₦airaland Forum

Well my Fidelity Bank Visa card is still working perfectly.

Hmmm....so deep a question.

mercylicious:
pavore, always inspiring.

will show this to a friend of mine. he will know d ibo name and know if its found around here in our bushes or gardens.

lt is around, u only just need to identify it.

mercylicious:
an idea just flashed in my mind. dont u think moringa leaves could serve d same purpose?

lt would because l recall being told by an organic farmer that he utilizes it alongside rabbit urine & dogonyaro.

jethro2:
Is it the same thing as sunflower?

Yes, it is of the sunflower family.

jethro2:
Imagine!!!!!. And we are here battling with 1-2 litre per cow. One can import cows to crossbreed with our local ones. Learnt the local ones are resistance to a lot of environmental factors which the foreign breed are not.

l think l have seen the Friesian breed being shown in some Nigerian farms way back 2012.

The lush green plants in the midst of high-rise residential houses in Githurai, Nairobi makes the farm stand out.

Bananas, paw paws and indigenous vegetables that include spider plant compete for space on the about half-acre farm.

Robert Ngugi, the owner of the farm, has grown a wild plant known as tithonia (Asteraceae) on one side of the garden.

However, while he grew tithonia to protect his crops from dust since the farm is near a road, the plants have turned out to be one of his biggest saving grace as he uses them as fertilizer.

He was found pruning the tithonia plants. One would be forgiven for thinking that he was just trying to keep the hedge clean.
However, after the pruning, the farmer chops the leaves into smaller pieces and soaks them in a metal tank.

“This is something I do every fortnight,” says Ngugi. “It saves me plenty of money that I would have used to buy artificial fertilizer for my crops. I soak the leaves in water for two weeks before spraying on my various crops, together with the decomposed plant materials.”

BUY FERTILIZERS

When he started farming in 2010 after failing to sell the parcel that is a wetland, Ngugi would buy fertilizer to boost production. Each year, he says, he would spend not less than Sh20,000 (N40,000)

“I adopted tithonia after learning its value from an agricultural officer. It was by chance that I got the knowledge. That day the officer in-charge of Kahawa Wendani had brought farmers to my farm for lessons when he stumbled upon tithonia.”

The officer, Miriam Mugwe, saw the plant and asked Ngugi why he had grown it.

“That day I did not only talk to farmers about the other crops but also tithonia as an alternative to artificial fertilizer,” says Miriam as she recalled of the incident in 2012.

Having learned of the importance of the plant, Ngugi started using it as fertiliser.

“I normally harvest the plant’s small branches and leaves, then shred into small pieces and soak in a 180-litre water container. I ensure the plants cover half of the container and then add 135 liters of water.”

IMPORTANCE OF TITHONIA

He sprays two drums of the mixture on his farm, which last up to six months. “Since I started using tithonia, I now harvest eight to 10kg of sukuma wiki (collard green) from the same portion that I used to get 5kg a week. The organic fertilizer has also enabled me to pick night shade (managu) twice a week unlike before when leaves took long to sprout.”

Miriam, who works for the Ministry of Agriculture, says many people do not know the importance of tithonia as an alternative to fertilizer.

“I learned about the value of the crop several years ago from an institution that trains people on use of organic fertiliser.”

Prof Richard Mulwa, a horticultural scientist at Egerton University, says tithonia is rich in nutrients, especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

“Organic matter in tithonia helps soil to hold much more water and for a longer period,” says Prof Mulwa. “The nutrients in tithonia are vital in improving the size of leaves and fruits as well as making leaves dark-green.”

Tithonia, he adds, is good for crops such as melon, maize and a variety of vegetables like spider plant, sukuma wiki, spinach and cabbages.

“The nutrients in tithonia also add sweetness to watermelons. “Farmers should use tithonia to optimize yields.” Though the plant is widely used by organic farmers, the expert notes it is highly recommended to those who have used synthetic fertiliser for long as it does not only add nutrients but also the organic matter.

jethro2:
Extremely low but thats what we have here. Gen Abubakars Farm, Maizube in Minna however have some of the good cows. He uses the cow milk for yoghurt. There is massive oppourtunity in that line

l recall visiting a diary farm about an hour drive from Nairobi, each of he cows there produces 33 litres of milk daily as they are crossbreed of the friesian heifer with semen from a fleckvieh bull. l buy fresh milk (pasteurized) from the dispensing machine at N130 per litre.

1-2litre is way too low!

cava:
@ pavore ok no problem

So what are you engaged with right now, agro-wise?

@Kalusam, you are so on point!

@jethro2, Kenyans don't joke with cows! They even export fresh milk in trucks on a daily basis to other East African countries. Heard recently that one of Kenya's biggest milk processor is eyeing the Nigerian market, afterall we buy tea from them.

jethro2:
Its my pleasure. Its an untapped market

Here in kenya powdered milk or tinned evaporated milk is a no-no. lt is fresh milk as they take tea 24hrs a day, so a kenyan consumes more milk than a Nigerian!

jethro2:
Dont know of the company for pasteurized milk yet. The fulanis supplied fresh to Friesland Campina which process into peak milk liquid satchet

Thanks. I think the market is huge for fresh milk in Nigeria.

jethro2:
The South western part especially Oyo State have plenty fulani cattle rearers. You can source fresh milk there in abundance

l will like to be at the retail end where pasteurized milk is supplied to my milk tank in trucks while l dispense it to the final consumer.

cava:
wow @pavore hope you have not forgotten our discussion on the aquaponics training. are you saying with 180,000 one can bulid a standard green house that can last for 10 yrs.that instresting. have u started the training with the sisters in kenya

Once you have the grounded knowledge of constructing it, N180,000 can build it going by the materials you saw being used The wood used was not bought, so that saves cost.

l have not started the training with the Sisters as l am presently engaged with another project but l know the opportunity is still open for me.

Johnnyessence:
waoooo this is great ehhh ehhh this is great.

Well there is so much the human brain can achieve.

The south is not into dairy, so look up north. For u to get a consistent supply u must work with co-operatives to avoid disappointment in supply. l would love to run a fresh milk dispensing machine in Lagos but where will l get supply of fresh milk?

They are not protesting over the atrocities Boko Haram is committing under their nose. it is what is happening in far way France that pains them most.! We are told that the brain is made up of about 75 percent water, which such incident one is forced to question the quality of water in some brain!

l just tire!

Why would Nigeria develop when we are buying and selling votes as if we are trading at main market Onitsha!

Let there be light.....

Let there be credible elections across board.

Strawberries growing on PVC pipes utilizing waste water from the fish ponds.

More pics

more pics

More pics

More pics.

More pics

karlxavier:
Good day, please I want to understand what green house farming generally means and how it operates. I have heard so much about it and I would like to know more on it... Gurus in the house, please respond...

It is farming under a confined controlled environment as against the traditional open field farming. The structure can be made of glass or polythene covers depending on availability and cost of materials. These structure ranges in size. lt is not a new technology as it started way back in the 13th Century in Italy before it spread.

Various crops are grown in a greenhouse including cucumber, flowers, tomatoes, capsicum, strawberry etc Generally crops grown in a greenhouse should be of high value returns comparative to its high cost of construction. With greenhouse farming a farmer can get more yield per unit area of land, easier control of pests and diseases, prolonged production period, efficient water utilization, low cost of labour (that is spraying, weeding and watering) High quality of crop produce. timely crop production, less exposure to chemical toxin.

There are also challenges of greenhouse farming as the high initial cost of investments to set up one and high level of greenhouse management skill is required.

Truth is that greenhouse farming is usually seen as the exclusive of big time farmers because of the high cost of construction but there are low cost greenhouse which are constructed with locally available materials and this can last up to 10 years.

For a low cost greenhouse measuring 24ft by 45ft, l believe N180,000 can cover the cost of construction especially if you are in the rural area as one can utilize the wood from the trees around, get nails, condemned engine oil (will prevent the wooden materials from insect infestation), black tarpaulin (would be wrapped at the base of standing post), insect netting (to enable circulation and prevent insects from entering the green house). poly cover (200 micro greenhouse cover)

It involves 2 stages, the first involves setting up the structure which involves setting up of the frame and the second is covering with insect netting and greenhouse cover, Tired of typing it is almost 6a,m my time here and l have an early day. Let me just post pictures to give you idea of what the process looks like.

NOTE: One must personally be on the field to learn how to construct it and if you acquire this skill you can easily plant even STRAWBERRY without soil inside the greenhouse by way of Aquaponics as the Reverend Sisters l work with have greenhouses they built by themselves each measuring 24ft by 90ft and in each they have fish ponds which has about 10,000 catfish and the waste wate from the fish pond is what feeds the strawberry to grow without soil, growing on PVC pipes and they harvest about 1000kg of strawberry every month from each greenhouse.

Signing off!

l am trying to imagine the image of a drunk wife!

@SunnyJ2, l do advise people to go and understudy @ a successful farm that is into what one is interested in. l personally spent a month in a strawberry farm here in Kenya learning the "ups & downs". Ask urself which crop(s) yields more @ lower cost.