₦airaland Forum

idalex:
@ emmaodet
congratulations on the purchase of ur equipment
do u mind if I ask how much does it cost?

also kindly reply m dm

Okay, Have replied you

JuanDeDios:
So you mean the improved varieties may not produce well if planted manually? Can you explain a little?

Improved varieties will always outperform other varieties if all agronomic factors remain the same but most times this factors are beyond the control of the farmer

betabread:
If you are a beginner forget pepper, that's for expert , do cassava for 3 years before proceeding to corn

I agree sir, which is why I need guidance. Do you think with proper guidance and monitoring my pepper farming do well?

I need your help sir.

betabread:
Improved varieties will always outperform other varieties if all agronomic factors remain the same but most times this factors are beyond the control of the farmer

Yeah. But I'm interested in this manual planting vs planter you hinted at. Does it make a difference?

emmaodet:
Hmmmmm
Where is your farm?
Mine is at Kobape, 30 acres currently.
Planted maize and cassava but it has not been easy honestly.
Labourers are a big issue so am trying to reduce as much as possible the human contacts in my farm.
I just bought and importing a multi-implement from china and it will arrive next month.
It will plant, fertilize, spray at the same time reducing human factors.

I will be following your thread and we can share knowledge

Machines machines machines............... The problem with machines are
1.),are u ready for the headache of maintenance.... Don't go outside machines used outside ur locality so that u can easily get mechanic if it breaks down
2.), how are you going to operate this machines., personally I don't operate farm machines, so the machine has to be easy to operate and does not break down easily
3.), always remember that the standard will always be tractor drawn implements for machine operations else you compare with manual


I won't badmouth any implement or machine but as much as possible see that it brings more value to you than problems

The conditions on many farms are brutal many machines won't survive cycles of rain, sun and harsh Agro chemicals coupled with sendless workers.......

Try and let's see if it's useful, the machine will go viral

JuanDeDios:
Yeah. But I'm interested in this manual planting vs planter you hinted at. Does it make a difference?

For corn its still cheaper to plant with hands or manual planting till I encounter tractor operator with corn seed planter

The main disadvantage is that you get reduced population, while machine planting will give you in excess of 50,000 stands, manual planting will give you about 16,000 to 18,000 stands per hectare, you compensate for this by leaving 2 seeds per stand to get about 33,000 plant population

Large scale farming requires huge investment in security... especially when there is no formidable fence/barrier for encroachment control.

A well secured & strategically placed sentry tower(s) with a 360 pan camera is a good start in securing the farm.

I pray all farmers have a productive farming season, e no easy at all.

0neal:
Large scale farming requires huge investment in security... especially when there is no formidable fence/barrier for encroachment control.

A well secured & strategically placed sentry tower(s) with a 360 pan camera is a good start in securing the farm.

I pray all farmers have a productive farming season, e no easy at all.

Its a waste of money building walls or fence to secure a farm...... Security on large farms should be around low bulk high value goods such as diesel, fuels and machine parts..... It's better to use natural geographical features like streams or virgin forest to show demacation

betabread:
Its a waste of money building walls or fence to secure a farm...... Security on large farms should be around low bulk high value goods such as diesel, fuels and machine parts..... It's better to use natural geographical features like streams or virgin forest to show demacation

I went to a huge farm at Jege Kogi state with a drone pilot sometime last year, to do a farm mapping Job with a DJI Mavic 2 drone.

The entrance is fenced with a gate, although the fence is just shoulder high.

Hills at the back provide the demarcation, they still had theft challenges.

You can't farm in Nigeria without theft challenges, understand the crop and give thieves work to do......

If drone technology can carry loads of 16liters of water I will use them mainly for fungicide spraying when I grow corn at high population

The learning process in crop production is slow generally 1,year......... Imagine coming to realization that you should have planted in April and not May or March.......... The solution to this problem will only be corrected in the next crop cycle and that will be next year, For the mean time now the farmer must bear the loss

This is where local extension comes into play, yearly farmers in Nigeria run into losses because of this

Many times a would be farmer seeking information goes to the internet and would only get guides tailored to other regions and climate...... Though better than nothing it hinders production greatly as they don't take into account local technology and knowhow

Bulk of the times the true farmers are left on their own in economic misery...... Those that have figured a way out will charge you premiums to get info from them

If you plant corn learn to never burn your field instead plough in the residue on the field and plant........
Though a burnt field looks neat and nice you have vaporized all the sulphate and nitrate, you will mainly notice this with weak stalks, your corn finds it hard to get up after rainfall with heavy winds.......
Its remedied easily with fertilizer that contains Sulphur like Golden 15 15 15 with sulphur

Well done betabread and more grease to your elbows.

If you know the actual state of things, you won't waste your resources in farm production not to talk of 6 month gestation crops.

Economically it's just not worth it. Farming is so much risk for little reward and this is due to multiple factors.

The blue ocean strategy remains valid here. You are competing with 70% of Nigeria's workforce and you expect farming not to be supply driven when anybody can throw seeds in the ground expect it to grow?

Let's not talk about the kangaroo policies or unethical nature of most Nigerians.

Those making it in Agric today are the tradesmen and the processors. Look around you, top Agric players in Nigeria only do contract farming or delve into other stages of the value chain. Not production.There's a solid reason for that.

Even in the EU and US, farmers are heavily supported by the govt or simultaneous high income businesses they go belly up.

Anyways, I wish you good luck and more perseverance.

laivwire:
Well done betabread and more grease to your elbows.

If you know the actual state of things, you won't waste your resources in farm production not to talk of 6 month gestation crops.

Economically it's just not worth it. Farming is so much risk for little reward and this is due to multiple factors.

The blue ocean strategy remains valid here. You are competing with 70% of Nigeria's workforce and you expect farming not to be supply driven when anybody can throw seeds in the ground expect it to grow?

Let's not talk about the kangaroo policies or unethical nature of most Nigerians.

Those making it in Agric today are the tradesmen and the processors. Look around you, top Agric players in Nigeria only do contract farming or delve into other stages of the value chain. Not production.There's a solid reason for that.

Even in the EU and US, farmers are heavily supported by the govt or simultaneous high income businesses they go belly up.

Anyways, I wish you good luck and more perseverance.

My dear there is a way, It involves sharing the load and also profit....and also keeping to our words

Inspite of the state of things, for 3 consecutive years I and my partner were the only ones known to produce fresh corn in the months of January February March in my comnunity.........

Though profits were not fantastic, I could smell the potential....... The knowledge is out there, the tools are out there, so also the means

If one keeps living in the realm of "I", you won't be able to pull it off, There is way too much for one person to understand, you are not a magician

Let's keep trodhing along

For lack of better words to choose from, I had to call this thread "philosophy of............."

I know the problem is not agronomy, irrigation, Finance

The biggest problem is that can a group of farmers come together for the advancement of their trade.........

I repeat myself again..... Pls understand the rainfall pattern in your locality, even if you are irrigating and center your decisions around this pattern

Understand your crop water needs and understand the critical time water deficit will affect your crop the most

We Africans should understand "knowledge" and the nature of Knowledge........ Its on record that 95% of the lands expropriated from White Farmers and given to Black Farmers have failed...... A particularly distressing fact is the story of a 3000acre Citrus farm known for export and supply to Shop-rite was expropriated from the owners and given to Black farmers......... The Citrus trees were all chopped up and sold as firewood after 3 years.............

Its not only agronomy, there are financial problems, marketing and more.....

We worry too much about ownership of land especially when the land has been put into productive use.........

There are many opportunities for large scale Agro business, but we have to change our mindset

Can anybody link me to sweet corn offtakers that can take 40,000 to 50,000 pieces at a go............

I will love to produce on contract for such off taker

Men, this year mad o

Fresh corn now 10,000 per bag.......The threat to go as low as 5000 a bag is there

Seems high food prices last year forced people into cultivation

I still remember my secondary school days when my teachers were teaching Economics.....................

Secondary School Economics have layed out the problems of all farmers in Nigeria....You see it play out from starting your farm to selling your produce....The subject discusses how everyone in the agricultural produce chain behaves......

If you are new to agriculture, first forget agriculture because it only discusses yield not the farmers take home....... Start with Economics before moving into agric

In most places I've farmed on in the south west, I found out I farm basically on laterite mixed with organic matter depending on how long that land has been cultivated............
Most cases of woe in Crop production stems from not understanding laterite and how to deal with this soil, Under stand laterite and you suddenly look like a magician........
Laterite or Lateritic soil in Conjunction with rain Governs What you must spend your capital on for maximum agro output

Good Agronomic Practices means very hard work on the farm and this would dictate every operations on the farm.....

Before following Good Agronomic Practices ask your self what equipment would I be using. If your operators would be using simple hand tools like hoes and cutlass and simple spraying equipment please center your farming techniques to the consequences of this tools

Modern Agricultural literature makes the assumptions that you have lots of labor saving machinery like tractors, planters , rotovators, boom sprayers but we all know that is not the case in Nigeria....... Most seasoned farmers in Nigeria don't even understand machines

Let's take for example corn spacing 75*25.........

If you follow this rule blindly, you would work hard like an elephant and eat like an ant if you use simple hand tools

You would have to employ a lot of labor manhours just for planting.

Now imagine how can you accomplish basal fertilization with this.......someone might say use the manual push corn planter which I would reply how durable is it, trust me you don't want to be servicing equipment in the middle of important farm operations

Also 75*25 forces you to use fungicides, the most effective way to apply fungicides are with power sprayers.fungicides are most effective when the applying equipment nozzle is overhead the plant, ask yourself, do you have a power sprayer for starters before even talking of boom sprayers...... If na that hand sprayer all of us are accustomed to Ogami forget am o, you won't notice yield gain from fungicide application as effective coverage on plant to notice their effect can never be achieved

Still on good Agronomic Practices let's talk about fertilizers

1. Applying urea without burying it is waste of money.. Heavy rainfall will just wash ur money("fertilizer") away

2. SSP or dap that is top dressed is waste of money too as you won't see its effect to the maximum, but buried in the soil you will see wonders

Good Agronomic practices are difficult to achieve especially when you don't monitor your farm during their operations

@emmaodet pls how do i contact you, i have something to discuss my WhatsApp is 09166551300