₦airaland Forum

If we as Nigerians will stop behaving like animals and obey simple rules, alot of good people will still be alive. RIP to the dead

noblefarm:
sorry Oga I was busy, just come online now. pls how do we see, I want to ask somethings about the vegetable farming and if it will warranty me to come over just lemme knw. pls can I have ur number to call u or u call me 08077774003. thanks

08097273034

Had a great time discussing with hotmas911. Great man, Great vision

noblefarm:
am in ilorin kwara state

serious? and I was in illorin briefly today

noblefarm:
thanks bro. I will like to pay u a visit, pls can I have ur contant? my digits 08077774003

it's okay... where do you reside let's see how we can arrange that.

Tegatons:
Running a casssva and plantain farm in delta. Need to get a horse or donkey to assist me in my farm. Anybody to sell

make enquiries on the work bulls known as jacky or jackie (I no sure again). Those ones can be used to pull a plough, carry load carts and harvests e.t.c. very efficient. and that sounds like a brilliant idea for me now. I'll look into it for my farm too.

noblefarm:
Oga jasper7 u left us in ur other thread on cucumba farming. pls are u still in ogbomoso, I wanna meet u pls.

yes, am atill in ogbomosho temporarily. will be leaving by 11am.

Pavore9:
@jasper7, l will try and get a congolese friend of mine who is a very good with cameraworks to go with me so we can do a short clean video of the visit, highlight everything from soil preparation, to bagging, planting, manuring, packaging etc.

correct! just keep me posted shaa. more grease to your elbow.

Pavore9:
Which variety is this?

It's the Jos variety . haven't been able to examine them closely and physically, so I can't really say. Looking forward to the outcome of your visit. Please tell the guy that some peeps from Nigeria wanna visit his farm in march. Pavore, am serious o. it's amazing what the guy is doing.

RealChris:
Its 2 acres but was not measured with tape n I'm not sure its up to 2acres. Eye gauge things.... the community boys refused to use tape. I'm not using irrigation for now n its affecting the yield but I'm managing it that way for now cos I'm doing all d work myself n its stressful. thanks boss.

from your narrative, am believing your land is in ogun. I heard the locals can be very unreasonable and sometimes aggressive. a friend of mine just had similar experience. Try and sort it out with them first, if not whatever project that goes on there is in jeopardy.

pictures of made in jos strawberry . And I was like Damn! I can do better.

pavore9. That's the reality. am glad to have met like minds. my time is coming . stawberries are currently being hawked on the streets of jos for 1,000 per kg. this is the info that got to me from a good friend who knows about my passion. and if you see the sickly, low quality strawberry they are selling at that price.it seems to me, they selected the quality ones for export and they are selling the damaged ones for Nigerians.

Hmmmm, finally, something am very passionate about. just yesterday, I told my team that very soon, they won't be seeing much of me in cucumber farms. That I want to open an exotic farm. For exotic birds, strawberry, grape, bitter gourd, butter squash, shrimp e.t.c and to see this thread now? it's a big confirmation. . Pavore9 knows na. my mind is already set on strawberry since time immemorial . Mercylicious, great job once again.

noblefarm:
The farm is in Ilorin kwara state.

@soloxam, I got the land with hope of planting cassava but with what cassava is now that's why am looking for what else to farm. I knw the land is not a waste

sir, if you want to go full vegetable this year. the truth is that the advice I would give you won't be too far from what my brother, soloxam has given you.
you have 2 options, 1. you can seek professional help for set-up and management or partner up with a professional. and 2. start small and grow gradually.

The truth is that with the size of land you have, there are many profitable vegetables you can plant and make money from.

stagger:
Next stage of my inquiry is two-fold:

a) Land lease from river basin authority covering my intended usage state.
b) Registration in GES e-wallet scheme for 2015.

After this, I will pay a visit to a maize demonstration farm to see if the new maize seedlings touted to deliver up to 6tons per hectare are actually in use and delivering according to specs.

6tons per hectare? that's interesting.

I'll just throw my 2cents on this. Altho I lack the technicality or knowledge on this subject matter. but I think, if your friend has access to cocoa pods and seeds. why don't he look into processing, as per business administrator he is.

RealChris:
Jasper, You are indeed a genius.... I have been following your thread silently from day one. like what was preached in church today, Jasper "You are in Purpose" n I love all you've been doing. God will CONTINUE TO BLESS YOU n You will NEVER experience anything "lack" I'm really impressed n encouraged n also envy You. I practically started my farm after reading much from this forum, I plant fluted pumpkin leaf n it has been my source of income that foots my school fees n other bills with little support from my family. I'm in HND1 now n hoping to expand my farm n grow other vegetables before rounding up with studies. I will be glad to see you live one day. Thanks to You n others like world1, jethro, kalusam who hv contributed to my life...... Pls keep d good work up. God Bless You all.

I am humbled that I have been able to impart in your life. and also excited about your fluted pumpkin testimonial. what is the size of your farm? do you use irrigation on it? I love to see young people making money from vegetable farming.

noblefarm:
Wow, marvelous. But nwannem, I have over 200plots (30acres) of land to farm on, tried cassava last year but the price of cassava now is not encouraging and I can't plant cucumber on all the land. What else can you advise me to go into that can give me good returns.
thanks

yeah... just answer this question. where is ur farm located?

"Trespassers will be violated". Classic Charlieboy. Pervy son of a B.

stagger:
Ekha Agro glucose syrup factory cost exceeded 10 million Euros. For GEJ to attend the commissioning, you should know the level of finance that went into that plant.

10million euros, that's a staggering sum o (you see what I did there? ). a whooping amount. wow! we'll get there one day

hotmas911:
yea! People are saying bulldozer shouldn't be consuming that much but that's the reality we are facing. My initial budget is 150 liters per day.

but it's giving more output than average bulldozer so... it's worth the fuel

hotmas911:
Another 306 liters this morning

na wa o. that bulldozer dey drink diesel shaa.

amarawa:
Nice thread. But what people are saying about cassava seems to me as things applicable to other areas of agric. Effective market research and adding value to ur product are the key, so why are we singling cassava out.

I think one of the problems farmers in Nigeria has is lack of support from government in many areas. I was at Shoprite where I saw watermelons labelled made in South Africa, yet at Orange market few km away water melon is rotten because of low market. The fruits should have been processed if the farmers can afford the machine.

Even the 10m starch plant Jethro mentioned is a child's play. An industrial starch plant machine cost about 1m dollars from Denmark and China.

Let us continue to partner and collaborate, I'm sure we will get there.

serious? 1m dols. is the starch used to divide red sea? na wa o. okay... Like I always say, we are still playing in terms of agric in Nigeria

all I can say is Lol

Lesgupnigeria:
Some agro-preneurs on nairaland are fond of arguing to claim superiority of idea which i am not ready to engage in at the moment.
I always want to learn from people and make use of it in my business.

If you have been following some of my thread,you will learn a lot about what i mentioned about getting buyers that will buy at a good price.

Not all processing companies will.buy at a good price and those that will.buy at a good price might delay your payment.

I have had series of experience from these companies and have learnt a lot as well.

Cassava industry is not a stand-alone industry
it requires partnership to make good money.

Partnership requires you creating good business relationship with the processor.

Let me expose one of the strategy i do make use just for the sake of some farmers here.

I partner with small scale and medium processors (at least 10tons/day capacity) some kilometres from my farm and i make sure i supply them cassava regularly even if it requires me to buy from other farmers so they can have regular supply

I.develop.personal relationship.as well.
I can also.tell you how many times i.have to travel to track down a pharmaceutical company manager in order see that my processor can sell the cassava flour produced.

I know if he cant sell his flour,then he cant buy my cassava(Thats is partnership)

In any business especially cassava business,
it requires real partnership.

This is very difficult with bigger companies like intercontinental distilleries and others.

The thinking of.many farmers is that if they can sell to bigger companies,it will translate to bigger money

Nobody here can claim that he/she has successfully sold to bigger companies and make good profit.

Those people shouting they have been to GIZ,ZIG,WXZ and they turn them down.
give me reasons why they wouldnot disappoint you...To.me thats the old and improper way of partnering with a company

When they need cassava,were you there to supply them even when the cassava on your own farm is.not yet ready?and you think when your cassava is ready for harvest,you can.just come and start asking for better price for your cassava?


I.gave one of my follower on my cassava thread one of my cassava procesor contact and he may start selling his cassava in some few months time.


I am very sure if its any of the bigger companies,thsy wouldnot even want to.give him audience but leveraging on my good relationship with the processor,he will also have access.

I can go on and on but let me stop here,i have shared little,you can check my thread to know more of the things i am talking.

Cassava is profitable but you cant keep doing it like how some farmers claiming is not profitable are doing it.

A lot of ways one can.make use to.make profit in this business.Find your own or partner with people that does.

okay... I think I have been able to pick one or 2 points here. Am just trying to outline the points so that people can pick it up and make use of it.

First one is that you go after small processors, so that you can meet up with their demand and be somewhat of a sole supplier. okay.

Because of relationship you are able to maintain a favourable pricing for your products. I got that too.

I just want people to be able to pick points from our posts. because in the end, we are doing this to help ourselves.

I am a follower of some of your threads. Not all. because I particularly don't have interest in cassava farming. but it's okay. I still have learnt a few lessons here

stagger:
Gari is not a staple of the northern tribes in Nigeria, so the cultivation of sorghum, millet, rice, soyabeans, ridi (beniseed) is more popular than planting of cassava. However, migration patterns of southern people into the North as well as the export demand from neighbouring countries puts some demand on gari. So rather than cultivate it, a lot of it is brought from the south.

To answer the 1st question, the state of the roads in the SE is appalling. I am sure you are a living witness. Bad roads add to the cost of transporting any product to the market. This is why the cost benefit of procuring cassava for processing beyond 30km reduces dramatically. In contrast, the roads to the North and within the north are far better and require less maintenance because of the climate and soil.

Perhaps, if the rail network is fully complete, transport will not be so much of an issue as it is now.

stagger:
Now gari can be sold to several sources.
The Nigerian Prisons service has contractors who supply to all the prisons in Nigeria. These contractors are awarded on a prison to prison basis. They have to buy from somewhere. I have personally been to the NPS headquarters in Abuja on this account and have some info on how the process works.
Hotels have to buy on a daily basis. Boarding schools, police training colleges, NYSC all procure gari. Some states like Bayelsa are known only for hotel business. In the Niger Delta, gari, fufu and starch are the staple foods. In Odukpani LGA of Cross River state, there is a fufu production zone.
The national strategic food reserve also stock piles lots of gari. Many may not know it, but we are actively supplying close to half of the gari and other food eaten in Niger republic under this program. The government contracts this out and the contractors have to buy in large quantities.
Gari is not the only product that can be derived from cassava.
My point is, the individual has to put in some work to identify and carve a niche which will separate him or her from the rest of the population.

stagger:
Gari is not a staple of the northern tribes in Nigeria, so the cultivation of sorghum, millet, rice, soyabeans, ridi (beniseed) is more popular than planting of cassava. However, migration patterns of southern people into the North as well as the export demand from neighbouring countries puts some demand on gari. So rather than cultivate it, a lot of it is brought from the south.

To answer the 1st question, the state of the roads in the SE is appalling. I am sure you are a living witness. Bad roads add to the cost of transporting any product to the market. This is why the cost benefit of procuring cassava for processing beyond 30km reduces dramatically. In contrast, the roads to the North and within the north are far better and require less maintenance because of the climate and soil.

Perhaps, if the rail network is fully complete, transport will not be so much of an issue as it is now.

I see. cos I have always wondered these things. Jethro made mention that mechanized garri frying doesn't give the same quality as hand fried own. how viable is that info and if true how can someone fry 20hectares of cassava manually?

Let me not even go into other possible products because if what jethro is saying is right. local farmers can't afford processing plants. except through co-operative

@lesgupnigeria, oga, you are the only person on Nairaland that has openly admitted to making money from selling raw cassava.

I know you'll not want to share your secrets on a public forum and at least not for free. and I absolutely buy that idea but at least for those of us watching from outside just explain this shortly,

1. what are the factors that made your cassava to be sold at high rate, is it the quality? or the season you sold it? or the location of your buyers? is there anyrhing special about your own transaction that the likes of Jethro and the rest who are complaining here failed to do. because I don't understand why a buyer will buy at high price when he can get for cheaper except for quality or something of that nature.

Pls, I saw when you mentioned argument, when responding to someone. please don't see this things as arguments, see it as debates.

I remember when I was arguing with someone on my thread that drip alone cannot serve my cucumber. The person put facts and figures to me and I went home, tried it, came back with better results. I learnt something from that debate. Let's keep an open mind to all this talk. remember that nairaland is a faceless forum, the person you are talking with today might be your next door neighbor and you don't know. .

In as much as we are all pros in our fields. nobody can be completely right and nobody can be completely wrong. we can always learn, even from day old babies. peace guys

@jethro2. Ma, I think the major reason most of us open threads is to share experiences both good and bad. and the ultimate reason is for people to learn. Let's trash out this matters and see where it leads. We all might learn a thing or 2 at the end...

You said you have many hectares of cassava. and you have given very valid reasons why you can't sell it fresh. Can we look at processing? My questions are as follows?

How long can cassava survive inside ground when mature? Does staying long add or remove value from the cassava?


Are there angles you feel you have not covered in terms of marketing?

sorry o, my questions might sound silly and rookie, I have no idea on cassava farming.
What does it take to process this cassava into garri or something?

My first question goes to oga stagger, please it's not compulsory you attend to my questions, but I feel it will be useful to those of us trying to learn. Just to clarify the air.

You spoke about the 4 available markets rural, urban, assembly, and destination. and I am believing that the products follows this delivery chain, once it leaves the farmgate.

You also made some interesting points on empowering farmers around you. so that they can give you identical high value products, incase you want to process yourself, or supply to a big firm that maybe had minimum supply quantity.

And it's therefore a no-brainer, that each step a farmer can cut in the supply chain will increase his/her own income.

But there's a big challenge I'll want you to treat.

TRANSPORT.

I think the major reasons farmers prefer to sell at farmgate is the many challenges and cost that come with transport. Cassava is currently quite expensive and scarce in Imo but I don't see trailers bringing cassava in. I dunno, I always felt it is because the value of one trailer of cassava might not be up to the cost incurred in transport. I dunno shaa just saying. please shed more light.

2. you spoke about the northern market in one of your post being the center for cassava product export. is there a reason why they don't plant cassava ao much in the north?

That's all for now sir.

This is getting interesting, I am grabbing knowledge from every angle. Personally, I have a big reservation for cassava farming. but I have heard of people who made money from it.

I never get chance to understudy any one of them because the interest doesn't exist. My conclusion on this matter is this

If you have interest in farming cassava, farm cassava. because if you have passion for something, you'll see it through.

If your interest is money, Don't farm cassava. Cassava needs passion to succeed, vegetables too. same with poultry. Most times that's the difference between successful poultry farmers and failures.

If you just want to farm for money, go into plantation. At least, come rain, come sun you'll sell. .

At least that's what I can deduce from what I have read so far.

Time for me to ask questions.

dotmoth4life:
ARE FARMERS RICH?
www.myagricworld.com
Can Agricultural Business or farm work Alone make you wealthy As Dangote/Adenuga

If you go into agriculture from the scratch with little capital as will have said, in NIGERIA? You would even be struggling to pay your bills talk less of living above average, talk less of becoming a millionnaire and talk less of being a Dangote and Adenuga, Who told u those 2 guys are farmers in the 1st place? www.myagricworld.com
You will be making common mistakes if you call Dangote a farmer, Dangote is an Agri-businessman not a farmer.... to view know my opinion on this Question... visit the link below www.myagricworld.com ..
i render consultancy service for any intend agribusiness. mainly AGRONOMY..no livestock I also help my client prepare a comprehensive feasibility study on their intend project.
i also training my clients on how to multiply plaintain/banana suckers, maize breeding, vegetable farming.. Not theory oooo.. Praticals
you can mail me on dotmoth4life@gmail.com

you sir are spamming people's thread and it's quite irritating. everywhere I go, I see your fallacy of an advertisement, I hope you repent soon and change from these ways. JahBless

SLOVFO:
I need your advice brother Jasper. I have a plot of land. I am wondering if it will be cost effective for me to start cucumber farming there? Considering the fact that I may have to sink a bore-hole there.

yeah... I started with a plot too, it was worth my while in the long run and gave me courage to expand to hectares. I advice beginners to test it up in a plot, make as much mistake as possible before moving to bigger land.