₦airaland Forum

Hone your powers of estimation.... Learn how to transpose scientific measurement into local measurement, for example you should quickly be able to transcribe acres or hectares into for example local Yoruba measurement like alakpin or egba no matter how irregular shaped the land...... You don't need gps or surveyors tape for this.........

Before venturing into the varieties game, pls ensure you know the crop hands down and factors that affect the yield bought in ur locality.....
For example, why buy pioneer or tela maize when you don't have a mechanical planter at your disposal then sell the maize fresh, you are only increasing your cost input...... There are cheap local varieties with very big cobs ....... Also don't plant the local varieties with big cobs then sell dry and you expect the yields of hybrids just because you have the same number and size of cobs "corn pass corn O!!!!!!!"

If u are a rainfed farmer please understand the rainfall pattern in your area.... For example if you grow corn pls let your corn tasseling, silking and flower formation coincide with the period of assured rainfall..... In my own locality this is the month of June and October...... Any other thing outside this period means greatly reduced yield, if u like plant seedco 719 or tela maize...... In fact if ur hybrid tassels in this window period and all other agronomic factors are intact, you will surpass the advertised yield

Growing crops on a large scale is extremely risky, you can watch helplessly billions of naira go to waste.....On a large scale I prefer to watch other farmers make it trying newer techniques before I join the band wagon

Personally I won't quickly change tried and trusted techniques in the name of pursuing yield

Give or take once you get into crop production, you are forced to think in terms of a unit of human labor.....its better to engage labor for a year and give them a one off payment. This will force you into the acquisition of land so that they would be busy

If you can locate all your farms in one place you are lucky. At any point in time 2 laborers should be engaged with 7.5 acres minimum for there to be profitability, this is the standard for maize and cassava...It is better to engage 3laborers as there is no year you won't get people that won't finish their yearly labor, you can start with 3labor and by year end you end up with 2 due to all manner of reason ...Technologies like pesticides,machines , Good seeds and fertilizers are the owners input to increase profitability.....

Understanding how each affects profit is key to profitability

Crops generally in Nigeria is supply driven as there is no industrial base to bring about demand driven agriculture.......

I thank God for the processors of cassava in Lusada, Agbara and other places in Nigeria, If not for them, cassava won't have been rescued.... It would remain an extreme low value crop.. ..... This industries have introduced life back into cassava and have given competition to garri producers.....

To move from supply driven Agriculture to Demand driven Agriculture pls ensure you buy local produced goods.........

Imagine the success in cassava being replicated in Sugar.........There will be more sugar cane farms than cassava,then you will start hearing the varieties and local names for sugar cane, many farmers will move from cassava to sugar cane, this will increase both the income of the sugarcane and cassava farmer as there is now competition for land for the crops......

Crops Generally are high bulk low value, this is why many would be good farmers run away...

As a farmer how will you handle this bulk........ Your planting materials are bulky, fertilizers bulky and when your produce comes out its even more bulky

Can you easily estimate this bulk.....

Use the fact that Crops are generally high bulk and low value to your advantage, It determines the point of entry of thief's and people that want to cheat you

I'm a practicing crop producer with 10 years experience and for lack of better words will call this thread philosophy of crop production as I try to distill the essence of crop production as seen through my eyes....

Even with 10 years experience I still consider myself a learner as there are many problems I still don't have practical solutions to


So let me start the ranting

FashionCapital:
Good evening guys.

Due to the current state of the economy, I have saved up some money to venture into cash crop farming ( cashew to be precise).
From my little research, I found out that cashew farming in prevalent in some of parts of Oyo. I confident in my mum and she called a man who is an indigene. He told us that land is available for 500k per acre of which I intend to get two acres.

My fears are :

I have never acquired a property before. I intent to employ the service of a property lawyer for verification.
The price seems a bit outrageous. Is there anyone who has gotten a piece from iseyin or Eruwa precisely to help confirm the actual value.
Is Fulani herdsmen still causing havoc in the region. This is the most important question as its safety first
Anyone that’s into cashew farming that can train me for just a week ( I will pay for the consultation) but should be a practicing farmer. You can recommend me to one if you know any.
Any other advise that you feel I need to know.

Please kindly advise me accordingly and don’t tell me to Japa. Would have love too but no means. Thanks you guys

Cashew farm is a long term project and will be extremely difficult for a beginner......

Enter into it with the mind frame that you want to learn then go there and attach yourself with a practicing farmer for at least 18months

The end stage should be setting up yours which won't be too difficult by then

Don't waste ur money on consultancy...... Successful farmers learn by doing and watching other successful farmers

emmaachile2:
Yellow leaf curl virus in farmers language is a dangerous disease.

Farmers can find refuge in resistant varieties such as
Tomato
Assila F1, Ansal F1, Kilele F1 , Big rock F1

Pepper
Super Habanero f1 (high tolerance)
Mawenzili (high tolerance)

A lot of resources is used to fight a battle against this virus attack that the farmer always lose.

Outside white flies any other vector..........
Last year, it rained into novemver ending and decembet in some areas in my place, i never noticed them but this year i started noticing qhite flies a early as november 7.

Now they have coloniized all d gutters in my area, there r a lot of weeda and plants not resistant to it

DrDoc:
Do not buy it yet. Let's talk about an alternative system if you do not like it, then you may go for it.

I am setting up a 20 acres irrigated maize farm in January. Contact me and I will share my setup and system for free with you

can i get a paid tour of this farm...........................

im ready to pay

emmaachile2:
How many fruits per plant in cu999. If it's treated well, I believe all cucumbers do well

Your best option is to get an agronomist or someone into nutrition. With them, you will get the best output.
Most farmers won't even get 10 fruits because they lack the knowledge.
To get an agronomist, your plants must be 1000 at least to make up for the pay from your end.
I prefer to handle farms of over 4,000 plants but anything below 1000 plants is a no-no because they will be struggling to pay consultancy fees. But one thing is sure, results will be way above the average farms and in some cases 5x more!

Have u handled furrow irrigated plantation b4

Mrdellychy:
At the bolded, I think this is the only way forward for now since the OP said he had gotten seeds from other source. Unfortunately cash refund seems to be against business norms of my SE people...igbos prefer replacement than refund. But some jinx are meant to be broken in the interest of peace and sanity. I mentioned earlier in my 1st post that in business sometimes, we should be ready to sacrifice some resources for good customers relations sake. Some losses are just inevitable in business for the sake of peace and keeping your customers. Over, I'm out of here.

Im not trying 2 defend okoroemeka but the seeds posted are aged, ive nursed a batch like dat and i got good germination, not with seed tray though.......

This types of problems arises when we make market relationships personal.....

Like i said u dont know what might have happened in between but bringing this matter out into the court of public opinion with evidence of cracked seeds and one or two ants found in d sachets would definitely nail okoro emeka to the uninitiated as a scoundrel and a scammer.

On a personal note, I have a friend that nearly wanted to take down the company dat sells afadja, he had been having issues with seeds and always look like a game of try your luck, he went as far as stop buying seeds but seedlings until i spent a full day with him and then realization hit us fast that he was the one killing the seeds

How u may ask.....

A lizard got trapped in his car parked in full hot sun light and we left into d farm b4 we came back in about 2hr time the lizard died, temprature inside d car is extremely hot and he has d habit of keeping his seeds in his car till planting day, at times seeds stay with him 4 3 weeks b4 planting

His results have improved massively since changing this habit.......

Pls and pls let d op stop flogging this issue, we cant know 4 sure what each person intends at the point of sale...... but i know it was 4 good 4 the 2 parties involved

Let this serve as a lesson 4 the 2 patyies involved in going 4ward with their bisinesses

franvincoop:
After all read here, I propose that @Okoroemeka refund that guy 50% make both parties accept loss and settle amicably make dem close down this thread.
What do you think?

@Okoroemeka, please stop selling seeds as it will ruin your reputation and stain your white agbada.
I have read all your pepper and garden egg writeups from Genesis to Revelation and you sef times without number have talked abt difficulties in seed preservation, grading and final germination on both local, EU/USA and the Cameroon variety.

@Xpol
Truth be told, pepper seed germination dey like 1xbet.
I am a pepper and ginger farmer too so I know what I am talking about.
One time we bought 2 cans of 50 g Avenir F1 Technisem original from the company with expiry date 2 years+, 1 can sprout more than 85%, the other can no reach even 10%.
We followed all the best practices, there were no ants, no reptiles, nothing but the 2nd can germination was very very disappointing.
We no go Technisem make dem refund us, we cut our losses and moved on.
So if you can accept my proposal that @Okoroemeka refunds you 50% of what you spent and let's move on like gentlemen and you delete this thread.
What say you?


@Okoroemeka, Pls stop selling seeds as some will come back to bite you in the ass.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions and 99 good plus 1 bad is equal to 100 bad.
Sell only seedlings or sign an agreement with any seed buyer that he will pay your money 100% before shipping and you will not be responsible if it germinates or not to avoid stories that touch the heart like this one.

Hmmmm, very wrong advice.............. seeds will 4ever be a local business........ you can never know what happened to ur seeds during haulage thats why i refuse to take sides.....

I will rather advise that if anyone values his seeds such person take the pain to meet with him and collect the seeds......

If ur seeds are waybilled in Nigeria especially on interstate route and the seeds sprout and germinate, You know God is really on your side

Exousiang01:
The banking system is not the problem.
the POS operators are the problem.

Traders no longer take their money to the bank.
I was at NNPCL Alfred Rewane last time I was in the country and about 3POS agents were standing and waiting to buy cash from the guy.

It's the same thing whit the market women and artisans. They make an extra change selling the cash to the agents so to them it is wiser.
At NNPCL opposite VGC, the guys stationed one of their staff ( I knew she was a staff because she still had her pants on) just around the corner, they said they were accepting only cash, so we are forced to go collect money from her to buy the fuel from the same gas station.
We pay for the fuel and they return the money to the lady to sell for another customer.
They keep recycling the money while making money.....
Money is no longer getting to the banks.
And the banks can't force people to bring their money....

As far as I am concerned the POS business is illegal, it is buying and selling of Naira which is illegal by law

Cbn is deepening it by introducing taxes on pos transfers even on the same platform..........

Our leaders are wicked crafting selfish policies to reap the commob man and when they find solution going ahead to destroy d solution

Xpol:
I'm not new to farming,. I've bought seeds more time even imported ones that didn't germinate, every farmer knows that as part of the business but you see the seeds this guy sent to me is pure scam and nothing else.

All the seeds have cracked open. If it's in a sealed can I would have said he's not aware of it. It's in a transparent nylon and you can see the cracks even before opening it so he deliberately did that.

Let me tell you how it all started then you'll know he's a scam.

First he told me if I buy from him he would add extra 5g
Second he said the money I would pay would cover the logistics of delivering it to my driver.
After payment this guy started telling a different story that I should send money to the driver that's bringing it to my driver, I refused, and after some dragging he said he would pay.

When I received the seed, the 5g wasn't there, I asked him but he didn't even reply and I let go.

I complained that the seeds are not good, all have cracked he said I should nurse it and let's see if some will germinate.

First I gave it to a worker to nurse one seed tray(128) none germinated I told him, he said I should not use seed tray, I personally did some on a small raised bed, none germinated, he said I didn't Know how to nurse pepper, lol.

He later said he would send another 50g next week for replacement, I waited and the time passed.

Later he said before he would send it I should soak all the remaining seed, I did, all the seeds floated in water except few that can't even more than 50( I used a transparent container).

I sent him all the pics, non germinated. Suddenly he turned around and accused me of being the one that let insects ate the seeds.

I told him I've noticed him already that he's a scammer,that the money I paid wasn't even the issue. The section I wanted to plant pepper is about 3 acres and I planned to buy all from him.
This guy delayed my project for over a month with fake promises
He later said he would send 25g to me.no more trust so I don't want to have anything to do with him. I've already bought technisem. And Holland greentech seeds. Just want others to be very careful in dealing with him.

Seeds are very delicate,There are so many things that might have happened in between that both of u are not aware of....... like I said swallow and move on, Dont bother trying to get back by tarnishing his image

If he is sincere, he will get a lot of this feed back and he will try to identify where the problem is coming from and fix.... A whole income stream is hanging on d line

Xpol:
I'm bringing this here not because of the money I lost but I want to prevent more victims.

Okoroemeka is a disguised scammer. Don't buy seeds from him especially if your place is far.

Currently he's having some damaged pepper seeds, when you order for pepper seeds he'll deliberately send the damaged seeds and when you complained, he will tell you to just nurse it and let's see if some will germinate, of which he knew it will never germinate. He will promise to send you a replacement if it doesn't germinate, then later turn around and accuse you of being the one who damage the seeds.

I stopped doing business especially online transactions with fellow Nigerians long time coz it always lead to regret but I just want to try this guy because of what he has been posting in this agric session.

You sound like you are new to farming.......

I forgive u for not knowing the basics.........

What you passed through and are pointing fingers can happen to any one even when you buy imported packaged seeds

I once reiterated in a thread that personally , i dont farm for top yeild and i have my reasons , this is one of the glaring reasons

Many farmers on nairaland have similar experiences but swallow it and keep quiet but you see an opportunity to hit back and dent his reputation online hence the thread

Pls swallow and move on......................

Understand the basics of seeds and you will know Nigeria is not ready for agribusiness

iykbethany:
Harvest Day.

We harvested our Bell peppers and habanero peppers on Friday last week.

We will be harvesting again this Friday.

Harvest Day is truly a farmer's happiest day. Nurturing crops from seed to maturity is not an easy task.

With the success of this pilot project I'm now converting every empty land to a pepper farm. For example, there's this empty space in my sister's restaurant that I started clearing since Monday.

It's just one plot of land but going forward, we will get all our peppers, ugu, vegetables, water leaf, ukazi, uziza, bitter leaf and even tomatoes from that small parcel of land. From farm to fork

#FruitOfOurLabor
#iykbethanyFarms


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KANJw04axxs?si=tzsYwWUJHYDpcOOX

Land 4 pepper farming should be as close as possible to a water source and far from human settlement cos of thieves......

The land should be as cheap as possible close to free, 1 plot is judt d begoning

Esude007:
Hervesting commenced on the 9th.

Sorry for not posting pictures of it.

I was sick and hospitalized for 3 days, so doctors advice I rest.

Yield comes from two things.

(1) the cob lenght

(2) The row number( frm 16 above)

Sorry 4 ur ill health

U definitely had a good harvest

After years of farming i can boldly tell anybody dat todays yeild is not the most important factor that determines a successful farm

Can anybody here talk about the disdvantages of modern farming methods especially modern maize farming methods........

Mrdellychy:
Bro, don't wait for rain before t
getting rid of that stubborn pest off your plant. Waiting for rain-cleansing may be too late. Armyworms attack the heart of maize plant, same spot that will birth the tassels and the cobs. Whatever affects that spots for too long a time wl have adverse effect on both the quality and quantity of cobs produced.
Like over fifteen years ago, nothing like armyworms in Nig, farmers can also plant veggies successfully without applying treatments...i remember I planted OPV cucumber without fungicides and staking, only insecticide, yet i had bumper harvest. But nowadays, so many strains of air and soil-borne diseases out there. The era of planting crops without applying treatments on the plants(especially those that are proned to disease infestation like cucumber, okra, tomatoes and peppper) is gone... except maybe for stuff like cassava,yam and the rest that don't need much treatments.
I had observed ways with which many farmers here find it hard to control that stubborn fall armyworm. Armyworms don't need those expensive multipurpose insecticides to get rid off. It secrets some sticky stuff that easily neutralize the effects of most insecticides.
However, the a.i in Caterpillar force has been proven to specifically combat larvae, caterpillar and every other worm-like pest effectively but it has little or no effect on those pests that fly or crawl with legs like ants. That's is the more reason why it's advisable to mix it with a general purpose insecticide like lamda, cyper etc during application. That's what I normally use, just focus your nozzle at the mouth of the maize stem for 1 or 2 seconds b4 moving to the next stand...i spray once and in some critical conditions twice , and I don't have any nightmares regarding armyworms infestation. Shalom.

Thanks for the advise,

I was only emphasising my experience cultivating maize off season and on season......

As a matter of fact i fear poor farmers siting their farms close by mine, a simple 2 plot untreated maize farm around the viconity of ur farm will mean u spend heavily on insectocides but off season when nobody farms maize, one round of laraforce + catapilar force will give u peace of mind for 2 months if someone does not leave his maize or rice untreated

Esude007:
smiles... It's true cha, all this poor farmers can't take good care of their farm so pest and disease can easily stroll to your farm.

Even during pollination.

By d time africans wake up it might be too late, most of the food that gets to the Nigerian market is pure Gold casted among swine.....

The average poor farmer will spot a fertile land, slash it, and cultivate it without the use of a single pesticide ......... WHAT ELSE IS THE DEFINITION OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE

If only those produce can get to people that values it,
They just tell u to let the rains to deal with it, most times @ my farm 2 days heavy downpour rids the farm of army worm, not only my farm but every other persons farm

I save my insecticides till drought period

One of the reasons d op farm looks healthy is dat at this point in time there is no actively growing maize farm around

Especially maize planted by poor folks that dont treat their farms

ActiveFarms:
Just about to put that to test this week. But I noticed after using heavy concentration of DD force multiple times, Maize is resilient. This taught me that Maize could witstand a lot. I applied so much peesticides after fall army worm almost ruined 95% of my labour

Ur using d wrong pesticide, ddforce(ddvp ) has a vapourising effect, it is better used in an enclosed environment for fumigation

Another thing to look at is epidemology of army worm,
When ur maize farm us surrounded by so many other maize farms, u dont even know if ur neighboring farmers are treating for pest......

If ur neighbour does not treat for army worm, the pest will simply migrate to ur farm when the effect of the pesticide u use wears off......

In my own experience when u farm off season, when every tom dick and harry cant farm maize is when one can evaluate the efficacy of most pesticide

Ameboperoo2:
I think selling fresh is more profitable than dried

Selling fresh is more profitable if all ur maize are picked on the same day, if not u just opened ur farm up for thieves

ActiveFarms:
I experimented with my last produce too late. I had the most infected farm in my entire village but turned out top three in terms of produce. I hardly fail with my experiments.


When I reared broilers are regular drugs weren't working and they were dying, I switched to my formular. Guess what, none died of diseases cause anymore. When I mean none, none in around 400 pieces. Only few deaths after my experimentations were from stampede

What qty of ginger and tumeric did u use per acre or per knapsack