. In the case of white yam, no information is available regarding the amount of nutrients it can remove from the soil. However, like other yams, its fertilizer requirements should be similar to that of water yam. The level of soil fertility in the field and the amount of fertilizer that need to be added can be determined by submitting the soil samples to the any agricultural institute or to IITA for analysis. The assistance of the local Farm Management Technician should be sought regarding this. Application of inorganic fertilizer; The recommended amount of fertilizer is split into two, one-half applied about one month after emergence and the other half applied about two months after the first application. The band method of fertilizer application is used, with the fertilizer being placed about 10 cm away from the plants. Application of compost; yams respond well to organic fertilizers like compost – a mixture of decayed organic matter composed of plant parts and animal manures. The compost is mixed with the soil while the field is being prepared or it is placed just below the spot where setts are to be planted. Covering Exposed Tubers As tubers elongate rapidly towards the end of the growing period of the plants, some tubers tend to heave, thereby causing them to be exposed to the sun. Heavy rains also expose the tubers. Exposed tubers should be covered with soil to prevent them from greening. Greening could make it to become inedible in some cases. Harvesting Time And Method Yams are ready for harvest when its foliage is already yellowing or drying up. The yellowing or drying up period of the foliage usually starts in late November and lasts until February the following year. Tubers, especially those intended to be used as setts for next season’s planting are harvested at the later part of the period. Tubers intended for consumption or for the market are sometimes harvested earlier, even before foliage yellowing sets in. A hoe or a similar hand tool is used to dig around the tuber to loosen it from the soil. Then the tuber is lifted and clinging soil particles are removed. The vine is cut at the base to complete the harvesting. For sandy soil, sturdy stick sharpened at one end is sometimes used to dig out the tuber. For clay soil and for varieties with deeply buried tubers, other specialized harvesters like shovel may be used. Whatever tool is to be used to harvest the tubers, it is important that care should be exercised so as not to injure yam while digging as that may reduce the market value and hasten its decay. After tubers are cleaned, they are collected and placed in rattan baskets or bamboo or wooden crates lined with soft materials such as banana leaves, paper or grass straw. Healthy and diseased tubers are placed in separate containers. The tubers are arranged in the container in two to four layers, depending on tuber size, and a soft material that can serve as cushion is placed between layers and in the spaces between tubers in a layer. The container is then covered with paper or banana leaves and a string net is woven over the mouth of the container if the tubers are to be transported immediately to the market. No cover is provided for the container if the tubers are to be transported to a nearby storage place. When you are done harvesting, take your product to the market and make sales. Yam farming is lucrative as yam is a very important commodity in the market and sells very fast. That’s all for now, don’t hesitate to share your opinion with us, you can ask questions using the comment box below or just share your experience in yam farming.
www.agricinfo.com/2017/05/how-to-start-yam-farming-in-nigeria.html?m=1

Taking office
1 September 2015
SucceedingDonald Kaberuka
Nigerian Agriculture Minister
In office
2010–2015
Preceded byAbba Sayyadi Ruma
Succeeded byAudu Ogbeh
Personal details
NationalityNigerian
Alma materUniversity of Ife
Purdue University (PhD)
Akinwumi Adesina is the President of the African Development Bank. He previously served as Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.[1] Until his appointment as Minister in 2010, he was Vice President of Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).[2] In 2015, he was elected as the President of the African Development Bank. He was the first Nigerian to hold the post.
Early life and career
Adesina was born to a Nigerian farmer in Ogun State.[3] He received a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University) and a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University (1988).[4]
He worked at the Rockefeller Foundation since winning a fellowship from the Foundation as a senior scientist in 1988. From 1999 to 2003 he was the representative of the Foundation for the southern African area. From 2003 until 2008 to the present he was an associate director for food security.
Adesina was the Nigerian Agriculture Minister from 2010 to 2015. During this time the Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was Ibukun Odusote.[5] Adesina was named as Forbes African Man of the Year for his reform of Nigerian agriculture. He introduced more transparency into the fertiliser supply chain. He also said that he would give away mobile phones to farmers but this proved too difficult. One of the reasons was the lack of a mobile network in country areas.[6]
On 28 May 2015, he was elected the presumptive President of the African Development Bank. He began his tenure of the office on 1 September 2015.[7] He is the eighth president in the organization's history, and the first Nigerian to hold the post.
He launched a strategy based on energy, agriculture, industrialization, regional integration and bettering Africans' lives. The Board of Executive Directors approved the reorganization of the structure around these five priorities. He also intends to launch 5 regional hubs to make the approvals next to the ground.
Recognition
In July 2007, he was awarded the YARA Prize for the African Green Revolution in Oslo.
In 2008, Purdue University’s College of Agriculture gave him their Distinguished Agricultural Alumni Award.
In 2010 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Franklin and Marshall College
In 2013, he was named as Forbes African Person of the Year.[6]
On May 5, 2015, he was awarded an Extraordinary Achievement Award by Silverbird Television, Nigeria.
Personal
He and his wife Grace Adesina have two children.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org /wiki/Akinwumi_Adesina

www.agricinfo.com/2016/07/profile-of-akinwunmi-adesina-afdb.html?m=1

Islie:
https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/biz-man-marries-off-another-50-girls-in-yobe/198675.html

Underage Girls, One of the Reason i Hate Islam

cc: lalasticlala,seun,mynd44 and maclatunji

Kogi Government Appointees supports GYB's
Agricultural Development with 12,600 bags to farmers whilst 21 LGA subsidises over 50,000 bags by about 50% as commissioner for Agric Kehinde Oloruntoba announces availability of fertilizer for farmers in the
State. Pictures are of my farmland being cleared before mechanized tilling.
Read:
"This is to inform ALL that we have fertiliser NPK 20:10:10 in store for sale to our farmers. Each bag costs N5,500 and we have them in our warehouses in Lokoja, Anyigba, Okene and Aiyetoro. Pls take advantage of this opportunity to buy bags of Fertilizers and empower people in your constituencies. This is the highest form of empowerment and you can be rest assured that the farmers will not forget you if you do this."
https://mobile.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154873471812772&id=526472771&refid=28&_ft_=qid.6422714200576467295%3Amf_story_key.7253187977418905417%3Atop_level_post_id.10213107435583743&__tn__=%2As
Source: Petra Akinti Onyegbule
Chief Press Sercretary To The Governor.

absoluteSuccess:
Where do you stay? Hope its Lagos?
Are you practising agriculture as we speak?
Can you mentor people on what you do?
I'm about raising an agric co-operative.
But I've not practise save as a child.
Hence I'm on this board recently.
I stay around egbeda axis.
I'm eyeing farming.

Contact me via mail sir. Greatestanebira@gmail.com I stay in Ekiti

@absolute sucess i stay in Ekiti. Let talk sir via my mail. Greatestanebira@gmail.com

absoluteSuccess:
You welcome sir.
Do you speak at seminars on this?

I have not gotten the opportunity sir, I will be happy if you can help sir.

absoluteSuccess:
In fact op needed to pay you for this enlightenment.

As I read few words and scroll through, only to see I'm descending on kilimanjaro of a writeup, it does not interest me to climb up on it again, not until I saw this.

Op, this man meant well for you.

Thanks Sir, I have edited it. Cheers

Thanks for the notice it was my browser that caused it: Thanks

cc:lalasticlala and mynd44

CASSAVA PRODUCTION AN UNTAPPED GOLD MINE
Opportunity they say comes but once, but the case is different for cassava; the opportunity has been there and it’s still there and who knows-for how long? Eternity?
Cassava production is very vital to the nation’s economy because we are the world's largest producer of the commodity and its major by-product, Garri, is consumed by almost all in the country.
It has no cultural, moral or religious restriction. Cassava is produced in 24 of the country's 36 states. The country’s most important treasure- crude oil is not found across the country.
This shows the extent of its importance to Nigerians generally and it could be a new treasure, as it stands as one of the crops the Nigerian government must focus on to ensure food security.
This treasure can produced year round, this makes is preferable to other seasonal staple crops like yam and beans. Cassava is a crop that churns out a lot of by-product; namely-garri, starch, fufu, tapioca, glue or adhesives, altered starch in pharmaceutical such as dextrine.
Cassava is also used in livestock feed production. Its leaves and root can also be processed to flour and cassava flour has grown into relevance in recent times.Garri, its favourite by-product has risen into popularity since last year.
Many has nicknamed it “cocaine” because of its high cost. The high cost has forced many into its cultivation, yet its security is not yet sure and this must be taken advantage of by most Agric lovers and investors.
There are huge potentials in cassava production and can only be reaped when invested in.
www.agricinfo.com/2017/05/cassava-production-still-forgotten.html?m=1

true point boss. cc:Seun,Jarus and maclatunji

Hectarus:
Very correct sir. Farming is the way to go. It is the only way out of economic depression, recession and joblessness. We are getting there gradually. Now that attention is focused on agriculture, there is a big hope in sight.

Good point.
Hope you are into Farming presently. If no start from somewhere. You will be self employed and self empowerd.

Hectarus:
Very correct sir. Farming is the way to go.

Farmer spotted

absoluteSuccess:
What are the step by step farming guide for dummies?

Click that My signature, There is guide to Different crop and animal Production there. Thanks

It quite good

Bizzyliss:
wanna go buy farm implements

It important oo sir, Farming is the way out. Kindly visit my blog for more information.
Oya cc:maclatunji, Jarus

Bizzyliss:
Am coming back

Lols where are you running to before?

Farming inNigeriahas taken a dramatic turn to better directions in recent years, creating jobs and opportunities for Entrepreneurs who dare to go into farming Business.
Millionaires are currently being made every year through Farming in Nigeria and there is no end to the prospects of creating more and more wealth through farming in the coming years.
There are good reasons why farming in Nigeria is currently doing very well and understanding these reasons will help any serious entrepreneur(no matter where he comes from)to think seriously about setting up Farm in Nigeria.
(1) There is no any other African country where Farming is as viable as it should be in Nigeria in terms of productivity and profitability.
(2) There is no other country where farmers are more advantaged as they are in Nigeria as regards demands.
Top 5 Reasons Why Farming In Nigeria Is Irresistible
(1) Nigeria has a huge population of over 150 Million people, twice more than the populations of Zimbabwe and South Africa combined. The entire population of Nigeria depends on staple foods produced from farms and other farm produces for their daily meals and sustenance — and more than 80 percent of Nigerians buy their Farm Produce from the market.
(2) Nigeria has very large expanses of fertile farmlands laying fallow for nothing. Nigeria Land area when measured in sq km is about 910,770. The Land area of any country is the country’s total area, excluding areas that are considered to be water bodies.
So, Nigeria has one of the biggest expanse of Land in Africa of which 70 percent is available for Farming.
(3) Nigerian Government is seriously turning it’s attention to promoting Farming in Nigeria to help boost food productions in the country and minimize foods importation.
The government is willing to assist any would be Farming entrepreneur/investors with the necessary supports and logistics.
(4) Nigerians have very high purchasing power, far more than any other indigenous Africans — we buy things here and we pay cash! Talk about parties, Nigeria is the most merriment people on earth —the foods used for parties and merriment in Nigeria yearly can feed four other African countries.
(5) By the time Nigeria attain it’s full capacity utilization is agriculture, Farming in Nigeria will become great foreign currency earner more than as it already is.
The implication is that Nigerian Farmers will be able to earn in Naira and in Dollars as well as Euros and Pound Sterling.
The prospect for Farming in Nigeria is so high that only a fool will ignore it.
Having said that, let’s take a closer look at some of the types of Farming that does very well in Nigeria in my next article.
Watch out!
www.agricinfo.com/2017/03/top-5-reasons-why-farming-in-nigeria-is.html?m=1
Cc: lalasticlala and mynd44

manitoba:
Because our brain is more connected to quick money than sustainable wealth. Our minds are greatly warped. But the wise ones are investing heavily in the different value chain of Agriculture. Even this topic will not make FP on time but thrashy Tonto Dikeh or BBnaija story will.

That is true Boss, If it is Artiste or any irresponsible question, they will move it bro. Like there is no much agric blogger today, Last 2 years when my boss came to Nigeria, he did employment and could you believe he has sacked 58% of his workers sir, They don't want to work in Agriculture sector. Thanks boss, Will like to be your friend sir. I love good minds like you.

I came across this topic in a website, It a question asked that why is it difficult For Nigerians to Invest in Agriculture? They can invest in Ponzi schemes though? Nairalanders kindly share your view.

www.hotproforum.com/topic101.html
Cc:lalasticlala and mynd44

Good day sirs\ma Kindly help me review my blog. It is 2 years and still ranks 2,468,786 on Alexa Rank.
I need help to get Necessary keywords on Agriculture for my blog. Thanks Admin.
Www.agricinfo.com

Hope to have a testimony Too A Day

Nigeria will be Great

am tired of Nigeria... Fuel scarcity here in Ado Town