₦airaland Forum

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TangoAlpha:
Maybe you should mention the 'other strategy' you have in mind. I might just just have tried them already.

You already stated the other strategis in your post, "One way to achieve relative success with the siren is to vary the type and pattern of noise coming from it. And not to make it continuous.

Scarecrows are the easiest for the birds to get used to. The birds are so 21st century.

The inflatable human effigy that you find at children's parties will probably work better than motionless scarecrows. Combining this with irregular high pitch noise can have relative success...provided the population of the birds in your locality is minimal."

dragon2:
Hmm,what a tragic loss.I would suggest you do not expand on rice yet but rather shrink the land size till you have mastered the art of rice farming. Grow other crops you are sure of,while experimenting with rice so as to maintain some degree of financial strength.(Unless of course, you have serious financial muscle)
On the issue of birds,a few scarecrows combined with a wailing siren may work.

Just my 2 kobo.

Thanks for the insight. This I guess is the cheapest of the options available in combination with other strategy.

Thanks greatly

doyinbaby:
Rice farming difficult.,..,,no wonder alot of people are into cassava farming,,,..rice is for those that have alot of money to invest

it's not really about the problems associated with rice farming, but about our perpetual mind sets. *it cant work here*. This ineptitude led Nigerian to export all their jobs and import all manners of poverty. On the financial aspect based on my findings, rice is worth more than cassava from all indications. But of course, you will do the needfuls

TangoAlpha:
To answer your question directly; the drone will not need to be flown 24/7. The birds attack during the day only. So you only fly during the day. Do you fly all through the day? No. But you may need to fly for most of the day.

Let me break this down a bit more.

Quelea quelea attacks are greatest in the early mornings and early evenings. But they generally attack through the day.

When you use a drone, it's motion and noise drives the birds. If the farm is not so big....the drone can travel back and forth in a few seconds and will leave the birds no respite. The theory is that if you frustrate them so much they will take a break for upto 30-45minutes. If the drone activity continues, and the birds upon returning realise that they still don't have the opportunity to feed on your rice, Thier frustration increases. If you sustain this back to back. You are very likely going to make the birds migrate from the area.

There is a potential problem though. Many drones that qualify for this task have limited battery life. Typically battery life's are about 10-30 minutes. So you may need to have a number of spare batteries to be able to fly the drone footage hours.

The other challenge is if the area you need to fly the drone over is too large (my rice was on about 50 acres, and I had only one drone); the birds will feast on the rice before the drone gets to them and they will fly to other parts of the rice farm once the drone gets to them. Before the drone gets to the new spot, the birds would have done more damage...on and on..

So get as many spare batteries as you can. And plan the number of drones to match the size of you farm.

I used the DJI Mavic Pro. Unfortunately, it didn't help much. The size of the farm and the population of the birds overwhelmed it. I reckon that of I had 5-10 of that drone I may not have a list a single grain to the birds.

Thanks for sharing. This is worth reading.

TangoAlpha:
To answer your question directly; the drone will not need to be flown 24/7. The birds attack during the day only. So you only fly during the day. Do you fly all through the day? No. But you may need to fly for most of the day.

Let me break this down a bit more.

Quelea quelea attacks are greatest in the early mornings and early evenings. But they generally attack through the day.

When you use a drone, it's motion and noise drives the birds. If the farm is not so big....the drone can travel back and forth in a few seconds and will leave the birds no respite. The theory is that if you frustrate them so much they will take a break for upto 30-45minutes. If the drone activity continues, and the birds upon returning realise that they still don't have the opportunity to feed on your rice, Thier frustration increases. If you sustain this back to back. You are very likely going to make the birds migrate from the area.

There is a potential problem though. Many drones that qualify for this task have limited battery life. Typically battery life's are about 10-30 minutes. So you may need to have a number of spare batteries to be able to fly the drone footage hours.

The other challenge is if the area you need to fly the drone over is too large (my rice was on about 50 acres, and I had only one drone); the birds will feast on the rice before the drone gets to them and they will fly to other parts of the rice farm once the drone gets to them. Before the drone gets to the new spot, the birds would have done more damage...on and on..

So get as many spare batteries as you can. And plan the number of drones to match the size of you farm.

I used the DJI Mavic Pro. Unfortunately, it didn't help much. The size of the farm and the population of the birds overwhelmed it. I reckon that of I had 5-10 of that drone I may not have a list a single grain to the birds.

Thanks for sharing. Worth the read. My next field report will certainly be enriched.

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EMMAACHILE:
In Lokoja, we lost a 2 hectare rice field in the late 90s to quela birds without harvesting a single seed.
The key here is to plant at a particular time and the locals know this. They tell you when to plant and target harvest at a time when the birds will not be available but foraging for ants around the river Niger.

I think I have heard something like that too. But really that's not sustainable. I just wanted a more reliable thing. Perhaps I needed to invest more heavily on something that can let me grow all year round and anytime too. This thing must be pursued to a logical conclusion. I wish to be selling my home grown rice across the 36 states of Nigeria.

TangoAlpha:
I made an attempt at Ofada rice farming this year as well. The birds ravaged the farm. I lost, probably more than 90% of the harvest to the birds. They are called Quelea quelea. They are a most destructive species of birds. They should never be underestimated. They are estimated to be about 1.5-2 billion in population globally; and probably 98% of that population is in Africa.

This was partly why I asked you if you have an estimate of the population that came to your farm.

I attempted a number of options.

1) Bird tapes
2) Laser generating torch
3) Drone
4) Chiili-Vinegar solution
4) Avicide from Jubailli
5) Avicide imported from the US
6) Manual scaring

I can give you details of the outcomes of each of these options. But let me fast forward to what I think might deliver better results:

1) Bird netting. This option is very expensive and may not be economically viable if the market value of the rice is low. Ofada is pricier than regular rice; so there is prospect for bird netting to be viable. From my little research however, there are no high yielding Ofada variety yet; so the viability of the netting option might be questioned.Further investigation needed.

2) I am aware (from newspaper reports) that the Nigerian Federal government (and some state governments in the north) assist rice farmers by deploying aerial spraying of rice farms with avicides to combat the Quelea quelea. Millions of the destructive birds are killed this way. This is probably why rice farmers from the northern are able to record better rice harvests. i am not aware of any such initiatives for rice farmers down south. (https://www.pressreader.com/nigeria/the-guardian-nigeria/20170528/282162176175888)

3) The use of juju. Many Ofada rice farmers believe that they can control these birds using juju. I have engaged many of them, directly and indirectly, and they all seem confident of the efficacyof the option. for the record, I do not share their belief. And even if they were to demonstrate that they are right, I still would not adopt this method. But then, I still have to mention it.

4) Drones should work if the number of drones is adequate for the size of the farm.

I think I understand better now. So it's not even a localized problem as a thought. Hmn. I will research these options again

TangoAlpha:
Can you please share more details on the success of the methods you used in the bird control? Can you estimate the population of the birds that attacked your rice? What additional methods, if any, are you considering going forward?

I'm here too to look for efficient system to be deployed for larger fields

gabe:
Allah sarki!!!

amin. Lessons have been learnt anyway.

Atlanticfire:
This your maths is looking somehow.

you said 700 Naira per kg of rice, That will make 50Kg of rice to be 35,000 naira.
Is rice that expensive or am I missing something?

Anyway, One thing I have learnt in Agriculture is that you should not depend on nature if you want to be a successful farmer.
Plan for irrigation, plan for disease management and plan for Pest management and remember to classify Fulani herdsmen as pests and plan for them.

Just 3 strands of barbed wire perimeter fence would have gone a long way in keeping the herdsmen away from your farm.

Anyway you have learnt some lessons, but you would have saved yourself some heartache if you have decided to understudy some folks already involved in rice farming. At least you will know that birds attack rice when the seed is still fluid.

It is nice to see educated folks like you going into farming. Kudos

On rice farming, I am still a theoritical farmer, so it is quite easy for me to advice

Next year I hope to plant 2 hectares of rice at the beggining of the raining season.

Maybe I will learn from your mistakes and plan to avoid them

Dear friend. I am very sure that you are unaware that the Ofada rice delicacy is a sought after in any social event in the South West regions of Nigeria. However, it will interest you to note that N700/Kg is even cheap for destoned ofada rice.

To the calculations that I interest you, this prices and calculations are not based on selling ordinary paddy, but processed and fully destoned rice. That tells you I'm thinking value addition already. My market surveys already tells me the market is waiting!

These piece is only for those who give thoughts. Not some ponzi schemes.

eddyline:
isn't it possible to get small size for my backyard farm?

call me. Let's talk . There is something for the backyard farmer.

happybrother:
Brother, take heart and forge ahead with renewed strategy and knowledge.

I'm restrategizing greatly. Only a few of my strategies can I disclose. But there is lots of money out there ready to be made.

kagari:
Bro you already on your way to the top, with your level of zeal and determination

thanks. My maths about rice farming is solid. I know I've got to think out of the box. Moreso. There is so much money to be made.

Order now

My New strategy for Higher success.

1. 12 acres rice field coming next.
2. Irrigation scheme
3. Mechanised farm

An adapted home made parboiling chamber.

Birds .. Birds. .

You have done this damage!
You let my 1 million naira harvest slip away.
Great damages while you hold sway.
Nonetheless, I'm coming for yall with greater damages!

I can't but return.
The harvest is massive.
The spent energy is massive.
Rice farming- a better investment returns

4. Birds.

They finished the rice. I was targeting to prevent theor invasion after the grains have formed. Unknown to me that they actually had started the damage long before I thought.

I later realized that the bird suck the juice / fluid that later solidify to make the rice grain. This became evident when I noticed that after processing, the quantity of chaff was enormous.

Once I did the floatation test, large volume of the chaff were floating. Then I realized the hard way that I had been "taken on a long ride".


How do you keep birds away from your fields?



I tried the old cassette method. .

I tried the scarecrow..

3. None availability of rice thresher:

Whence it was time to thresh. We drove tractor over the heaps on a tarpaulin. .right there in the field. The essence was to serve as a thresher. The next day, 3 labourers were employed to come separate the rice from the chaff.


Pretty easy but a great damage had been done to the rice paddy. The labourers literarily threw away the rice by not shaking it off properly.

2. Inconsistent rainfall pattern

By virtue of experience and skill, I know when to plant certain crops in my localty and irrespective of the patterns of rainfall, my crops MUST RIPEN and produce. (Maize, soyabean and okra). Rice was different. With the date I planted, I felt it will work. I rather realized later that the inconsistent rainfall pattern at this period of global warming affected the development of the rice field.

However, a simple comparison of planting dates and rainfall pattern plus slight modifications will set it right during the next planting season.

1. Cattle herdsmen:

The rice farming was impressive from start to finish. It was moral boosting each time I visited. Then the cattle guys came and consumed a fairly large portion of the field. With no trace.

Yes. There were suspects but no concrete evidence to nail them. I just had to let it go. They Fed their cows on part of the rice field to their satisfaction.

Some new lessons have been learnt.

Albeit these challenges. I have come to realize that Oyo State ( Igboora & environs) actually have the comparative advantage to grow rice in commercial scale. This will be a game changer in this period of ousterity.

Nigeria can feed itself. We do not have any business importing foods. Where did we get it wrong??

Full grown

On farm visit

5 major challenges came up which contributed to the present situations.

1. Cattle herdsmen
2. Inconsistent rainfall pattern
3. None availability of rice thresher
4. Birds
5. Unpreparedness

Growing up