₦airaland Forum

No one is disputing that so what are you betting? Please go over that post again. "I said Dangote tomato processing plant said they have seed that can yield 100 tonnes per hectare" It was written in the paper of which day or month i cant remember.
I am sure google could help with that
Please lets try to read in between lines.

jeffmyson:
I can even place a bet that no "Open Field" farmed tomatoes can ever yield 100 ton / Hectare, it is absolutely impossible for now. You can only achieve those levels of yield in a green house operation. The highest you can achieve based on todays data is 40 tons maximum ( that is if you try well well).

My father always told me "You can't take some one where you have never been to". I always encourage Young farmers to be patient and stay the course. Agri business is lucrative but it takes patience, understanding, doggedness and experience to arrive at the millionaire status.

Today we have potential farmers living in Lekki or Yaba and want to earn millions in vegetable business. They claim they want to be farmers but don't want to move to the rural areas to walk the talk! I just laugh them in swahili!

No. I am not lying.
Why would I in the first place?
I am not selling e book, I dont do farm set up nor am i advertising product. So please give me a cogent reason why I should deceive people.
Rather I have been pointing out the difficulties and challenges involved. No where in my write up did I say i made N100 not to mention millions.
Not everyone on social media is out to scam people.And not all of us take to been insulted because you are behind a screen.
There are a lot of factors that could affect your yield.
Whats the brand name of the seed?
Did you understudy any farmer or do you have any prior practical knowledge?
Please get your fact right
I can categorically states that 30 tonnes yield has been gotten from an hectare in Nigeria both in the southern part and the northern part.

toyoutoyou:
U are the one saying the truth.The other guy is just trying to toast the naïve once into vegetable farming that requires much capital resource in term of irrigation supply.Based on all the earlier calculation and market competition,all ur profit from ur tomato produce might just bring 150,000 to 200,000 per hectare if u invest let's say 40,000 to 50,000Naira on tomato farming.U will need up to 10hectarees of land bbefore u can even make up to #200,000*10nd the total amount of money to establish such hectares of land is about 400,000-800,000Naira.SO do ur calculation very well before anyone lures u into somethg he is not well grounded in its knowing. What we do in our organization is strictly on vegetable farming and I've been working on tomato for the past 3years.There is money in vegetable production but not as much as the sweet-mouthed guy is trying to make u believe.U will need to practice a large scale farming before u can even make up to 2-3million Naira as ur possible return.If it's that easy,the whole Nigerians would have turned to millionaires.Thank u.

Soloxam:
Easy said than done, how can a single. Farmer supply the eatery throughout the year? Except for a cooperative/farmer group that can be achieve.

Ride on my sister.........

3 Gbosas for you sir. Only groups farmers can solve the problem.

idumuose:
Anonimi my brother,after the e-war in politics section,this is where i come to chill quietly.

Some folks don't know i am involved in agric produce too.Tomato business is very profitable but you will also have to deal with the sellers(dilali) insincerity.

this are my workers packaging tomatoes for onward movement to Enugu or portharcourt.

My brother the transportation no easy oo.Once my workers are back,they complain of extortion from soldiers.In crossing Benue state alone,you will have to encounter more than 50 roadblocks mounted by soldiers.You know what that one means.
Enough said.

Uniform men in the south west scramble for permanent night duty.
We have more police at night thqn during the day. The shameful part is they stay not 1m apart from each other at the entrance of the town. At times they work with touts.
Its not an easy thing

slimfit1:
Put it in a can and export it jare lagos ko kano ni. Most of it ends up in the bin anyway.

Exportation of fresh fruits and vegetables is another issue entirely. You must be weighty(lol)

idumuose:
Another issue you have to deal with is unionism.Virtually all tomato market has a union.If you don't join their union,they would seize your tomatoes when you bring them.

The disadvantage of joining the union is that they determine how many number of baskets you convey to their market.

There is no way you can supply to the market without an inner circle connection. They have their own percentage cut

Stancollins:
@ Jethro... plz can you feed us with some pixx... I m so interested... thanks

I just did. Will be posting more on the current farm tomorrow.

Current project.

Tomatoes with another set of nursery

Some other varieties. at harvest and on the field

Preparing for market

I am posting because someone requested. The first 3 pictures are nursery at different stages while the fourth is a tomato plant

anonimi:
Dynamic agripreneurs need to liaise with supermarkets to establish quality grades & packaging standards to supply them at competitive prices. Ditto for hotels, eateries, bukas etc.

Let us exercise our brains creatively to add value and earn better.

Thats the point. Imagining the quantities of vegetables daily import into Nigeria? You will marvelled

I am writting my experience on tomatoes production and marketing for people to see that it takes a lot of work. The internets calculations and returns could only be achieve with hard work.
There are lot of underground work and things to be put in place.
Agriculture is profitable when one learns the rope. I hope some people will not just see stories but use this as practical solution to move their dreams

felixzo1:
i am planing on planting ugu and tomatoes only ,dry season farming, whats your take on dry season farming and profitability compared to raining season

Dry season farming is the best provided you have water and can maintain the farm. However do your marketing well. Visit several market not just one. Get their rules and whatever. There is no profit in planting and not been able to sell.
Market women patronize your farm to rip you off. Learn to dominate and dictate the market. It requires a lot of work

Basket issue: I took farmers baaket to Lagos. It was in Lagos i learnt you sell tomatoes with basket.
So my extra expenses is paying for farmers basket because they will not hear that story.
How i solve my basket palaver will be left for another day

I booked for an 18 seater bus. I took a stick to measure the dimension of the bus. I was able to estimate the no of tomato basket it will take.
Another issue crop up.
Did i have enough tomato to fill the bus?
Another capital NO.
What do i do?
I told my manager ' please discuss with the other tomato farmers(even though they have different varieties) if they will allow me to take theirs along with mine to the market.
He came back to give me price
Guess what?
The price has increase to N800.
Unbelievable but yes.
Okay I will give them N600 per basket.
With pleading, argument and whatever, they eventually agreed.
So begins my tomato journey to Lagos

First obstacle on getting back to farm; No basket to take tomatoes to Lagos.
I deploy people out to go and buy basket for me.
I thought its going to be a walk over since i have the sample basket and offcourse village people will get some job if only for some time.
But its never to be
How?
There is no basket weaver in my own village
Wow¡¡¡
Then move to the next village I told my manager. And the next, and the next if need be.
Thank God for a motorcycle i bought when i first move in.( even though i cant ride, its serving a great purpose)
NOTE
Every body in the village owns one form of motorcycle or the other. Mobility is important even if na bicycle

A week running, only 20 basket despite that we have deposited some substantial amount with 3 basket weavers in 3 different villages.
" We went for egungun festival"
"Nobody to cut the palm frondfor me" an elderly man
Those were party of the excuses i have got to deal with.
Meanwhile basket price has increased since there is demand for it. Just do it was my response
Dont forget we have to harvest maximum of 7 days interval.
Lagos pepper seller was calling me to know when i will bring tomatoes
By the end of second week with about thirty something basket, I called the driver which i have bewn making arrangement with and said we are entering Lagos by wednesday night

glade319:
@Madam Jethro,great job u are doing here!!!impacting life.




YABDI........get involved.

Thank you.

glade319:
@Madam Jethro,great job u are doing here!!!impacting life.




YABDI........get involved.

Yes we can

okych16:
What have I been doing in nairaland all this while... please is there a register for n airaland farmers cos I what to join... and thank you very much @Op. You are the best... all my dream this year is to go into agricultural, but I don't know where to start from, but this section of nairaland is opening my eyes gradually. Thanks to you all...still following.

Lol. Information is power. Take good advantage of it so we can all make Nigeria a better place

Liferace:
Jethro..thanks a lot.

You are welcome

felixzo1:
weldone bro.my respect for you have increased from today. when is it best to plant tomatoes and get a good price

A season farmer should plant all year round.
Reason.
Tomato prices flunctuates. But as long as you have produce you get to sell at profit be it in the season nor out of season. If one plant himself/herself, you must surely make profit.
Targeting market to plant is not advisable because the seeds might mess you up. pest and diseases could invade your farm. There are lots of uncontrollable factors

Liferace:
Ofcourse, we will ask you everything..hehehehehe....HOW DO WE OVERCOME TRANSPORTATION WAHALA?lol And before we get to that i have few questions
1.can tomato farm be anywhere in Nigeria or does it require particular soil type?
2.From your experience is nursery really important?
3.Is there any other market aside from Mile 12 that can buy tomatoes at good price and for Mile 12 is there a particular quantity one must have before thinking that kind of market.?
4.How small/big can one start from that will worth it.?

Thanks and God bless

Still attending to question 4
Someone could start big and mess it up while some one could start small and successfully build it up. its could be vice versa. There are lots of factors that affect production and marketing

Liferace:
Ofcourse, we will ask you everything..hehehehehe....HOW DO WE OVERCOME TRANSPORTATION WAHALA?lol And before we get to that i have few questions
1.can tomato farm be anywhere in Nigeria or does it require particular soil type?
2.From your experience is nursery really important?
3.Is there any other market aside from Mile 12 that can buy tomatoes at good price and for Mile 12 is there a particular quantity one must have before thinking that kind of market.?
4.How small/big can one start from that will worth it.?

Thanks and God bless

1. Yes tomato can be planted everywhere in Nigeria. Some soil are good for it but i later learnt from my Ogas that you can treat the soil that are not good.
2. No nursery, No tomato. Extremely important
3. There are plenty markets for tomatoes. One needs to find it. If you are fortunate to have tomatoes during the peak period. Market will look for you.
You can take any quantity of tomatoes to mile 12 market. There is no limit
4. That 4th question get k leg. You ve got to learn the ropes. Know the in and out. Before deciding on how big or small you want to be involve

Importance of Yield calculation with transportation.
When you plant one acre of tomatoes. The first harvest comes at 1 or 2 basket of 15kg. Subsequent ones begin to increase gradually. Your yield also depend on the seed for planting. (We will discuss the types of tomato and yield when the time comes)
Considering I am in a village that is 4 hours to Lagos. How do you take that to market?
Even if you are close to Lagos. O,e will still find it difficult transporting 1or fee basket to market.
The options you have us chattering a vehicle. The smallest commercial vehicles are those small golf that commercial people do force 4 passenger in.
If someone could ask me later how to overcome transportation problem then i will attend to that.

Then i travelled to Lagos. I went home.
My place is Okokomaiko, along Bagagry express in Lagos.
(I gave the area to comprehend the distance to Mile 12 for those that knows Lagos)
I have a pally in my step mum. So i told her my plights.
Ahhh. There is one pepper seller in our neighbour hood. This woman goes to Mile 12 to source for pepper and tomato. She should be able to sell for you since you would have save her the stress and give a reasonable price. That was my step mum talking.
So we approached the woman.
Lo and behold she said we can bring.
She has people that can buy. Even if i bring trailers they will buy. She gave me a supposed sample basket from Mile 12 and the price from Mile 12.
She told me the same story i have heard several times
"They will not allow you bring in produce to mile 12. Even if they do, its the MamaLojas(market leaders) that will dictate price and collect from you"
Offcourse i have seen alternative why go to Mile 12?. I thought within me
Such a big relief.
Farm here i come.

TRANSPORTATION ISSUES
My first harvest from the tomato farm was a basket.
Yes a basket. 15kg size.
Is it worth taking to market?
Capital NO.
What did i do?
I don't have much choice. Its either i sell it at the prevailing price in my village. (You can imagine what that will be)
Or I chattered a 6 setter passenger seat to take it to market (Which will be the cheapest)
Or I dash the tomato out
Sure you are wondering "No be only one basket"
Hmnnnn. So Na dash i dash.
Subsequent harvest increase to 8 basket
Still I dash
The next one increase to 14 basket
I sent to our local market.
A basket then was sold for N500.
It was then it dawn on me that transportation and the yield of tomato harvest was not factor into my plan.

Mind you that basket at N500 should fetch me not less than N1500 if i could get it to some outside market.

Meanwhile I have heard so much about Mile 12 market but i have no link or connection. Remembered its run like a mafia group. It belongs to the Northerners

nikaShow:
Please ma , as much as you are answering people's question...
also continue your story ma ! We are eagerly reading !

I will do that sir. Its just that i have been in transit since Sunday. Thank you for reading

Our first nursery was in the month of March with the target market of the month of June July.
We kept applying so many fertilizers eg NPK, cocoa boost and some other names i will never get to know.
At some stages we make use of liquid soap and aspirin.
Aspirin? Yes the normal aspirin that you and i take.
This are all in the bid to save the nursery plants.
All this while, I was still following my tomato teachers instruction.
Then one day my farm manager said " The farmers in the village has been planting tomato for ages without using any fertilizer or whatever from nursery, probably all these things we are applying are the ones affecting the nursery"
Wow. Being someone open to suggestion, I gave him the go ahead. Actually i said " Do it your own way".
And then the nursery survives.
Meanwhile we are in the month of May.
May is one of the peak month for tomato market.
I was receiving daily market price that made my heart bleeds.
The big basket was sold for N14,000 at some time.
By the time my tomatoes were out. I could barely sold at N4,000.
Even at that transportation to market now rear its ugly head

TheLight001:
Thanks for this great post OP.

My question is " how good is the market for dehydrated (dried) tomato"?.

Thanks once again.

I don't know the market for it yet.

Back to my story.
I got 2 hectares of land. Gave some money to my friend to purchase seed.
(I never even bother to ask for the seed name or variety). I was banking on the fact that since she claimed to have been in the farm then i am with an expert.
I knew virtually nothing about tomato planting. When I say nothing i meant a complete novice
But one thing stand out " My brain was always calculating the millions of naira to be realised" . Based on this I buried myself into tomato planting.
Since I am following a suppose expert in Tomato, my next occupation is taking instruction on the phone on all methods and system to be used.
The first set of seeds never survive the nursery. Its either it does not germinates and those that germinate died in the nursery
We kept buying different types of seed. Please don't ask me for the seed names for i don't know.
I was only interested in achieving my millions