As a young Nigerian based abroad you have a unique vantage point of being able to liaise with the foreign companies directly to supply raw commodities from Nigeria. Some highly sought after Nigerian commodities include spices such as ginger, dried cayenne pepper, cocoa, shea butter, even dried cassava pellets etc.

Before you take the plunge and get your fingers burnt, approach pharmaceutical / beauty companies with your intentions and get their specifications, then source for and supply a sample.

Once you are sure of what is required, business can commence however make sure that you will do due diligence with whoever you plan to partner with. One last thing is that you should allow banks to finance the transactions as they will hold onto the payment until the order has been processed and both parties are satisfied with the transaction.

darkmonarch:
Hello house,

I have been in this forum for sometime now and I must say kudos to everyone on the valuable information I see everyday.

A little about me.
I am a young Nigerian based abroad and looking into investing into agriculture in Nigeria. I earn quite a lot and I save quite a lot as well(somewhere in the 7 figure range). I have investments but nothing gives results like doing business .

I have been following the policies of the government on agriculture and it's quite favourable. I am not looking into a get rich quick scheme as I know that's not what agriculture is about. I am looking into getting into this business especially owing the value chain. But I don't know where to start from. I know I won't be ground to monitor things personally. What would you advise?

Although I am not the one that posted the question, i would like more insight into this answer.

So what are the ways to overcome bitter tasting cucumbers during the hot weather? Is it through irrigation or use of shade nets (I have heard that shade nets helps to reduce the intensity of the heat effect on the crops).

Farmerakinloye6:
sure there will be market for it when your cucumber is out, lots of us are not planting at the moment (holiday/resting). Try greengo. you may experience bitter cucumber due to hot weather though.

Farmerakinloye6:
am in market at the moment, and am selling 6k at Akure. Some are selling 5-5.5k

Hmmm....I just missed meeting with you at Akure market today. I was told by one of the Mallams there that cucumber was plenty in the market this morning, almost like 200bags. But when I got there around 4pm most of the cucumbers had been sold already.

Please I need help in terms of selling, do you sell by yourself or hand over to the agents? Because when I asked one of the so called agents this afternoon how much cucumber was sold today he told me 2,500 per bag whereas you are stating that a bag of cucumbers was sold in the same market today between 6,000 - 5,000 naira!

Hi Oga Shariff84,

I need bulk white maize (like in the range of a trailer load - 30tonnes).

Is this something you can arrange and how much will be th landing cost to Abeokuta in Ogun state?

Can I have an idea of the cost of your products and sales outlet centres?

Or maybe just a link to your products catalogue

I have heard that for hybrid cassava stems, the best time to harvest is between 11 months to 1 year. Anything beyond that and it's possible it will rot in the soil.

Hi @sharrif84.

Kudos on the good job you are doing here. Can you give the updated price of the following;

Soya bean
Wheat
Shelled ground nut
and
Yellow corn

Can the above be transported to Ekiti and if yes how much per bag?

OK oh. No driving recommended after 30 weeks, I have heard. What of we that drove ourselves to the hospital while in labour?

These tips are good generally but some are just not practical for today's modern mothers.

kunleweb:





Can i get cassava sticks from you ? TME 419?

Sorry, I just finished replanting all my TME 419 stems (last year was on a small scale, this year I expanded).

Also due to my experience, I will be looking for other hybrids due to my experience in farm management with the 419.

Veemetrics:
Can you share the contact details of the bulk buyer for your cassava. Looking for a bulk buyer for mine

Drop your contacts

jethro2:



Congratulations on your gari processing

But please some point of correction

No one wrote that TME 419 gari is not good for gari

What was written is that it's mainly meant for starch production because of its high water content

Ask from the gari processors in your area which variety of cassava they prefer

They will pay more for other species of gari but pay less for TME 419 and its likes because the gari they will have will be smaller compared to others

They will only buy TME 419 when there is no alternative

I hope I clarified the statement

My dearest Jethro, I was not referring to you in my statement about some saying that TME 419 stem is not good for garri production. This was what I heard from locals offline and am sure some others may have heard from their interactions with local farmers.

It was even your post that clarified why garri processors don't go for TME 419 because of the quantity of garri that would be produced from such cassava. Since I didn't intend to sell to garri processors but rather do the processing to garri for wholesale myself, I have been able to cut out the middle man.

Fortunately I have also been able to link up with a company in my locality that is into starch production and ready to buy my entire harvest because it is TME 419.

Thanks once again and I hope this has clarified my previous post.

mamaaustin:


You are welcome. I was told by many that TME 419 was only good to be sold for starch but I decided to try processing to flour (Elubo) and it was just as good as other species and quite delicious.
I will also try garri processing from it and will be back with my results.

So this evening, I just finished processing a pilot batch of my TME 419 garri. As a garri connoisseur and from the state known for the production of the best quality garri and......it was a success. This Garri is so dry and crunchy, we even used it to make eba and it was smooth like semo. Why am I going in to so much detail, because so many people said that this stem was not good for garri production and so far so good.

The garri produced is roughly 10 rubber measures and was produced from two 50kg bags (rice bags) of raw cassava.

Anyway a picture is worth a thousand words so the pictures are hereby uploaded. Thanks to Jethro for all her support and timely advice.

adeniyi65:

thank you mamaaustin. you make the exact justice to the particular juncture where i needed the information most.i was looking for hybrid stem that will favour my white flour production which TME 419 happen to be the
source one presently. Thanks once more.

You are welcome. I was told by many that TME 419 was only good to be sold for starch but I decided to try processing to flour (Elubo) and it was just as good as other species and quite delicious.
I will also try garri processing from it and will be back with my results.

Number999:

Please can you explain how can I turn my cassava to cassava starch instead of garri

I am not into starch production, rather I am ready to supply cassava to companies that do.

jethro2:


The water content reduces the solid contents thereby decreasing the quantity of gari the processors will get

The normal cassava gives 13-15 bags of 50kg when a 3 tons pick up of cassava is processed to gari

TME and other hybrid give less quantity.

Not sure there is a specific one that satissfy the two

The starch processors need the water or liquid content
The gari processors need the solid or particle content

Thanks so much dear for the clarification.
I had been hearing that TME 419 was not good for garri, now I know it was just concerning the turnover from the raw material. I will still go ahead with my plan to process 30% of my harvest to garri and sell the rest to starch producing companies.

jethro2:


TME 419 is rejected by the garri processors because it has too much water content.

It's highly favoured by the starch processing factories

Yellow cassava for gari is not the same as TME 419

Hi Jethro2

When you say it has too much water content, doesn't that just mean it will take longer time to dry so it can still be used for garri processing?

What cassava stem variety is good for garri then and do we have a hybrid that satisfies both starch companies and garri producers?

adeniyi65:


pls i need your experience on this. I heard from someone that TME 419 is yellowish in colour which doesn't favour cassava flour(elubo) except for garri and others only? is it true?

TME 419 is pure white in colour and which translates to white cassava flour.
This has been established by me from my harvest of TME 419 cassava two weeks ago which I have since processed to flour and happily consumed by my family!

This is a wonderful design. I just hope your prices are considerate for a small scale farmer.

And waiting

Yes, it is selective and will not harm your cassava but will kill all other weeds and grasses.

You will need to buy from a reputable agro shop and follow the directions.

I am still a green horn in this sector, but you can try force uron or di-uron. It is a systemic herbicide made especially for tuber crops of which cassava is one.

The selection was done on a man knows man basis. I can confirm this because I know one of those persons who was selected for the training.

The training has already been conducted (I think it lasted between 2 and 3 months) and the youths are awaiting the promised mechanized implements for them to begin farming by the next rainy season (2017) which includes allocation of government land in each LGA for their crops.

If things work out, it is still an opportunity for farmers in general in Ekiti because these youths have been trained on use of mechanized implements and have been promised these equipments as a form of loan.

Other farmers can easily make use of these implements am sure for a reasonable charge.

Just wanted to leave a review for BigCil.

Recently acquired 4 acres of farmland from him off Abeokuta -Sagamu express way and would like to recommend him for his business ethic and ability to deliver as expected.

Working with villagers can be a challenging experience, but with BigCil, what you agree to is what you get and a smooth transaction guaranteed.

bigcil2:

Have you received our mail?

Yes I have, thanks. When an next in Abk I will call so we can view possible sites together.

Hi, I sent mail to you some days ago but you are yet to respond. Is the land no longer available?

I am interested in the farm land at Obada Oko but am not on whatsapp. Pls drop your email so we can discuss better and book a date to view the site.

I am interested in the farm land at Obada Oko but am not on whatsapp. Pls drop your email so we can discuss better and book a date to view the site.

uboma:




Lol.

Maiduguri isn't as bad as you think my dear.

I go there regularly for official assignment.

BTW, why are you not asleep by this time

Please tell me more, what is it like working in Maiduguri. Does your official assignment take you to rural communities and what is the security situation like?

planetx:
I don't think the OP ever said his mother flew all the way to London just to buy tin tomatoes, or don't you buy stuff when you travel and you are coming back.

souljaboi51:


if this is the way you think then i am really sorry for you. i did not say she went to buy tomato in uk. where is the sense in that. return flight was 190k.
aunty please receive brain. who does that

---

Ok....return flight was actually 190,000

For someone to splurge on a return flight to the UK in these economic conditions for a wedding, current cost of tomatoes for market is really not a problem for them.

If she was my mum she would have faced a panel for that kind of reasoning to bring back tinned tomatoes rather than the usual gifts from abroad

Anyway different folks, different ways of analysis

OK....your mum to the UK and back. I think the cheapest one way ticket is roughly #200,000.

So she spent #400,000 on the trip and brought back a box of tin tomatoes because it was 3 for £1, because tomatoes are expensive in Nigeria........


This is great financial management in action!