According to a report, the cucumber and gherkins market are poised to grow by USD 1.07 billion in four years ,- 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 4% during the forecast period.

From the report , 'Global Cucumber and Gherkins Market 2020-2024, Growth in Global Online Retailing to Boost Growth' by Technavio, the Cucumber market is driven by the growth in global online retailing.

Furthermore, the study identifies the growing focus on organic and non-genetically modified (GM) products as one of the prime reasons driving the cucumber and gherkins market growth during the next few years.

By 2025, the Global Sweet Corn Seed market size is projected to reach USD 825.7 million from USD 731 million in 2019, a CAGR of 3.1% in the
forecast period of 2020 to 2025.

Sweet corn is the second largest processing crop, surpassed only by tomatoes. 

According to decisiondatabases.com, Nigeria has plays an important economic role . Other Countries include:


North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)

Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, etc.)

Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa

From my experience.

Managing sweet corn can be demanding compared to the usual corn. This is because, due to the sweetness of the sweet corn, caterpillars (known to be stem borers) like harboring in the stem of the crop , and this destroys their stands.

To mitigate this , I regularly spray the stems with Caterpillar insecticide, such as caterpillar force and the likes.

On fertilizer application,
Mode of application is the same with the regular corn.

Profitability
3 cobs of Sweet Corn can be sold for #350 - the regular maize hardly gives me this.

In addition, the profit I get from 2 plots of Sweet Corn is equivalent to 1 acre of the regular maize.

i.e profit of:
2 plots of sweet corn = 6 plots of Maize.

Labour
You require less labour adjudging from the above sentence.

Value
The Sweet Corn is an exotic produce compared to the local corn . Also, You can make projections because the price/kg of Sweet corn is stable.

...tales of a Nigerian Farmer
Dayo Anjorin


I started planting Sweet corn as a desire to have varieties of crop on my farm and I supermarkets are always in need of the crop. So, I got the seed and planted it for the first time.

My First Experience
The first time I planted Sweet Corn , I did not get good buys. The other farmers that have been doing it, said I ought to have gotten the market before planting it. So, I had to restrategize and making sure i had off takers before planting.

My Discoveries
I discovered that, Sweet corn is not a kind of crop, that you plant on a large scale because most people that buy , buy in bits and want a continuous supply .Therefore, you cannot afford to cultivate in large quantity.

My Second Experience
So, I started cultivating them in batches and immensely helped me. I do like two plots, and in a week interval, I cultivate another two plots. This keeps the supply continuous. But, that is not a guarantee that your produce will be sold in the market ,because, ,at the point you are planting, many farmers are putting their seeds in the ground. This automatically leads to glut.

Sweet corn matures between 68 - 70 days. When it is is approaching day 75, it is getting over mature and difficult to sell. This happened to me last year. There , I said to myself, I cannot afford to lose these crops.

Turning Lemons to Lemonade
So, I took some of the produce to my farm outlet. At first, consumers said it was too sweet, but they later completely embraced it. Even other farmers, brought their produce for me to sell for them. In comparison, selling this way was below the proceeds from selling to the mall , it was a better alternative than experiencing a complete loss.Imagine having 500kg of corn and you have no buyer for them.

Take home Lessons
When venturing into any crop, be prepared for unforeseen challenges and a mindset to combat and overcome them.

Profitability and Management:
Sweet Corn is from the grass family ,so it just requires little water .Secondly, it is subject to lots of diseases except fungi, or caterpillar worms - which can be easily combated. In all, it requires little maintenance.

If you are looking for high yields within a short time frame in farming, cultivating Cucumber is definitely one to venture in. However , a fore knowledge of the market could help mitigate the potential risks.

I began cultivating Cucumber about a decade ago in Epe, Lagos , South West of Nigeria. Nonsurprisingly , many persons opine that Cucumbers in the market or consumed in the West are all from the North.

However, the key to cultivating any crop,regardless of geographical location is understudying and simulating the adequate environment for it to be productive.

From my experience , these 3 factors remain crucial in cultivation - even in Cucumber Farming:
1) Timing
2) Surrounding oneself with knowledgeable farmers
3) Understudy

1) Timing:
For maximal profit,ensure you time your harvest , so you will not have to compete with the supply from the North.

2)Surrounding yourself with experienced , successful and knowledgeable farmers could tentatively give you leverage .

[/size]
3)Understudy:
To be topmost in any field, there is a place of training and retraining. Hands-on-training ,will always be a plus .


For me, l ventured into cucumber farming because the crop has potentials of high yield in a short duration, nonetheless, passion, knowledge, close monitoring and tenacity is essential to achieve great results, just as of any business.