₦airaland Forum

The year is coming to an end. So many people died, and God has spared our lives to see this day. Let us not dishonour Him by getting into silly fights that will get us all nowhere.

I want to urge Legsupnigeria and Jethro2 to stop this madness they are trying to engage in before someone gets hurt. None of us is better than those who have left this world in 2014. Let us end the year in peace. Please.

jasper7:
are you a farmer? if yes, how much good did all thise agencies you mentioned do for you. share your experience

I have planted cassava, sugarcane, vegetables like waterleaf, scent leaf used in peppersoup, pears (both avocado and native pear), plantain, beans and yams, etc. My plantain trees are still standing today. The palm trees became way too tall and had to be cut down to make way for new ones, having been planted in 1988. The plantain farm was started in 1987. In my mother's village I have up to 1 hectare which I bought for agricultural use, since my dad's people are too fetish and have tried to have me killed severally.

I have planted coconuts and orange trees there. These were started 10 years ago.

I do not know how old you were as at 1980 when I first handled a pickaxe and hoe to farm on one plot of land allocated to me by my school for all students of agricultural science. That was the way we learnt agric science in those days: practically, and not by theory. The day of marking, your parents would be invited to come and see where their school fees money was going. You dared not disgrace your parents in front of other parents because everyone, the whole school, would be at the field then. I have also farmed pineapples strictly for domestic use, with a species which were given to me by an Eritrean Professor of Agriculture who was on exile as at then because Mengistu Haile Mariam's government had a bounty on his head. I am sure history students will know how this man slaughtered Eritreans in their thousands before the UN gave them their own country. I was too young then so I cannot remember the name of this man or the species of pineapples.

I answer you this way because I see the sarcasm in your question, and I will not dwell much on it because trying to convince you the cucumber farmer about it is a waste of time. So I will go to the main point on this thread: mistakes we have all made.

Yes, there was a mistake I made when I did the plantains. I had never heard of black sigatoka virus, which entered Nigeria in 1986. It nearly devastated the plantation, but somehow, we recovered. Had to burn the entire plants and get new ones. I also have to mention that I nearly lost the first fruits to villagers by allowing them to ripen on trees. They would just come at night and cut them down. So I had to make myself a clean cutlass which I would use to mount vigils in the place some evenings and nights, but stopped when I noticed snakes around the place. Eventually, I started to cut them when mature, without allowing them to ripen on the tree.

Now to answer your sarcastic question: IITA gave me a lot of help in my cassava research. I even have a book on the commodity markets for cassava products in Nigeria. That publication is not available anywhere on the open market. Nasarawa state ADP gave me a video documentary on application of herbicides for weed control. I have got quotes for cassava processing machines from PRODA in Enugu.

The way you approach these organizations will determine how they give you what you need. I will not say more.

Who still listens to this fool who I heard on NTA in 1992 saying that George Bush would defeat Bill Clinton?

jasper7:
@mercylicious. you raise some viable points. some people think agriculture is all about throwing seed in the ground and coming after a year or so to harvest. I always say that farming is not done on paper or on nairaland or other websites.
it's a practise, if you are not practising, you are a joker. that's the truth.
And you raise some good points which must be looked into.

Concerning this cassava of a thing, quite honestly, I have met a Thai farmer who told me he harvests 200KG of cassava per stand. And I have also heard of a guy who harvests 50KG here in Nigeria. Am not a cassava farmer but that sounds pretty awesome to me. Farming has gone miles while here in Nigeria we are still using archaic/traditional methodologies. The way I see it, if the price is too low, try and increase productivity by using the latest technologies.

Now, why did I tell the Thai farmer's story? After seeing his harvest, I thought it was the specie of the cassava that was making him harvest so much, but it's not. on the contrary he said it has more to do with the methodology and agronomy. time to water, time to apply manure, land preparation all come to play.
He taught me what he knows, and since I've never tried it on my own, I have not voiced a word to anybody. untill I try what he said, and it works, I can then on start making noise just as I am doing on cucumber

When you mentioned "200kg per stand", what exactly does that translate to in terms of tons per hectare, which is the format we are used to here?

Please I think we need to end all these accusations and counter accusations. The various poultry threads hardly have any of these online fights and more knowledge is coming out of those threads daily.

We should make the cassava threads knowledge based and not turn it into quarrel spots. The OP has raised some issues. Let all who have something to contribute do so and back up their claims with statistics. Where problems are identified, we should all research, come up with solutions and put them all here for everyone's benefit.

One fact jumps out:

cassava farming and processing in Nigeria is a highly dynamic market which is location dependent. It is difficult to get a standardized operational format as what works in one region may not work in other regions.

OP, since you are going to be doing your business in Edo State, you need to know the following markets for gari:

- rural markets
- urban markets
- assembly markets.

Know the pricing of the product in these markets, and how the product flows from processors to each of these markets, or from one market to another.

I give you an example. There is a market in Kano called the Dawanau market, which is a major assembly market for gari. Buyers come from Niger, Chad, Cameroun and even as far as Burkina Faso to this market to purchase gari. Now this market is situated in an area surrounded by states where gari production is extremely low. So a cassava farmer or processor operating in the North Central states can position his or her business to become a supplier of processed product to this market so as to get a West African reach.

What am I saying here? It is not just about planting cassava without a plan. Cassava in its raw form has very little value. Once harvested, it rots in 3 days. Indeed, its value starts to drop after 12 hours. So you need to process instantly. I was watching something on TV about mobile processing machines which process cassava into cakes, elongating the shelf life and putting it into a form which can be transported to processing companies without fear of loss.

I think that mobile processing machines may be the stop gap that cassava farmers need. But how much do these machines cost? Food for thought.

wirinet:
It is encouraging that you took up the challenge to show us any of GEJ's thesis or publication, the problem is that the said paper is neither a thesis or a publication. It was appropriately labeled Conference or workshop item. It was a joint paper presented at a workshop. It would be very difficult to determine jonathan's contributions.

Meanwhile please help clarify these discrepancies in Jonathan's academic records;



He obtained his M.sc at the University of Port Harcourt in 1985 and he was a Lecturer at the Dept. Of Biology, Rivers State College of Education, Port Harcourt from 1983 – 1993. How did that work? he was lecturing at one university while studying to obtain an M.sc in another university.

You should tell us. Go and find out what the entry requirements for lecturers in Colleges of Education were as at 1983.

Up until a few years ago, you could become a university lecturer with a Masters Degree, while studying to obtain a PhD. I even know some Professors with a PhD now, who got into the university lecturing system with a Masters Degree.

If you are not clear on something, do some personal research first.

Russell145:
I am fllwing, bt u guys shld take it easy, this shldnt result to insults nd tins of the sort. To my post, where i intend doing the business is in Edo state. The cassava will be processed into garri and sold at the market till i am able to expand. My mum already has the machine which they use for processing the cassava. Another question is this, processing the cassava into garri nd selling it raw, which is more profitable.

This is a no brainer. Processing to gari is far more profitable.

OP,

Hope you are following the thread to see the issues you will contend with in your venture. Business is not easy.

Jethro2,

I recall that when I replied to Amarawa on a similar thread that gari was going for 6000 per 50kg bag, u clearly said I know nothing about the business, and that the said 50kg bag is 2,500 or 3,000.

Amarawa went to a market here in the FCT, and confirmed that what I said was the fact.

There is something you are not doing right, and I think you are in a wrong location. Instead of shooting down people's dreams and acting as a doubting Thomas (mind you, Thomas the doubter was eventually proven wrong), I think you should liaise with others having more success, rub minds, exchange ideas and move forward.

By the way, I agree with you that processing is the way to go. But it is also possible to meet with companies who need cassava as raw materials. They hardly get enough to meet their requirements so they will offer better pricing.

A company like Ekha Agro which produces glucose syrup for use by drinks companies has to fulfill its obligations to its clients such as NBC. They will therefore be quite desperate for raw cassava and will offer better pricing than a local processor who makes gari for sale to end users.

Get my drift?

OP,

There is nowhere in the bible it said the wise men were three in number, just like it never said that Adam and Eve ate an apple. It said a fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, never an apple.

THEY WERE MANY, bearing THREE gifts (gold, frankincense and myrrh). God made them bring those gifts so that Joseph and Mary would be able to survive in Egypt on those items (gold for money; frankincense and myrrh for use in burials and embalment which the Egyptians were known for) until when Herod was dead.

If only three rich men enter Nigeria, they would not attract attention of the presidency. But if many rich men enter Nigeria at once, they would definitely catch the attention of the presidency the way the presence of the wise men caught King Herod's attention.

Read the bible with understanding. THE WISE MEN WERE NOT THREE IN NUMBER. If you see anywhere where the bible says there were three wise men, please come and paste it here. Enough of the fallacies.

erico2k2:
Well I agree with you on that ground,Me I stopped selling cars a year ago, I find it exhausting and holds down ur capital.I trade with china these days,less stress and U get to put anything in ur container.However I try to be on the side of the law so I dont have to beg anybody or see anybody at the port,that way Im in charge at all time.As a principle, [b]I always have the clearing fees min 2M before I ship,if I cant raise it I dont ship.[/b]I dont want to fall prey to those wolves.

The bolded sums it all up. If the hunter learns to shoot without missing, Eneke the bird will learn to fly without perching.

I will lay the blame squarely on this man.

When people do things without information in a country like ours where impunity is the order of the day, they are only asking for trouble. I have bought and shipped in several cars from abroad and never had an issue. Always make sure that you have money for clearing your goods kept aside whenever you are shipping anything. If this fellow had done this, he would not be in this mess now. How do you containerize goods worth N33m and then just ship to Nigeria without your having money to pay for the clearance?

God Himself said: "My people perish for lack of knowledge."

You don't operate without knowledge in a society where impunity reigns supreme and justice is a world away.

How could she not afford $80 air ticket to the east that she had to go to that mad house called maza maza bus stop?

This OP man. You think you have started to spend. Wait until you get married. Then you will know the meaning of the word spending. You get luck sef say na provocative text she send you. Wait until your wife seizes your car keys or locks the door and puts the key where you can't find it. You will beg for mercy that day. Women are powerful o. No joke with them.

Tonjeola1:
just upload ur ID and maybe phcn bill or bank statement (recent one like less than 3 months). that is all.

Upload your international passport scanned copy. In 5 minutes the account limitation will be removed.

tchidi:
You never ready sef!

One day, I just lay down (terrible mistake), the next thing that assaulted my nose was the smell of something getting burnt!!

I woke up to a pot of charcoal.. instead of the meat and okporoko I left there..

The year was 1985. I was playing table soccer with my junior brother after having been instructed by my mum to watch the beans she was cooking. My junior bros was giving me a real tough time in the game and with the score at 2-2, I was desperately engrossed in the game. Na im I hear my parents' room door opening and my mum's footsteps. Yeeeeeehhhh! The beans oooo!

Na im I rush enter kitchen and lo and behold, family dinner was burnt. The beating I got that day no get part 2. My mum started off, then my popsie joined the party, seized all our table soccer equipment and sent them flying into the garbage can!

Those were the days men! Since that day, no cooking and watching of TV at the same time in my house now.

jasper7:
Market in Nigeria should hardly be a problem, especially in this dry season. Do you know that a 25kg bag of cucumber cost up to 7k around this period? I advice you source for other markets o. It's very important. No be monkey the work, baboon dey chop

You can't believe one cucumber is sold for N100 in the market as at yesterday. Na wa o.

strigger:
Thanks. This is past issue. We wont go back to those days of argument again. Pls dont feel bad and dont take it personal cos we are youwin sibblings and always let sleeping dogs to lie.
Merry christmas

Thank you for correcting that fellow. You just spoke my mind. Some people are just good at fomenting trouble. The same way Blink or whatever his name is resurrected it 2 days after I and the guy I was arguing this thing with had already moved on after amicably deciding to let it go. Now another person comes again to resurrect sleeping bones.

Foolish people. It is because nobody gave them money that is why they are jumping ship. Nonsense. GEJ forever!

The Lucozade Boost part was the clincher. Wow.

In 1991, there was a similar case close to my area. The man caught the wife cheating with his friend and kept silent for TWO YEARS. One fateful night, he drove his Chevrolet jeep close to where the friend used to hang out, waited for the guy to finish drinking and step to the road, and then WHAM! Impaled the guy with the jeep and promptly reported himself to the police.

Silence is deadly! The devil is already working overtime in the man's mind. It will soon find physical expression.

OP,

I read your posts and one fact just jumps out straight at me: YOU DID NOT CONSULT WITH THE RELEVANT AGENCIES AND EXPERIENCED FARMERS BEFORE YOU DIVED IN.

You met an experienced farmer after the damage had been done. Information is key. Anyone who wants to plant anything should visit the relevant agencies (IITA, state ADPs, etc) where you will get quality advice, information and seedlings.

condi1704:
please help me track this order--
RJ053942709CN. God bless.

29.11.2014 20:10 WēnZhōuHánJiànJú鹿Chéng Branch Accepted from sender Ní日LìYà
29.11.2014 20:10 325000 Accepted from sender
29.11.2014 21:33 WēnZhōu International Arrived at sorting center
03.12.2014 20:08 Beijing International Arrived at sorting center
04.12.2014 08:47 Beijing International Send item abroad (Export)
04.12.2014 09:16 Beijing Send item abroad (Export) Nigeria

Your stuff is in transit.

Change2015:
Rubbish. Please go and face someone holding a gun when you have no bullets. It is stupid comments like yours that really rile me. You think these men have no family, no reason to want to stay alive? Jonathan has let everyone in government know looting is good business, now we can see the shambles our army has turned into, but instead of sacking the military bosses, you think it best they sacrifice the poor ground troops who have never had much in life? May God have the same portion of mercy on you as you have seen fit to give to your fellow countrymen.

The armed forces have enough weapons to face anybody. Have you ever walked into any of our military bases to see the arms and ammunition these guys have? The army recruitment policy where people now enter the army as a means of having a job, and where recruitment is done on the basis of "man know man" is the reason why we have cowards now in the armed forces.

I ask you again: DID THE RAG TAG BIAFRAN ARMY HAVE ANY WEAPONS? They captured weapons in several battles from the Nigerian forces. So don't give me that crap about not having weapons. They are cowards. You run away from Boko Haram in battle, you will be sent to the firing squad. Until this punishment is enforced, we will keep having such rubbish occurring.

Unibenstudent:
Jonathan their blood is on ur head.

Blood is on whose head? Abeg leave my President out of this. It is soldiers like this who make GEJ look bad and ineffective. When you sign up to join the armed forces, you sign up to fight and defend your country till death.

What weapons did Biafran soldiers have in 1967 when the civil war started? They fought with captured weapons. So to say that they refused to fight because they did not have weapons is complete BS. The penalty for running away from the front is death and they should face the firing squad. If it is to flog people on the street and call them bloody civilians, they will do that one very well. They should die. They are saboteurs.

That is why those 54 soldiers MUST face the firing squad. If it is to harass innocent Nigerians in public, they are masters at that. Why are they running away from Boko Haram? It is "haram" for a soldier to run away from war front. They should DIE. Baggers.

If you are selling clones, then you are actually committing a crime and one day it will catch up with you.

His mates such as Mike Adenuga Jnr and Engr Arumemi-Johnson's kids are already managing multi-billion Naira businesses. This fool is busy showing off watches on Instagram. Who has ever seen Dangote's kids showing off their father's property on Instagram?

His father should be truly ashamed, but what do you expect? When you vote in people who collect N200m every quarter as allowance but who have nothing to show in their constituencies, they will breed fools as children.

mercylicious:
another point noted from stagger-
walk up to bank of agric or bank of industry and make enquiries.

I can attest to bank of agric cos the tractors, ploughs, harrows and other farming machines my dad bought then for his farm was via a loan from bank of agric. I cannot state if there was any collateral or equity contribution as at dt time and cannot ask him cos he is late. Also note he was still in civil service and a part time farmer when he took the loan. He later went into full time agric and died in d hand of one of his tractors. tragic shaa.

I think bank of industries is.mostly for smes, schools etc but u can go ahead and ask if they have agric desk.

Thank you my brother. The issue is a lot of us just stay at home, don't research, don't ask questions in the right places, and simply assume that nothing is happening. You cannot believe that someone stopped me at Millennium park the day the venture capital fund was launched after coming back from State House, asked me what the large crowd was gathering for, and he was told that these were YouWIN past and present winners. The next question from him was a bombshell: "please what is YouWIN?"

That just sums up the whole package. I would advise the OP to go to the Bank of Agriculture and ask what is happening. There are several grants being given to farmers from international agencies like USAID. In 2009/2010, Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) was in Nigeria and they intervened in 3 cassava-based industries in Abuja and Nasarawa state. There are programs like these everywhere. IITA is developing new seeds that give better yields and resist disease better. Many of these seedlings are being given out free under several state programs.

BOA also gives out loans, some of them not in cash but in form of payment for mechanization tools like tractors and farm machinery. The various state Agric Development Programs are training farmers on new techniques of farming.

OLAM Nigeria is buying sesame from farmers in Nasarawa state at a guaranteed price, ensuring these farmers have a ready market for their products.

MARKETS Nigeria is working in 24 states to develop the main crops cultivated in those states and bringing in partners to buy them from farmers and give them guaranteed market. They have an office in Abuja. Has the OP ever gone there to ask questions?

I can go on and on and on. So many things happening. Yet the OP and his cohorts will be complaining. They want Oga Jonah to personally come to their houses and put money in their hands before they will say ohh, GEJ is working.

God has used GEJ to put opportunities for youths more than ever before in Nigeria, but WE HAVE TO DO OUR PART AND DO SOME WORK IN SEARCHING FOR THESE THINGS AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEM.

Nobody can spoon feed you. Do your own share of the work around here.

Billyonaire:
I have already ordered 5m worth of the 100 Notes for Xmas spray. Villa here I come.

mumu