The Dark Side of Farming:

As much as we encourage young people into farming, come armed with knowledge, it is not MMM, Ultimate cycler, a get rich quick scheme.

Farming is a good venture and can multiply your investments a thousand fold. However, it can also go bad, real quick.

Social media is full of stories of success in farming. Others are not farmers but will pose on farms to chase clout. Lol Farming is not rosy.

The risks in farming include:
Diseases, market flooding, high costs against low yields and ever changing climate.
Although we have successful stories, few negatives are posted. The pursuit for feeling successful and showing off on social media overshadows the daily failures.

Whenever losses strike, it is the very point at which we differentiate real farmers and "wannabe" farmers.
A real farmer will endure the risks, learn from them, pick up pieces and replan while staying focused on the goal. "Wannabe" farmer will abandon farming altogether.

Many farmers are quiet on the problems they face in farming. Success stories are good. But let us also show the newcomers what awaits them. Farming is set to create more jobs in #PostCovid19 due to ongoing layoffs.
However, if you don't have the 9 lives of a cat, think twice.

All crops and livestocks have their challenges. However, I wont bore you with details per crop and livestock. Let me shed light on a few selected ones. If I don't mention what you want to farm, don't think you are safe. Shock still awaits you. So come prepared.

Poultry Farming:
This is an interesting option. I know of someone who reared 2000 broilers, lost up to 1500 heads in a butch of 2000. Reared 500 layers but wasn't keen. At 7 months, only 126 were laying!! Remember, feeds for layers are the most expensive. A mere change in feeding program can cost you. Farmers buy day old chicks and by day 5, they have zero. All Dead!
One sick chicken in a flock can wipe out everything. You will get stuck with mature dying chickens with no buyer.

Maize Farming :

Here, timing is good if you need to fetch good profits. Seed companies selling fake seeds are the first frustration. You will plant seeds that wont germinate. If they do, they underperform. The bags mentioned as yield in those packages are a myth. They don't yield. A friend planted maize in 2019 with good timing. He could count the maize that germinated! He slashed everything and planted pumpkins!
If you get credible seeds, fake fertilizers await you. He bought 8 bags of NPK. After applying, one month later over 50% was still solid! Sand!!

Some unscrupulous sellers mix fertilizers with sand and repackage.
Some fertilizers starts dissolving into liquid few hours after you open. You store the opened sack only to find everything liquid and gone! You cant use that. It's your bill.

If you get good seeds and fertilizers, striga weed strikes!! Striga weed is a menace in maize farming. It can reduce your yield up to 80% if it attacks the whole farm.

Tomatoes Farming:

Don't be fooled by the red pictures of bumper harvests. Tomatoes can give you stroke.
This is a crop that is highly prone to various attacks. Viral, fungal and bacterial diseases that once they enter, no exiting. You will spend weeks spraying chemicals. Losses will be on your list. Any slight mistake ruins your harvest. Diseases attack at fruiting. This is also one crop that floods the market and price per kg can reduce by 80% in a flash. You will be stuck with crates upon crates of your bumper harvest and no interested buyer.

Cattle Farming

This is one area that is full of losses. Cattle feeding is one part that you will always complain about. Cows are gluttons. Some though high milk producers, they feed 24/7. Feeding machines. Labour intensive. You may Always get into issues with employees
Milk prices only favour milk processing companies. Farmers are just a conveyor belt in the grant scheme. You will also pour milk for lack of market due to excess supply. Interesting? Wait.
The milk cows are also very vulnerable to diseases. You need a standby vet on call. That thing can show signs of sickness in the evening and by morning its dead!
Then comes delivery complications. Most overfeed and the calf overgrows in the womb. Normal delivery becomes hard.

Floods can wreck havoc in your farm. You will get to the field and find all your precious plants that were glowing few hours ago swept away. Some find this and die of stroke or commit suicide. Water logging is also a serious issue. Increases soil acidity, reduce fertility.

Crops get stunted. Drainage is inevitable in farming. Ensure your farm has enough drainage if you are located in areas receiving heavy rains.
Live stock structures in such heavy rain areas need to be well built. Storms can kill your livestock. Check wind direction when constructing.
If you are keen on livestock, be keen on worms. Worms kill and cause stunted growth. Pigs, goats, chicken and cattle are the most vulnerable to worms. Most worms have a secondary parasite that is more lethal than the worm itself.

Market and Flooding :

Market for farm produce is a challenge to many farmers. This can send you parking on your first trial. Many farmers complain of absence of markets after harvesting. Understand your market. If you are not sure of the market don't farm. Market your produce. Farming is an investment like any formal business. Start marketing your produce even before you see it. Get contacts. Be careful with brokers. They are barriers to accessing markets but are also the key to getting your trusted customers. Don't harvest if you don't want brokers.

While using any chemicals be careful. A neighbour didn't read and follow instructions while spraying army worms on maize. He lost 4 acres. Everything burnt down. If you are spraying foliar, be keen. Too much of it burns the leaves. Some crops like melons require specific sprays.

Dry your produce well and use recommended preservatives if storing for long. Weevils are a menace in cereals. You can lose them 100%.

A real farmer must develop thick skin.
Many examples are out there of farmers encountering 100% losses or more.
Farming is not for the fainthearted get rich quick "wannabes".

What are your personal experiences and perhaps how you are managing?
Welcome for the discussion. Your candid contribution is highly valued. #copied

Credit: K. Senior(Mr)

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kilode... na battle ni

OP, kudos to you for the above right up. When people hear farming they start dreaming of big returns. The challenges are big especially here where you don't get any form of assistance from anywhere, you have to source for everything yourself. This is my second year and yet to break even hoping for a better tomorrow.

Lalasticlala


Let's move this to front page

Everything here could happen.

However starting small can encourage good harvest.

God is with us

bjt:
OP, kudos to you for the above right up. When people hear farming they start dreaming of big returns. The challenges are big especially here where you don't get any form of assistance from anywhere, you have to source for everything yourself. This is my second year and yet to break even hoping for a better tomorrow.

I have been farming exotics in Nigeria for more than several years only this year looks like there is a little help

Maize farming this year something else. Those of us that ventured into early planting got one of the greatest shock of our life.
The rain break caught us unaware...

Maize with stunted growth with flowers. Infact!
When check the internet for agric info. I see so many unrealistic calculations and profits, I go just laugh!

Op is right in this Wright up but my advice for the wannabe farmer is to start from small, divide your investment capital into 2 or 3 places and invest in other things rather than focusing on only one aspect as this will show you the best place to but more capital.

OP you are spot on

MrFarmer:
Maize farming this year something else. Those of us that ventured into early planting got one of the greatest shock of our life.
The rain break caught us unaware...

Maize with stunted growth with flowers. Infact!
When check the internet for agric info. I see so many unrealistic calculations and profits, I go just laugh!

witnessed it first hand in Info state

Nezzjnr:
OP you are spot on

MrFarmer:
Maize farming this year something else. Those of us that ventured into early planting got one of the greatest shock of our life.
The rain break caught us unaware...

Maize with stunted growth with flowers. Infact!
When check the internet for agric info. I see so many unrealistic calculations and profits, I go just laugh!

see. companies will tell you eight tons per acre



Let me don't start with our experience with a popular company, they said three tons of tomatoes per acre

Anytime you see people telling you to come buy seedling, Plantian sucker, seed with various picture use google picture search on the beautiful picture they used you will discover 99% that such picture are not theirs they just copy and paste it, to sell you their products they will not tell you the tough challenges that is there. Crop failure due to adverse weather, First rain in south west do come by February 15th yearly but this year rain refused to come and most young tree crops get burnt. When you are planting you are doing it against nature that has tools of Insect, weather, disease and weed, even men at times are natural disaster have you gotten to your farm to harvest plantain and they have harvested your farm products. Farming is tough.

benzion72:
Anytime you see people telling you to come buy seedling, Plantian sucker, seed with various picture use google picture search on the beautiful picture they used you will discover 99% that such picture are not theirs they just copy and paste it, to sell you their products they will not tell you the tough challenges that is there. Crop failure due to adverse weather, First rain in south west do come by February 15th yearly but this year rain refused to come and most young tree crops get burnt. When you are planting you are doing it against nature that has tools of Insect, weather, disease and weed, even men at times are natural disaster have you gotten to your farm to harvest plantain and they have harvested your farm products. Farming is tough.

But we must not forget that nothing that is good comes easy the holy writ say of your sweat you will eat bread and thorn and thistle shall grow for you there is no short cut to that, while i love the toughness is that it task you to create solution to problems, not like office work where you follow a laid down procedure and where you must not deviate and any deviation bring sanction, if you do that for long your world view will be very narrow and by the time you are let go due to low productivity or you are adding to much cost to the balance sheet, it become tougher to start again. And most time you dont have enough capital to start the kind of work you have done your whole life.

A farmer on a plough is better than a gentle man on his kneel, we farmers are the only independent Nigeria there is no culture without Agriculture, we also employ labour and help the government, if you dont leave Agriculture you will definitely break even and go ahead to make it big but it is not a day job and not a get rich quick business. That is why I laugh when I see invest 100k and get 150k in six months in crowdfunding . Ask poultry farmers what they age going through due to Egg glut now and chicken must eat. There are also those who on paper will tell you buy 1000 sucker plant it, get 1000 bunches and sell at 700 per bunch and get 700k just like that, no germination percentage, no loss to monkey and theft.

May God bless all our hustle

benzion72:
But we must not forget that nothing that is good comes easy the holy writ say of your sweat you will eat bread and thorn and thistle shall grow for you there is no short cut to that, while i love the toughness is that it task you to create solution to problems, not like office work where you follow a laid down procedure and where you must not deviate and any deviation bring sanction, if you do that for long your world view will be very narrow and by the time you are let go due to low productivity or you are adding to much cost to the balance sheet, it become tougher to start again. And most time you dont have enough capital to start the kind of work you have done your whole life.

A farmer on a plough is better than a gentle man on his kneel, we farmers are the only independent Nigeria there is no culture without Agriculture, we also employ labour and help the government, if you dont leave Agriculture you will definitely break even and go ahead to make it big but it is not a day job and not a get rich quick business. That is why I laugh when I see invest 100k and get 150k in six months in crowdfunding . Ask poultry farmers what they age going through due to Egg glut now and chicken must eat. There are also those who on paper will tell you buy 1000 sucker plant it, get 1000 bunches and sell at 700 per bunch and get 700k just like that, no germination percentage, no loss to monkey and theft.

May God bless all our hustle

So many "on paper farmers" so many "online farmers". Making farming look like it is a Ponzi scheme.

MrFarmer:


So many "on paper farmers" so many "online farmers". Making farming look like it is a Ponzi scheme.

true talk

MrFarmer:


So many "on paper farmers" so many "online farmers". Making farming look like it is a Ponzi scheme.

You're correct

Nezzjnr:

You're correct

so many blogger claiming farmers, someone called me from this forum about cucumber farming, he read it from here tried it and failed, I told him always get live training from practical farmers first.

Onlinefarmstore:


so many blogger claiming farmers, someone called me from this forum about cucumber farming, he read it from here tried it and failed, I told him always get live training from practical farmers first.

So sad.

I guess he listened to the 3 million naira in 3 months crew

Nezzjnr:

So sad.

I guess he listened to the 3 million naira in 3 months crew

the funny thing was that I wanted teaching him free, but the free money mentality didn't allow him, till I told him that I am actually a paid consultant bros jakpa

Onlinefarmstore:



the funny thing was that I wanted teaching him free, but the free money mentality didn't allow him, till I told him that I am actually a paid consultant bros jakpa

With the gibberish he has seen on blogs... He felt he has acquired all knowledge

Is he still farming??

Nezzjnr:

With the gibberish he has seen on blogs... He felt he has acquired all knowledge

Is he still farming??

he has gone back to business, he came one day and was telling me I should give him quotation for greenhouse, I just quickly told him I will consult for him (paid) before I write one fiam

Onlinefarmstore:



he has gone back to business, he came one day and was telling me I should give him quotation for greenhouse, I just quickly told him I will consult for him (paid) before I write one fiam

Ahhhh

Greenhouse??

What is he into

Onlinefarmstore:



the funny thing was that I wanted teaching him free, but the free money mentality didn't allow him, till I told him that I am actually a paid consultant bros jakpa

If he is on Nairaland, then he hasn't been searching the right places on Nairaland. Let him search for cucumber threads here, with the information gained there, he will be able to farm successfully. Whenever any issue pops up, he can always run back to the thread and ask questions, and be sure to get solutions from seasoned cucumber farmers.

If one knows where to search, Nairaland is a rich source of knowledge for intending fish, vegetables, poultry, pig and even snail farmers. There are even ongoing threads on pawpaw and moringa farming.

Rather than paying individuals who'll mentor from afar, he can make the payment in form of data and time spent reading through Nairaland and learning from more than one professional. (I'm not saying it's wrong to use consultants)

Surely, mistakes will be made (it's inevitable whether you pay consultants or learn from a pool of seasoned farmers on Nairaland) but it's part of the learning process and one comes out stronger.

Yampotatocarrot:


If he is on Nairaland, then he hasn't been searching the right places on Nairaland. Let him search for cucumber threads here, with the information gained there, he will be able to farm successfully. Whenever any issue pops up, he can always run back to the thread and ask questions, and be sure to get solutions from seasoned cucumber farmers.

If one knows where to search, Nairaland is a rich source of knowledge for intending fish, vegetables, poultry, pig and even snail farmers. There are even ongoing threads on pawpaw and moringa farming.

Rather than paying individuals who'll mentor from afar, he can make the payment in form of data and time spent reading through Nairaland and learning from more than one professional. (I'm not saying it's wrong to use consultants)

Surely, mistakes will be made (it's inevitable whether you pay consultants or learn from a pool of seasoned farmers on Nairaland) but it's part of the learning process and one comes out stronger.

Bros am not saying you are wrong, but just know that farming is not audio, there is a price to pay, and the higher the price the more the results, for example while farming is not an open. source something, you can't tell me write my years of experience in farming grapes raspberries and strawberries in just fifty lines, there is a big difference between internet and practical

You forgot 1 important issue, Theft and bandits

Real farmers know that real problems come with farming.

Diseases, herdsmen damage, thieves who harvest your plantain at night and terrible weather all combine to make rubbish of your investment.

Then you have the brokers, some want to sell you rubbish farm inputs, others want to buy your produce for peanuts

gwales:
You forgot 1 important issue, Theft and bandits

Thanks boss.... Do you know i have experienced it severally

op have just been laughing over and over again since I read your post, your use of stroke, heart attack etc is Savage.. you might sound harsh but all what you have said is the pure Truth... we need more truth in this agricultural section, not 3million in 3 months crew....

Onlinefarmstore:


Bros am not saying you are wrong, but just know that farming is not audio, there is a price to pay, and the higher the price the more the results, for example while farming is not an open. source something, you can't tell me write my years of experience in farming grapes raspberries and strawberries in just fifty lines, there is a big difference between internet and practical

your so right even if the whole nairaland is downloaded into a person's head and his told to go farm, practical still supercedes

willybaby:
op have just been laughing over and over again since I read your post, your use of stroke, heart attack etc is Savage.. you might sound harsh but all what you have said is the pure Truth... we need more truth in this agricultural section, not 3million in 3 months crew....

need to drive home a point

willybaby:
your so right even if the whole nairaland is downloaded into a person's head and his told to go farm, practical still supercedes

abi, that why in school we have theory classes and practical classes