₦airaland Forum

I completed Phase C yesterday by God's grace.

The germination rate of Phase A have been so impressive also.

I will update with pictures of Phase C by tomorrow, God willing.

Total seed planted for phase C is 430.


EJULA FARM

Ugole2013:
These are pictures of my old farms

I like what I see. Where are u located?... And is it calabar, portharcourt or igbo seed? or the mixture?

loneytunes:
Good job sir! Since you are based in Ogun close to Lagos can we network? My farm is based in Epe. Burnt the bush yesterday & will start ridges before weekend. Seeds already available but need more.

You can reach me on loneytunez80@gmail.com. Looking forward to hearing from you while I keep following your thread.

Sure. The power of networking can not be over emphasized.

My email is in my signature...

Are doing ridges because it is a water logged area or for effective weeding?

@ olaide68,

You can use recommended fungicide. Since I do organic, I don't really know which to recommend. I prefer to dry the seed (this reduce the rate of fungi attack) and plant as soon as I can.

This have worked for me. But it is also a good thing to preserve one's seed while it is in the soil.

If I see proven and recommended insecticides and fungicide, I will post it here.

SUPERPACK:
pls how many hours did u sun dry ur seeds, how did u place them while planting and how deep. pls rply.

You basically sun dry To discourage fungi growth.
To break seed dormancy (check first page)
To preserve the seed so you can plant at a later time.

How long?

I know it is completely dry when I see little or no moist or fungi on the seed. Usually on a sunny day, I dry it for 2 consecutive days and achieve my result.

Please I usually have in mind to plant this seed in a space of 4-10 days after drying.

EJULA Farm

Juliana7:
@ejulafarms, thanks for dis thread,i will be following dis thread bumper to bumper. Keep it up sir. I am learning a lot from u, i'm ur e- student lol. Thanks

Glad you are learning a lot. I will keep on dishing out the best I have.

Update on Phase B

By God's Phase B was completed today evening.

Size: 149 square meter

Seeds planted: 388 as at this evening

Status: 100 percent completed

No of beds: 4

Picture is attached.

SWOT Analysis

Weakness

Okay. There is suppose to be balance in life. Balance between Good and Evil, male and female. Guess this contrast makes life what it is; Fun.

One major weakness in ugu farming is the Irrigation factor: Ugu need water especially doing the dry season. Recall we farm it especially for its leaves . And the freshness of the leave is tantamount to the availability and sufficiency of water.

Mechanization: Planting ugu from my research will still have to be done manually because of the positioning of the seed doing planting. There's yet to be a planter that will accurately sow ugu seed.

Cost of seed: Ugu seed is one of the most expensive among its pairs. Imagine a single seed going for N50-N70. And the probability of it germinating is not even 100%.

Bad seed: The market women will do anything to promote their sale by telling you this seed or that seed is igbo or calabar or portharcourt seed (Note: These are the names for the good seed). Well, I have threaded that part and I have decided to get my seeds directly from the farm.

Setup cost: No matter how you see it, the setup cost is "risk-ly" high. I mean despite a good ROI, any mistake on the part of the farmer or investor may lead to a huge loss due to the high startup cost.


If I come across any addition, I will add it up.

EJULA Farm.

Ugole2013:
I have good seeds for sale. I will attach pics from my farm soon.

Ok. I will let you know as soon as I need some which is by the corner. But I have to come to see the farm or leaves that beget the said seeds. I will foot my bill of coming down where you are. If you are okay with this, then we have a deal. And pricing would be a huge factor since I need many.

EJULA Farm

Okay. Time for some progress report.

Good news is that some of my ugu seed started sprouting after just 4 days. But please do realize that it is those that are already germinating right inside the pod.

I entered into Phase B Land of my project as at yesterday and it is about 80 percent completed as at this evening.

Phase B

Size: 149 square meter

Seeds planted: 325 as at this evening

Status: 80 percent completed

No of beds: 4

Picture: To be available soon.

I did manual irrigation this evening because of the scorching sun this afternoon and lack of rain. I got water from the nearby dug up well.

I propose to use mechanical irrigation by the end of this month. The mechanical irrigation is simply using water hose attached to a GP tank and thereby achieve flow by gravity. I will pump water from the well into the tank.

The mechanical irrigation was projected to be installed at the end of this month believing the rain will go in december but since I have started experiencing harmattan, I guess I have to act fast.


Note: Apology for no pictorial representation, Hopefully plenty pics tomorrow. I am really tired. Remember, I'm presently far from the mechanized farming concept for now but I hope to join the league soon by God's grace. Really sick of this hole and cutlass farming..

But hey, Proud Team hole and cutlass. Afterall, It helps build a solid foundation in my opinion. But don't end up in that category for too long. Unless you want to repeat the same success story of our fore fathers.

Ejula Farm

funstufz:
Ejulafarms, please where do you based?

In ogun but close to lagos. I will be specific with time.

[quote author=olaide68 post=50841152][/quote]I will try as much as I can to live up to my word i.e. by updating my progress and shortcomings. Majorly to empower someone out there, Technically.

Today, I felt the harmattan breeze and the chill as well. I hope it is not what I am thinking cos I really want the rain to help the ugu sprout out before welcoming the dry season proper. Anyway, all things work for good.

SWOT Analysis

Strength: In ugu farming, there's alot of vantage point for the farmer. Some of the strengths will be highlighted here.

- It is not a perennial or bi-annual crop. In just as little as 2 months, one can start seeing his/her investment yielding fruit.

- It is the most demanded vegetable in Nigeria compared to water leaf, soko or ewedu

- It has a strong export value. Already states like anambra and other individuals are tapping into it

- It is easy to farm, all that is needed is commitment and passion.

- Its ROI is over 100% in a space of 4 months if properly farmed.

There's quite a lot when it comes to Ugu farming. As the thread progress, I will make additions.

Happy Sunday All.

Ejula Farm

For security concern, the method I proposed is not cheap but worth while. I intend using an animal barrier made up of iron rod which is cemented to the ground. I am making the investment since the ugu farming will be year round. The pics below is meshed but the proposed one would not need any mesh.

@youngzoologist, It's good to see your group is delving into this lucrative and ofcourse demanding farming project.

Seed Treatment

Much debate on this subject matter. In the general role of thumb, a proportionate mixture of fungicide and insecticide is good for ugu seed treatment.

I prefer to rather break the dormancy of the seed, this will help reduce the time it will take for it to be in the soil prior to germination. This invariable helps to promote the seed germination before insect attack. And you should also note that the probability of a seed to be attacked by fungi is greatly reduced if the seed is properly dried.

Ofcourse, treatment of seed by chemicals is a way to go if you know the ins and outs. I just prefer the natural way (sunning) since it has worked for me in the past.

@stagger, I will be having about 3 different location where I will be running this project. 2 of these locations is close to the water body and partly it is a wet land. But the total of this land close to the water is roughly 2 to 3 plots. And note that there is a well already dunged up. It will be mechanical watering.

For the other 6-8 plots not close to the water, a borehole will be dunged soon. But I will not be incorporating drip or sprinkler but rather I will use water hose that will flow water due to gravity. I will be using a high overhead tank.

All this will be showed while the thread progress.


@All, below is Phase A of the water land that is planted fully. I adopted the idea of phasing the project to easily manageable segments.

The pic below is just roughly 120 square meter but it contains 575 seeds. Recall, I am adopting manageable spacing method as against the idea method.

So as the thread progress, I will be able to tell the house what revenue each phase was able to accrue.

Ready to go the farm. See you all soon by God's grace

I am replying the thread this morning because I took the morning hours off but will resume on the farm when the sun is down. So Lets get started

Seed Spacing:

This is a big factor when it comes to yield. The textbook and ideal recommendation is 1m * 0.5m Spacing. Ideally, this spacing is recommended so as to help plant root get the required nutrients without much fight.

Demerit of this spacing method:
- Much land is required
- Weed control is more pronounced compared to small spacing
- More laborous

Merit
- Better yield when compared to tight spacing

So Let me talk about the other spacing which is usually adopted by most farmers I have come across. Let's call this "Management Spacing".

The Management spacing is roughly 1.5ft by 1ft. I am adopting this for my planting. As you already know, we have demerit and merit for this.

Merit
- Easy and better management of Land
- Easy control of weed compared to the "ideal" spacing
- Less labour

Demerit
- High competition for soil nutrients between plant roots

This demerit can be effectively managed by making sure there's no lack of nutrients in the soil by the effective application of organic or inorganic fertilizer.

I prefer organic because of longer shelf live for ugu leaves. More on this later.

Food for thought:

4000 seeds is needed to fully cover an acre of Land using the ideal spacing method

But it is good to note that 4000 seeds can be effectively managed in just two plots by employing the management spacing technique. And the same yield will be achieved if you reduce the competition for soil nutrients by plant roots.


I hope this help. Any addition will be made as we progress.

Mind blown Segment

An acre of Ugu farm can yield over 600,000 Naira with setup cost of #250,000 in a space of 3 months in the raining season. What do you think will be the yield in the DRY season?

loneytunes:
Good project! Please where is your farm located? Do you have ugu fruits for sale?

Sorry I don't have seeds for sale. And even presently, I am still scouting for more seeds.

I will be specific of my location as the thread mature. But know I am in ogun part close to lagos.

aboutbiz:
Mr. Eluja Good morning sir
Thank you so much for thid thread may GOD help be with you.
Please help us on the marketing aspect also.
Thank you sir

Honestly, Ugu don't need all the marketing like other vegetables. The only issue of concern is to bargain well.

I already have standby buyers for my Ugu leaves. I hope by God's grace to export my farmed ugu before second quarter of next year.

I will deal on general marketing much later on the thread

youngzoologist:
Great job....I like to find out...what's the average seeds you got per pod...its the size of pods a factor to good yield...
Thanks

Average of 60 seeds per big pod.

Yesterday, this is the range I got from 9 pods.

Minimum seed per pod - 42
Maximum seed per pod - 101

dejia:
Ejulafarm,

Am following closely..

How much did you buy your seeds for?

I booked the seeds earlier from a farmer friend. The average cost is about #25 (considering we are closely acquainted). But budget #50 for a good seed from a farmer. A pod can be priced at #1500-1800. Hope this helps

Ejula Farm

I will delve more into seeds soon. Please bear with me. I have worked for close to 7 hours today (4 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening hours) and with my farm manager as my only assistance.

I will cover the following next:

Ugu seed type

Ugu seed Pricing

Ugu seed plant spacing

Ugu seed treatment


And hopefully show more pics as we go along.

Do have a great rest.

What about seeds showing sign of germination?

Well, go ahead and plant without bothering yourself with drying up the moisture content.

And Yes, some of my seeds where already germinating right inside the pod before breaking the pod.

I have attached a pic to give you a good idea of seeds already germinating

UGU Seeds

This single factor can make or mar your investment. Talking from experience.

My Advice: Go directly to the farmer and see how well his/her ugu leave is doing before making a purchase. Thank me later

Seed Dormancy

It measures the time the seed takes before it can germinate. Read more here www.sproutnet.com/seed-dormancy

How do one break or shorten this time? You can dry for like say 24-48 hours. I will advice, you put it under a moderate sunlight. I dried mine in the room because I just aim to reduce the moisture content.

Picture of seed planted.

Thank you all for showing interest. I pray I do justice to this topic.

So without further a due, let's drive straight to the topic before us.

I will like to give the SCOPE of this project before commencing.

Target Farm Size: 8 - 10 Plots.

Duration of Project: 3 - 5 months

Season of Project: Dry season

Targeted ROI : 120%

Estimated setup cost: Inconclusive for Now



I will approach this project discourse with the agile methodology in mind. Meaning I will be jumping from one point to another without a coordinated approach but not obtuse.

Note: I prefer to use range in my description because nothing is too exact in the agribusiness world. I hope you bear with me.

Hello All,

I am starting this thread basically for the following objectives

- To properly document the process of dry season Ugu farming.
- To pinpoint my challenges and process
- To help validate the viability of The SIF Project (I will talk about this project much later)
- To source professional contribution during the course of this process
- To show proven financial index (whether profit or loss) during the course of this process

These objectives outlined are not all inclusive but I hope it gives a thorough concept of what I aim to achieve.

I pray the thread will be beneficial to someone out there especially the unemployed youths who have passion for the agribusiness.

The teaching methodology will have a lot to do with pictorial statements so has to help drive the points better.

Starting tomorrow by God's grace, The process should be in top gear.

NOTE: I started this year's dry season ugu farming on the 1st November, 2016.

Do have a good rest.

Ejula Farm.


UPDATE 11/14/2016


How to Plant Ugu seed


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_C58UO43m0

UPDATE 11/26/2016

SURVEY

Hello house, it has been a great journey so far. In other to make this learning process concrete, I will like everyone especially the experienced ugu farmers to help take this 1 min survey so has to ascertain the pricing methodology for Ugu leaves.

I will greatly appreciate your input. I will share the survey with only the respondents. So please kindly respond.

Please you don't have to be an existing farmer to fill this survey out but you should have concrete information on how Ugu leaves is sold in your location.

Survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc6vJZCG71OC6b5SgN7SUbM-PPHdQdlqSxYfBnRKxZ7ymWY7w/viewform

Thank you.

Ejula Farm