₦airaland Forum

fluentinfor:
This is interesting. In as much as I do not like turning people away, I am also careful what I take. Really, this is a period veggie farmers prepare for new season. We are already preparing for 2018 season. Right now, we are amending our beds and starting nursery production for our farms. There are new comers on our farms I have to put through too.

And I need to be honest with you, I do not operate a greenhouse or aquaponics at this very moment. I have a project at hand and it is a major open field break through which I will share here if we are succesful with it.

Ok. I will get in touch with you very soon but I cannot promise you anything. If you have an aquaponic somewhere it might be easy. Another option is you set up one. Well, I might have to ask someone around with a set up if you cannot fulfill the two conditions i have mentioned. The truth is most farmers do just greenhouse and plant in soil and some others do hydroponics. So far, only three farmers practise aquaponics that I know of and they worked with me. But in any case, I cannot reveal them as their consent is needed here.

I hope you understand you are going to need energy to make this sucessful. You certainly must get your marketing right. Otherwise, I suggest you start with just nethouse and move gradually into hydroponics and later aquaponics.

I will talk to you soon.

Figure cross hoping to see result very soon

otokx:
Land around Uniport is expensive and if you allow any how student stay in your house, sorry will be your name.

Agreed

A reasonable way to invest

@fluentinfo
Selling at premium for break even is always concern to me and when you ask most people as you mentioned there target is always shoprite, spar and the likes. Understanding the average income of a Nigerian I wonder how many citizen will be buying in Kg and if all greenhouse setup are all targeting this few malls then what happen.

I guess am wrong seems there are some info am not privy to then why doing my research or I under estimate some markets

Why trying to market my farm produce recently, I was open to some market which I never thought off and could buy at good price, then after the very first sale you point on logistics hit me.

I realized that those that buy in good price don't buy large quantities and those that buy in large quantities sometimes come with ridiculous pricing. If you have to sell in good price your logistics has to be solid.

But, I visited a farmer recently and will like to know if this apply to greenhouse investors as well, he said the price is really not an issue but the resulting quantity farmers were able to harvested from their farms. And that remind me of someone who bought one of the greenhouse system sold by one Israeli company and even bought there seed. The seeds was expected to yield (can't really remember) but let say 10tons within few weeks but was only getting between 2.5 to 3 tons, though sell at premium premium price, but struggling to stay afloat.
Several factors contributed to the poor yield which you have mentioned severally in your replies, but, if the farm has managed to yield a minimum of 85% maybe the price nor the target market won't have been an issue

So as a manufacturer if I supply my distributor my products, do I charge the VAT or is only the retailer that charge VAT.

Thanks we have to contact you guys legitng.com

Still available

fluentinfor:
I am highly embarrased that you do not know vegetable production is highly profitable. What? This is the fatest agricultural area which will make you a millionaire. However, it can wreck you too and it has destroyed many people because they did not set up properly. You may struggle at the initial stage but if you get quality assets, you will eventually get balanced. And after, the sky is just the beginning.The main challenge in vegetable production is getting reliable farm workers but there are solutions. I can count my losses too but I gain more everytime by God's grace. Another challenge is logistics.

Do you not realise till date that food is extremely cheap in Nigeria? Do you think you can get tomato in most countries as cheap as you get them in Nigeria during certain period? Who use tomato to make stew daily? Who eat only red spup or stew? Of course Nigerians because it is extremely cheap. It may be the reason you call greenhouse products premium. Well, the truth is there are still expensive vegetables even in open market and those are the ones you need to target. Example is capsicum. You can still do it in greenhouse and make reasonable profit if you sell where tomatoes are sold if you do not want to go to grocery stores. Again, if you can put vertical structure in your greenhouse, you will make reasonable profit selling lettuce and cabbage to special vegetable market for average Nigerians. People still eat lettuce and cabbage here. If you can reduce the temperature in your greenhouse and you see that the cost of energy is not killing, green pea or green beans will give you profit if you sell in open market. I can go on and on. If it has to be tomato, you just make sure it is beefstake variety you plant so you make profit. Any other variety, you might struggle. Yes, you may plant plum tomato too but you might have to look for somewhere nice to sell it.

Lastly, with this Keto diet for people who want to reduce weight, mint is an excellent vertical production you can consider.

I do realize how cheap tomatoes and how cheap they could be during some season, considering the fact that you have to invest in quality system to get a desire result which does not come cheap and by the time you start thinking of profits most of the materials are due for change already. This are the reasons and more that make me doubt the profitability of the greenhouse system here in southern part of Nigeria.

Again, my visit to major markets in Lagos and Ibadan, you will see several trucks loaded with this product daily mostly from northern Nigeria and some from neighboring countries and I doubt if this farmers make use of greenhouse at all.

Will surely revisit this again.

Invest wisely

fluentinfor:
You are right. They are failed projects. Why? Those who did them only imported systems available. And which systems are available? Systems for those who first used them. And who first used them? North Americans, Europeans, and south American. And what do you notice about these places? They are with temperate climatic condition. So, how do you expect a system meant for a temperate place to work in a tropical place. The structures you see around are ovens. Some recorded inside temp of 45C. How do you expect any plant to survive that kind of high temperature. I mean, outside is 36C, inside is 45C. Their structures made their situation worse. Such a pity.

Of course, if you have to install a greenhouse, it must reduce temperature. 3C reduction is huge and will make difference. Having this at the back of your mind, you will have a successful structure.

The next step is to cut down energy consumption. This is where you need to be very careful. When you check your climatic condition and the varieties of seeds you can get, you can know what to grow. Maybe 33C is what you can get with zero energy consumption and you do not want to still consume energy, you just have to look for a variety which can survive it.

If our research institutes are efficient, we will have many varieties for our environment but since they are inefficient and our glorified scientists are just paper professors, Nigerian farmers import seeds. Tell me which hybrid seed is not imported. Can you mention just one? So, Nigerian farmers buy seeds made for another climatic condition and they try to fine tune them to our tropical environment. Farmers are getting smart. They do not look for seeds sold in Russia, USA, Canada, etc because they are all temperate countries. One funny thing about USA is the country will always remain relevant cos there are many tropical places there. Florida and Hawaii are tropical places. So, you start looking at the seeds there. Again, there are many tropical Asian countries and it is why seeds from Thailand, Malaysia, India etc are getting popular here.

But what is wrong with Nigeria? These countries used to come to Nigeria in the 80s to buy seeds when our educational system was still intact. It means that the Nigerian people are smart but the Nigerian system is terrible. Those who bastardized Nigeria are still holding power. So, these set of people will always be interested in embezzling and it is why they buy just any kind of greenhouse that will make them more money.

It is only you who can help yourself very well in this Nigeria. Make research. It is smart of you to check those structures. What you should have done further is to find out why they all failed but this is your lucky day as I have giving you the answer. The next step is to find solution.

I know farmers with wooden structures who have excellent greenhouse structures. Those farmers will not shout or advertise themselves. Why will you advertise yourself when you have a working system which gives you steady income? How much will you make from consultancy? Real farmers who are making money will not consult for individuals. How much will an individual pay? Except the farmer decides to render asssitance. And then, it is getting more difficult to assist people in this country. Well, as for me, I decided to render my service by writing on public forums like this. Those who can have patience to read long posts and can think deeply will definitely benefit tremendously and can even do better things.

Of course greenhouse works in Nigeria.

You are perfectly right with this write up, some of the factors you mentioned are what i believe is the poor performance of the greenhouses in Nigeria, since i didn't put it into practice i never confirmed my suspicion.

I also thought of putting up an exhaust ventilation system to regulate the temperature, then cost of production becomes an issue, except you are able to ensure your produce are sold at premium price. I personally don't like business where selling the product at premium price only guarantee profitability.

Another factors i believe is the poor research by farmers and the so called farm managers, they buy product from these OEM and never get close to the expected result and yet no one is asking question on the suitability of the system employed

I eventually invest in medium cash crop, this you write up has given me hope in vegetable production, hopefully will be looking into it again early next year.

fluentinfor:
Moving temperature to 30C might be tough. It depends on the outside temperature. So, the first is to reduce the direct impact of sun. Shade nets from 30% - 70% are used. You choose which percentsge based on how high heat is. Also, one needs to consider the kind of crops. Do you notice that vegetable farmers always use leaves as shade for very young tomato, pepper, or lettuce plants in the nursery?

Since it is a covered production, increase ventilation. Make sure you have free air flow. I do not use poly cover at the top cos it increases heat. Better to just use net all round and find a way to cover it during rainy sesson. If it rains like 3 times or 4 times in a month, it is fine. It will not kill your plants if rain enters your structure. It is during rainy season you should be concerned.

The secret is going for varieties which can resist heat. So, that if you still record 32C, you are ok. I do not make public rcommendation because I do not want to promote any producer or seller.

Another equipment is misting and fogging. The only disadvantage is that it promotes fungi infection but it has been used very well.

And finally cooling pad and exhaust fan can be used. I do not advise this except sales is very high. You might need solar energy or biogas system to power this. And your cover might not be all round net. I have seen greenhouses with such system whereby the fans became decoration in the nethouses because owners cannot afford to buy fuel to power them.

I almost venture into tomato using greenhouse early 2016

Went round to see some established greenhouses both improvised and standard package greenhouse structures. I will call a lot of them a fail project (mostly govt initiated) and few are struggling.

Going through lots of articles on line and YouTube videos, one question keep crossing my mind "is greenhouse actually needed in most part of Nigeria"

Be among the wise investors

Good way to invest

Sent to all, my apology for the delay

Secure your future

It's better to be wise when investing

Does she have control of her urination during the day when not sleeping

fluentinfor:
As pointed out you can use any clear transparent nylon but be sure you can move the temperature inside your structure down to below 30C. Most structures with poly cover on the top climb up to 40C. This is total failure, except you want to use a cooler.

Best of luck!

So how do you control your temperature to maintain temperature of below 30C in your greenhouse do you make use of any mechanical means.

Wise way to invest

domack99:
That is why it is advisable to buy and build around developing schools. Land around old generation tertiary institutions are expensive. Even with their price, the rate of return on investment still make sense

Agreed

Short term high return on investment

A smart way to invest

otokx:
Land around Uniport is expensive and if you allow any how student stay in your house, sorry will be your name.

That is why it is advisable to buy and build around developing schools. Land around old generation tertiary institutions are expensive. Even with their price, the rate of return on investment still make sense

Be wise, invest wisely

Secure your future

Still available

Invest in student hostels

megacontrol:
Kindly provide more details if you don't mind.
Location
Size
Cost
Which institutions exactly in Abeokuta , and proximity of land to school
etc.

Location: Abeokuta.
Size: 60 by 130 and 60 by 148 (all in feet)
Cost: See ooriginal post
Institution: Federal University Abeokuta. (FUNAAB)
Distance to school: Three (3) minutes by foot

https://www.nairaland.com/4150224/building-hostels-low-cost-investment

Low cost great short term return

Student Hostel, Low cost Investment with Great Return (Price N1.6m to N2.2m per plot)

Benefit of Building Student Hostel

With student accommodation, you earn more in yearly return compare to houses built in residential areas of a commercial cities, depending on your taste, the cost of building is also lesser to a property built in city that will not even generate up to the same amount in yearly return.
Rent can be collected yearly or per school academic session.

Other complementary services like shops, café, service center and so on can also be attached for a daily income.

Student accommodation is one of the low cost investment with greater return

1. Land around most campuses are not that expensive compare to cities and will even bring better return on investment.

2. Student accommodation doesn't require high level finishing which in turn safe alots of money during construction and finishing.

3. Fear of patronage is out of it as student population keep expanding, in Nigeria universities of technology are adding accounting, finance and other administrative course, even university of agriculture are having medicine and surgery courses. So you are always in business.

4. Lower cost great return. A well arranged bungalow student hostel will have better return on investment to a story building of block of flats located in MOST locations in the cities.

5. Forget about those jungle you invest in, land around universities appreciate faster. No need for government bringing the social amenities, all that is required is student population increase which is guaranteed.

Land available in FUNAB ABEOKUTA.

Price N1.6m to N2.2m per plot

CONTACT: 08021002335

Land available for hostels and other commercial purposes. Land very close to the university main gate

Price per plot size
N1.5million size: 60ft by 130ft

N2Million size: 60ft by 148ft

Contact 08021002335 for more details and dvice.

The second best time to invest is now