₦airaland Forum

solablings:
I got this text that he was my mate in katsina state orientation camp.
And I fell for it.
My God, I just stupidly sent N50, 0000 to these scammers yesterday. It sounded so real that I can't but just to make the payment almost immediately.
All my savings is gone.
Why is this happening to me now.

God have mercy.
The person that claim to be my mate number is 0816 789 3361
And his in-law Dr Paul Lawson number is 08140514297.

I'm having sleepless night right now.

Please beware of these scammers.

I'm just learning from my own mistakes.

fison:
Sniper pix, I can't lay my hand on the others at the moment.

fison:
Sniper pix, I can't lay my hand on the others at the moment.

yomie040:
visit an agrostore and ask for Glo-emamectin (it contains emamectin benzoate). Very effective.

yomie040:
visit an agrostore and ask for Glo-emamectin (it contains emamectin benzoate). Very effective.

Bonifide:
I guess you would have notice the delay in fresh maize this year
when Mango leaves then Maize takes over which helps to bring down
food prices. But that is not happening this year this is due to some reasons
1. The cessation of rain in the early season which destroyed most early Maize planted
2. The ravaging effect of a pest (army worm) that destroys the leaves and other vegetative
parts of the Maize plant.

SOLUTION

Practice very good farm sanitation and begin an insecticide spraying regime as soon as your
plants emerges you could use ARMY FORCE [/b]or [b]AMPLIGO as the insecticides.

preciousmoon:
ampligo insecticide

grpCaptain:
I will give you the breakdown for Maize.

Per Hectare

Land clearing 60,000 Naira
Mulching. 50,000 Naira
Ploughing. 15,000 Naira
Harrowing. 15,000 Naira
Planting. 5,000 Naira
Seeds. 66,000 Naira (Pioneer)
Herbicides. 50,000 Naira
Herbicide application 5,000 Naira x 2
Insecticide 75,000 Naira
Insecticide application 5,000 Naira x 3
Fertilizer 80,000 Naira
Fertilizer application 5,000 Naira x 2
Fungicides 50,000 Naira
Fungicide application 5000 Naira x 2
Field Scouting 2,500 Naira x 4

Total Cost 521,000 Naira

Note that in year two, cost of clearing and mulching will be zero.

Expected yield 8-12 tons per hectare.

Price of Maize per ton = 120,000

Projected Revenue. = 960,000 - 1,440,000 Naira.

Minimum cultivation = 100 hectares

Note that the yield is not guaranteed , but with best agronomical practice and the grace of the good Lord, it is certainly possible.

You can only get such yield with a Pioneer seeds and not any Oba Super million! in the market.

The breakdown is only useful if you want to put in your money without owning any equipments.

Alternatively, if you are only investing the land, then the cost to us will be different and we are going to have a minimum of 10 years agreement, bring our own equipments to station on the farm permanently and build a farm house and silos. The cost implications for this model is far more than just the operational expenses listed above.

TokyoBulls:
Sent you an email.

grpCaptain:
I will give you the breakdown for Maize.

Per Hectare

Land clearing 60,000 Naira
Mulching. 50,000 Naira
Ploughing. 15,000 Naira
Harrowing. 15,000 Naira
Planting. 5,000 Naira
Seeds. 66,000 Naira (Pioneer)
Herbicides. 50,000 Naira
Herbicide application 5,000 Naira x 2
Insecticide 75,000 Naira
Insecticide application 5,000 Naira x 3
Fertilizer 80,000 Naira
Fertilizer application 5,000 Naira x 2
Fungicides 50,000 Naira
Fungicide application 5000 Naira x 2
Field Scouting 2,500 Naira x 4

Total Cost 521,000 Naira

Note that in year two, cost of clearing and mulching will be zero.

Expected yield 8-12 tons per hectare.

Price of Maize per ton = 120,000

Projected Revenue. = 960,000 - 1,440,000 Naira.

Minimum cultivation = 100 hectares

Note that the yield is not guaranteed , but with best agronomical practice and the grace of the good Lord, it is certainly possible.

You can only get such yield with a Pioneer seeds and not any Oba Super million! in the market.

The breakdown is only useful if you want to put in your money without owning any equipments.

Alternatively, if you are only investing the land, then the cost to us will be different and we are going to have a minimum of 10 years agreement, bring our own equipments to station on the farm permanently and build a farm house and silos. The cost implications for this model is far more than just the operational expenses listed above.

grpCaptain:
We don't deal in one hectare. We deal in hundreds of hectares. We are going to be moving heavy equipments around like dozers, tractor, boom sprayer and combine harvesters.

What is your investment budget?
Answer if your land is cleared or not.

Land investment can be up to 10% if cleared. We inherited an uncleared land and it was about 3% of our total expenditure. So you and Tokyobull are in the right ballpark, with different in description.

teddyope31:
I get your drift. the land is currently uncleared. I am interested in a group of farmers taking over the land to farm, my company will have a share in the profits with the investment of land and a "fixed" percentage of cost, of course an agreement will have to be reached. we have to be furnished with the right information concerning the total cost investment and the profit prospects (including profit sharing ratios)

grpCaptain:
We don't deal in one hectare. We deal in hundreds of hectares. We are going to be moving heavy equipments around like dozers, tractor, boom sprayer and combine harvesters.

What is your investment budget?
Answer if your land is cleared or not.

Land investment can be up to 10% if cleared. We inherited an uncleared land and it was about 3% of our total expenditure. So you and Tokyobull are in the right ballpark, with different in description.

TokyoBulls:
The investor will need over N120M to cultivate 157 hectares. This kind of investment is best done by a Cooperative or a group of medium-sized farmers, who have funds or have access to investors. If the land owner is only investing land, it means 100% of the inputs will be provided by the farmers. Small holder farmers cannot raise the required funding for this. I have a self-funded 63-acre farm and know it is not easy funding a big farm project. We can bring together farmers who will take 10 to 40 hectares and cultivate same for crop production.

For perspective, land is one of the least expensive items on the budget. My budget shows land is about 4% of the cost of crop production so the farmer will bear 96% of the cost. If you decide to go the route of working with a group of farmers, I am one and belong to a group that will be interested in this project.

PapaBrowne:
I love this thread and more importantly, I love the renewed interest in Agriculture displayed here. NIgeria is defintely on the right path in this generation.

For the past 2-3 years, I have been involved in research on Agribusiness Value Chain. I have even founded a company in this regard. Based on that, I'll give my 2cents to the poster and to those others already engaged or seeking to engage in Agriculture.

I would start by saying that instead of having an Agricultural mindset, it's a better Idea to have an Agribusiness Mindset. The difference between the price of products sold at farm gate is miles apart from their actual value in the retail markets. With an Agribusiness mindset, you would seek to add value to the products you produce and in turn sell at much better prices.

I will use the calculations given by @Olushowumn to butress my point.
Based on Olushowumn's calcultions, 1 hectare of land should produce 50,000 hills of corn which would equate to 200,000 cubs. An Igba(not sure what that means) would contain 400-600 cubs and could be sold for between 2000-4000 Naira. Lets use 500 cubs and 3000 Naira as average for an Igba.

So,
500 cubs = 1 Igbas = 3000 Naira.
200,000 cubs = 400 bags = 1.2 million Naira per hectare.
So your 7 hectare would yeild 8.4 million Naira.
Now that's good money. Or so it seems.

Now let me tell you how much that amount of corn would be bought be consumers if its boiled or roasted and sold on the streets.

1 roasted or boiled cub of corn sells for 50 Naira each on average.
Lets assume that from the 200,000 cubs per hectare, we loose 25% and are left with 150,000 per hectare
If that amount of corn were sold retail we would get 150,000 cubs x 50 Naira = 7.5 million per hectare.
Your total farm would sell for 7.5 million x 7 = 52.2 million Naira.

Yes. 52.5 million Naira is the amount your corn would sell for on the streets by the time a simple value of Roasting or Boiling has been added to it. That is a very long way from what you will get if you choose to sell your corn at the international price of $300 per Metric Tonne.

Now this is what you get if you choose to sell you corn on the international market without adding value.
Based on you post, you will achieve 3 tons per hectare which is 21 tons for your 7 hectares

1 Metric tonne = Approx. $300 = 48,000 Naira.
21 Metric Tonnes= 21 x $300= $6300 = 1.01 Million Naira.

The big question is:
Why would I want to sell my corn internationally for 1 Million Naira when I can sell locally wholesale for 8.4 million or retail for 52.2 million Naira.


In a nutshell, taking a value added approach to your farming business is the way to go. Selling raw stock for a small farmer with 20 hectares for me is not ideal. Add value. Tweak the Value chain to your favour and see your farnm generate you millions. Thats exactly what the white man has done for ages. They take our Cocoa and turn it to chocolates. While the Cocoa market is worth about $7 Billion dollars annually, the Chocolate market is worth over $100 billion despite the fact that Chocolate is just one of the by products of Cocoa.

There are a million things that can be created from your corn.

Animal feed. Custard and Pap. Corn Starch. Corn Syrup. Corn Flour. Corn Cake. Corn Oil.

And a whole lot more.

My best: Developing a cool franchise system where your corn is either Roasted or Boiled at major street junctions.

fison:
I recently acquired a total of 157hecters of good arable farm land in Ogun state and I intend to farm maize and/or cassava on it. I am in need of information concerning the cost implications as well as the profit prospects of this farming each or these crops.

I am also open to other favorable agricultural uses for the land.

I would appreciate prompt and useful contributions as I'm in a hurry to start work on the land.

Thank You


Waoooo!
That's about 2355 plots of land, approximately 393 acres.
That's big time investment, well I can be of help.

olly6559:
In the interim, u can secure the services of a bulldozer to clear like 5 or 10 hectares first; plow and harrow it with tractor , then do the planting. You can then expland to the remaining portions of land over the year as funding comes in. Manual labour will dig holes in your pocket

grpCaptain:
You may need to answer few questions before I can give you my sincere advice.

(1) Is the land in question cleared of trees and brushes? Totally cleared or partly cleared? If partly, how many hectares?

(2) Are you interested in a mechanized farming or just hiring laborers to do manual work, obviously 157 hectares of land will need mechanization of some sort.

(3) Are you planning to buy your own equipments or wish to rent from others and pay for services?

(4) Are you willing to go into partnership for cultivating the land?

If the answer to question 3 and 4 is yes. Then we can surely consider offer of partnership or equipment rental. We are located in Iseyin and can arrange something.

If you wish to operate a large mechanized farming with all necessary equipments and personnel, then prepare an upward of 500 million Naira at the minimum to get all the things you need from Tractors, Sprayers, harvesters, fertilizer, seeds, up to silos.

fluentinfor:
157 hectares is a serious business. My suggestion is you get a business plan for your business. Fortunately, I can recommend someone who will get it done for you at a reduced rate or might even be FREE. I know he's given many people free business plans. And those plans are customized for them. Plans you can present to any financial institution, investors etc. Included are: Income statement, Balance Sheet, cash flow statement, Sales, inventory analysis, Ratios: ROA, ROI, IRR, etc.

You will need a very good risk management strategy. In addition, you may need to insure your farm.

Seriously, you may not start working on all 157 hectares at once; however, it's paramount you know your breakeven ratio very well. You must be sure.

There is no room for trial and error. While I recommend all the above, you don't need to spend fortune on such business plan. And it's why I can recommend him. You may even pay him nothing as farming is his passion.

Please, do not very be in hurry to start your farm. Never! My suggestion is that you relax and pray to God to make a way. Talk to Him.

You also asked how you can use your land. Madam, there are so many ways. From my own experience, it's not how big your farm is but how well you utilize all resources you have. Farms near river are excellent. Road network is another issue.

Vegetable farming is an aspect you should look into. Try to read threads on nairaland here. Read on cucumber, tomato, cabbage, parsley, lettuce etc. Gain some more knowledge. Also, there are fruits you can have on your farm that can be really rewarding. Long term investments such as cash crops aren't left out. Come on, you have a large land area and you should not limit yourself. But only a very good business plan can lead you to the right path.


Thanks for the advice, i found it very useful, im interested in a business plan and a feasibility study of some sort, if u can help with that. preferably for CASSAVA AND MAIZE

stagger:
I just got the following:

- 20kg of Oba98 at N375 per kilo from Premier Seeds: (7,500)
- Leased 1 hectare of land: 10,500
- land clearing: 20,000 (opted for manual clearing to preserve the top soil. I also want to plough in the stump remnants into the soil)
- 3 litres of Paraquat @ 1,600 each: 4,800
- 3 kg of Atrazine Powder @ 2,300 each: 6,900
- Sprayer will spray the herbicides at 10,500 for the entire hectare.
- Seed planter from China: 50,000 (could have been cheaper but I used express shipping). I plan to hire 1 person to plant the whole hectare in one day @ 5,000 max. I want to get the spacing spot on and reduce labour costs.
- Tractor hiring for tilling and harrowing: not yet negotiated.

Here is my plan.
- I will plant half the land now, and half in two weeks time. This is to provide a gap in fruiting to allow me sell the first half fresh.
- I plan to use organic fertilizer 100%. I have searched for the inorganic one at govt price of 5,500. It is not available and it is N10,000 in the open market. Not cost-effective if you ask me.
- Insecticides will be used at the appropriate time.

Threats?
- Rodents
- Birds
- ??Army worms
- Herdsmen

Still searching for solutions to these possible threats. I am told that special routes for grazing were created for the herdsmen in that area and there have been no squabbles between farmers and the herdsmen in that area in recent history. We shall see how this goes.

TARGETS
2 cobs per plant, X 50,000 plants at spacing of 25cm X 75cm goal will deliver 100,000 cobs.
Allowance will be made for 50% loss of plants, so we aim to get 50,000 fresh cobs, 100 cobs per bag, N3,000 per bag. This will deliver returns of N1.5m as worst case scenario (for investment of N200,000).

I plan to sell fresh maize, not shelled maize. I will do shelled maize in the dry season with a borehole on another land I own.

Please note: this is a pilot project so my goal here is to learn, learn and learn before I expand.
- Shelled maize vs Fresh maize: which pays better?
- is 100% organic fertilizer use a feasible replacement for inorganic NPK/Urea?
- what is the best solution to contain the threats I mentioned above?

These are the questions I seek to answer.

olly6559:
Be conscious of cost of Land clearing not to mention of the total labour cost (labourers have turned farm kings recently), even mechanical land clearing is not for learners (# or $). Think twice before you embark on any agricultural adventures measured in hectares (money matters). Just my experienced advice.