₦airaland Forum

logadims:
Nice one! I'd love to interview you for one of my series focused on showcasing successful agricultural entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

maryambby:
How can i invest in Agriculture because i deem it very important to start one soon someone should advice a sister. Agriculture is big, which sector would you like to invest in? Do you like poultry, fish farming If you're in Port Harcourt I will walk you through the process but please know that farming is hard work and you must be ready. It's not for slay queens mbok








check this out it may be useful to a friend out there.
https://www.nairaland.com/8280030/list-tools-used-instrument-technician

iykbethany:
For those who are looking for Malaysian Supergene nurseries, this is just 1 months old. It will be ready in March. The company i bought from in Enugu sent me this picture. If anyone's interested, they will help prepare the land for early planting.

I will release their number to interested persons but please do your own home work well before sending money to anyone you met online.

iykbethany:
I'm reaching out for advice from fellow farmers and agric experts. My healthy bell pepper plants have started to change color, shrink, and even die off. I'm not sure what's causing the problem.

Could it be due to heat, disease, pests, or something else? I'd greatly appreciate any guidance or suggestions on how to solve this problem. I'm not a happy man right now coz i was hoping to cash out this Christmas



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbj0SRaAGw4?si=K9HAtWd7ZFMiQx9c

iykbethany:
As an entrepreneur, I’ve always looked for ways to invest in the agricultural sector because agriculture offers more than just business opportunities. It's a way to create jobs, generate wealth, and contribute to food security. 

I ventured into agriculture many years ago to create jobs, create wealth and food security so iykbethany farms is a project that is very important to me, but the journey hasn't been easy at all. There have been trials and errors along the way and I have been documenting everything so others can learn from the process, my mistakes and struggles.

I already have other farms for banana, plantains, oil palm and pineapples but one other venture that really caught my eye was greenhouse farming due to its immense potential to improve crop yields and maximize the use of limited land.

 Here is a link to my journey with Malaysian Supergene Oil Palm Seedlings: https://www.nairaland.com/8190065/sowing-future-journey-1000-malaysian#131594024

The Decision to Venture into Greenhouse Farming
The idea to invest in greenhouse farming came from my observation of Nigeria's agricultural sector.
Agriculture remains a critical part of our economy, yet many farmers still rely on traditional open-field farming, which is vulnerable to weather fluctuations, pest infestations, and inconsistent crop yields. With greenhouse farming, I saw an opportunity to leverage controlled environments to optimize crop growth, especially for high-value crops like habanero peppers.

Initial Setup and Consultation
The first year I ventured into agriculture, I went into Plantain and cassava farming without consulting any professional so the project failed woefully. So these days I do a lot of research and I consult widely. Since greenhouse farming was a new venture for me, I knew that consulting an expert was critical to ensuring the project's success. So I turned to a greenhouse expert I met on Nairaland. After several discussions, I hired him to oversee the construction of the greenhouses and other necessary infrastructure on the farm.

The project plan included:
Setting up two greenhouses: One dedicated to habanero peppers (Habanero F1) and the other for bell peppers (Hercules F1 red and Abbey F1 yellow).

Constructing a water tank stand: This would support two large water tanks that were crucial for the irrigation system.
However, it wasn’t long before we encountered a significant setback.

Unfortunately, the tank stand collapsed on the very day we filled the tanks with water. It turned out that the contractor used inferior materials, specifically low-quality metal, for the structure. As a result, the tank stand could not support the weight of the filled tanks, leading to its collapse.

Damage and Financial Losses
When the tank stand collapsed, the two water tanks were severely damaged, leaving them unusable. This resulted in unexpected financial losses, as I had to buy two new water tanks.

Moreover, the entire tank stand had to be reconstructed from scratch but this time I used manual labour and I decided to use blocks and cement. 

The total damage and reconstruction costs included:
The cost of buying two new water tanks.
The expense of reconstructing the tank stand with stronger, more reliable materials—this time, I opted for a tank stand made from concrete blocks and cement instead of metal.

Lessons Learned from the Setback
While the setback with the water tank stand was a major hurdle, it also taught me several valuable lessons about managing a greenhouse farming project. As an entrepreneur, it’s essential to not only focus on the potential profits but also to be mindful of the process, quality of materials, and the people involved in the project. Also, I have found out that water tank stands made of block and cement are stronger than those made of metals. And it is cheaper as well. 

After completing the greenhouse construction, I decided to hire a farm manager/agronomist to help oversee the operations. I will never repeat the mistakes I made years ago when I planted cassava and other crops without proper supervision. So I found someone from UNIPORT who had the knowledge and skills I was looking for. Since he’s still a student at Uniport, he requested free furnished accommodation on the farm, along with cooking utensils, to make it convenient for him to manage the farm while continuing his studies.  

This is a pilot project so I am still learning and documenting the whole process. 

Phase 1: Seed Germination and Nursery
- Raised 1,000 seeds each of red and yellow bell peppers and habanero peppers- Germination occurred after 7 days- Nursery duration: 28 days before transplanting

Phase 2: Farm Preparation
- Cleared the farm
- Created ridges
- Installed irrigation system
- Opened holes for planting
- Applied manure and NPK 15.15.15 fertilizers

Phase 3: Transplanting and Greenhouse Setup
- Transplanted seedlings into two greenhouses:   
- Habanero F1   
- Bell Pepper (Hercules F1 red and Abbey F1 yellow)
- Set up:   
- Binding wire (upper and lower lines)   
- Staking rope

Feeding Pattern
- Week 1: Plain water
- Week 2: Nitrogen application
- Week 3: Calcium nitrate application
- Week 4: Potassium nitrate application

Conclusion
Greenhouses are a valuable tool for improving agricultural productivity in Nigeria, especially for crops like habanero peppers and bell peppers. By providing a controlled environment, greenhouses help farmers overcome the challenges of traditional farming, such as unpredictable weather and pests. The structured approach to farming, from seed germination to transplanting and feeding, ensures high yields and quality produce.

Most Nigerians do not know that the reason foodstuffs are expensive is because of insecurity in the North. Northern Nigeria is our food basket but sadly bandits and terrorists are attacking farmers on a daily basis. In some Northern states, farmers cannot access their farms without paying hefty ramson to bandits and there is no guarantee you will come back alive even after paying the ransom.
If the government can tackle insecurity, food prices will drop dramatically.

Please follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok and Instagram, our handle is @iykbethanyfarms on all social networks.

#iykbethanyfarms

iykbethany:
This was long time ago at the pineapple farm that failed due to lack of supervision.

https://iykbethanygistville.com/2020/09/10/farming-agriculture-in-nigeria-my-journey-so-far/

iykbethany:
.....

iykbethany:
I'm reaching out for advice from fellow farmers and agric experts. My healthy bell pepper plants have started to change color, shrink, and even die off. I'm not sure what's causing the problem.

Could it be due to heat, disease, pests, or something else? I'd greatly appreciate any guidance or suggestions on how to solve this problem. I'm not a happy man right now coz i was hoping to cash out this Christmas



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbj0SRaAGw4?si=K9HAtWd7ZFMiQx9c

iykbethany:
I'm reaching out for advice from fellow farmers and agric experts. My healthy bell pepper plants have started to change color, shrink, and even die off. I'm not sure what's causing the problem.

Could it be due to heat, disease, pests, or something else? I'd greatly appreciate any guidance or suggestions on how to solve this problem. I'm not a happy man right now coz i was hoping to cash out this Christmas



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbj0SRaAGw4?si=K9HAtWd7ZFMiQx9c

okoroemeka:
From experience I think hot peppers need to be pruned or topped once if you like from 30-50 days the growing tip will be pinched out and it will bring out more extra branches,this is usually enough,,even this will push back the maturity period by 2-3 weeks,if you continue to prune it like tomatoes you might end up with a crop that will take 200 days to mature,hot peppers are hardy and tougher than tomatoes by far and naturally when the crop starts out the Y branches in 60-70 days it will start flowering,this is when to switch foliar application to flower and friut booster with higher P and K than N,but to me the single most important step in pepper farm is the variety,if it is not resistant to viral diseases it is a waste of time

okoroemeka:
just the picture is enough for a farmer with 30 yrs experience,that seedlings is not more than 40 days old and the leaves are barely more than 30cm away from each other,it is ok if it is bell pepper due to their smaller non branching size,but for habanero,it will be a very tight spacing,I am just saying from experience,we are currently seeing such problems at a similar client farm in owerri,they followed goggle farm recommendation of 50cm by 60cm spacing it was a disaster

adonainana:
how did you construct ur irrigation system in particular which type of pipes the black ones you laid on the ground,

did you simply just pump a small hole on each sides of the pipe you laid on ground and when the pumping machine is on the water sprinkes out of it

im also planting peppers next year and i am getting a solar powered pumping machine to save money n fuel and the rest.

I plan of planting peppers on 6 plots of land,

Like someone said above, after nursery and if the plants are already flowering in the greenhouse, simply move them to an open field in numbers and use a shovel to create a hollow hole of making normal ridges

So from nursery -> greenhouse-> open field and just keep going like that until maybe ur pumping machine doesnt have enough strength to reach new fields again

And someone said the yield is 6 baskets per plot or so, it is criminal to be buying 5 pieces of pepper for 500 naira

Something has to be done

If you cant beat them join them

Minus labour costs and since i am using a solar powered pumping machine, I am not really incurring any major costs like that

so Before the actual rains start and bring mild and fungal infections, hopefully i would have cashed out too selling overpriced pepper for 70,000 naira per basket

okoroemeka:
there is a farm in imo state we supervised,they planted super habanero and red scorpion open field in batches on one hectare,last time I was there they harvested 30 bags from 4 plots of land by #60k a bag then,total #1.8m in one week from 4 plots,my brother I don't doubt this your story
The key in open field pepper farming is to start early( nursery Nov/Dec) before the constant rains of August will come and bring bacterial and fungal disease headache you have already cashed out big time,if you have source of water to irrigate

LillyandDaisy:
No, but planning of moving to Oshogbo