₦airaland Forum

@bawelat- My person, please try to punder on these questions of mine:
Why do you want to plant maize?
Why maize and not another crop?
Is maize the only crop your soil support?
Why 1ha? Is it because of funds? Or or that's the available land left or good for cultivation?
Are you planting maize only(mono cropping)? (Mixed cropping)? Or (mixed farming)?

Why am I asking this questions? This is because I don't want you to be "myopic" in your look!
Proper and good sight of visions make " sustainable agriculture" practiceable.
Sustainable agriculture is the growing of crops or rearing of animals at the highest gain now and not depriving the next generations of good proceeds too(I.e keeping the soil in the best shape possible). It means doing everything possible to maintain the soil. The soil is like the body of human beings and it can be sick too(soil acidity, soil poisoning, soil alkalinity) and many other soil problems I don't pray we have.
I AM AN ADVOCATE OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE!

Stage 3

Second weeding 9,000
GNLD- 8,000

Application 4,000
Insecticide 6,000
Application 4, 000

Let me comment on all these at thesame time because of my time. 9,000 is outrageous. And GNLD that I know is sold for 12k for 4litres. Now
Let me tell you how to use this "delicate" fertilizer. I call it delicate because of what only me see.( I stand to be corrected anyway)
1,000 litres of water is used to mix 1 litre of GNLD. That is what I know and how I used it then. The result is nice but I have a lot of "Nigerian questions" to ask GNLD if opportuned.
Insecticide is 1300 naira at the retailer's shop per 1 litre and you need only 1 litre/ha.so where does this 6,000 comes from! At this junction, I must advice everyone, please don't rely fully on what someone said or concot on the internet. Please. Be courteous enough to ask questions from anyone and everyone. Money is hard to comeby in Nigeria. I don't know of other countries sha. This person also charged 4, 000 naira for applying this same insecticide. May be the insecticide this person is taling anout is different from the ones I know sha. ( I stand to be corrected)

My fellow Nigerians, all I believe is this " A good name is better than ill wealth"
Thank you!
Barka de sala!!!

Stage 2

Planting:

#3,000
Planting involves: transport of labourers and feeding dem. Farm labourers work form 7am-1pm pr 2pm to 6pm. Wages vary due to location. The price vary from 700 naira to 1500 naira depending on the work to be done and the technicalities involved. A normal labourer makes a hole and drops the seeds in it. Any deviation from this attracts more money. So, it now depends on your negotiating power. "SUPERVISION" should be strictly done by you if not, they will make a mess of you and it will take some days before you discover. One of my labourers then did drop 11 seeds in a hole just in a bid to finish up and collect his wages. They can be that bad. (Ota Aje)
Can 3,000 naira take care of all these now?

You need at least 2 or 3 labourers to plant 1ha of maize effectively. Better still, plant it yourself and your mind will be at rest.
FARM WORK IS LABOURIOS!!!


In this "draft estimate", there is no provision for. PEST CONTROL like birds and rodents. Wount you buy traps? Clanging bell and hang some of your used clothes on some stakes?
All your transport to farm must be accounted for.I mean you must record the transport fares with your extimates or expenditures too. Are they not?


First weeding:


The use of selective herbicide is better than the use of farm labour if we want to be "cost effective"
9,000 naira is budgetted for first weeding here. I think this is outrageous!

Fertilizer: if we do soil test, we will know if we need fertilizers or not and the quantity that is required.
Now, let me talk abit about use of fertilizers.
We practically have 3 types of fertilizers. Organic fertlizer
Inorganic fertilizer
Organomineral fertilizer

Organic fertilizers e.g poultry, piggery, cattle,rebbit, goat,sheep dungs. Any bio degradable substance that has the ability of replenishing the soil nutrients without toxins or soil poisoning can be called "organic fertilizer". Even human feaces, human urine is part of organic fertilizers! The problem with using this fertilizer is that we need it in large quantities because the nutrients embeded per each kilogram is less compared with other fertilizer types.


Inorgainc fertilizers:
These are mineral fertilizers or chemical fertilizers e.g npk, urea, murate of potash, ammonium sulphate and many others. They release the nutrients required in the soil faster than the organic fertilizers. They are expensive and are in limited supply especially in farm sattlements. It can also be abused (over application and improper application).
5,500 was alloted for this and I think that is the current market price.

Fertilizer application: 4,000


I don't know how this person wantt o use 4k to apply fertilizer o
My question is:
What method does he want to use ?
Does he want labourers?
What of fertilizer transport to farm?
Does he want to apply it granularly or in solution?
Does he want to run it through irrigation?

Let me also state here that we also havefoliar fertilizers" fertilizers that we apply to the foliage(leaves,branches) or let's say canopy of the crops! Can 4,000 handle this? That is left to you and your location.

Ploughing:

The idea of ploughing is to upturn the soil thereby burying the plants on it. Ploughing can be done with hoe or tractor plough! When the burried weeds or crop stubbles/remains decay in the soil, they had more nutrients back to the soil. This( natural soil replenishment) is the best way of enriching the soil. All others will have immediate or long term effects whether we like it or not.
The cost of ploughing differs from location to location. I have ploughed sometime back in ogun state for 7k/ha and I have done thesame before for 6k in Ondo state. The dept of ploughing should not be more than 7cm if not the nutrient rich humus will be buried beyound the reach of the plant roots and that will cause problems later. Second ploughing should be done at least 2 weeks after the first ploughing. This will allow for proper decay of buried plants. This is can also be called "Green manuring".

Sourcing for planting materials is the next.if you want to produce for local consumption (I.e sell in produce market (village market)) you must buy seeds that are "PREFERRED" in that area so that your produce will gain "general acceptance" make enquires from farm input sellers before buying any seed please. Buy viable seeds( seeds that have high germinating potential and good vigor) please irrespective of the cost. If not, you will waste time and you know that time is money! Also you have to add the cost of transport to your costs.

Ty God for TB yimua new day! Let me give a detailed explanation on this maize cultivation issue so that we all can see that 100k may/ may not be enough. In farming generally, many factors affect production. In fact, many factors affect all the stages of agricultural production. Some can be controlled while some can't. As I explain further, we all will undastand better.

Stage 1:
Land lease: 5,000/ha
The location(state, local govt, town/village where your farm is situated)
Is a prima factor in your budgetting.
Some villages accomodate visitors and some prey on them both finacially and physically.r
Some people are not happy even when you are doing good things on their land. They prefer to leave it fallow than allow useful activities on it.y friend, run from people and places like this. In villages where the men are lazy, always playing games in the morning. Run from farming in these communities because even if you buy land there, you will face persecution once you are making it there.some years back when i wanted to start maize production, i went to meet an elderly man and within 2 days I was given 1 acre of land free of charge to use for some time. I only appreciated the Baba later with somethings I had. Later, i was able to buy 2 acres of land not far from there for 25k. And i know of a man that bought 5ha of land for 75k (but this lands are farm lands and they are not by the road side)

All i am trying to say is that the location of your farm to a great extent determines the cost of runing the business. You will use the town people has labour. (Hmnn, laughing) i once hired a labourer and normally, you will feed them. One of them asked me to buy rice and beans while one asked for spagetti with His. You see what i am talking about. Some people are just after your money and not your Good. Dont buy a farmland because it is close to you but because of the hospitality of the villagers. Some people can go to the extent of putting charm on your farm. Dont buy land from village heads. Buy from families that are willing to sell adn make enough investigations before paying. Your lawyer will be a good choice here.
It is better to buy than to rent. An hectare of land should cost between 10k -50k averagely irrespective of state. Any amount from this will burden your budget you can even consider relocating to the farm later in life. This is what happens in developed countries and i must say here that the population of people staying in farm settlements and villages are more than those in the cities ( I stand to be corrected anyway) let me no over expand this stage.m

The life circle of maize is range between 2- 4months maximum.


Harvesting of maize starts 53 days after planting. Thank you all.

@ "the man that wants to know if 100k will be enough to go into maize production"

I saw this "ROUGH" estimate on maize cultivation on a thread here on nairaland. I can't reccomend it outrightly because , for me its not detailed enough. There are still lots of expenses hidden.

Rough estimate of maize cultivation
Stage 1
Land lease 5,000/ha
First ploughing -8,000
2nd ploughing - 8,000
Hybrid seeds/ha - 8,000

Stage 2
Planting - 3,000
First weeding - 9,000
Fertilizer- 5,500
Fertilizer application - 4,000

Stage 3
2nd weeding - 3,000
GNLD 8,000
Application - 4, 0000
Insecticide - 6,000
Application- 4,000

Grand total : 78,500

3 tonnes can be harvested on 1ha
And 1 tonnes : 60,000
: 3¤60,000 : 180,000.
180,000-78,500 =101,500


This is a draft! I will give details explanations on each stages soonest and why I think 100k will not be enough if we really need to be practically oriented. I rest my case!
Still yours,
The UNBEATABLE.

@oluplanet. I like you Ogami! But this is wuruwuru to the answer oooo! The Agronomy of crops is more than this ooo!
Let me give some points here
Let's pick a crop. Let's pick a common crop! But as a graduate farmer, you should plant a rather uncommon or scarce crops or crops with limited supply.
Let's pick maize for instance. I picked maize because many of us will be familier with its agronomy. Now let's go!
First of all, we need a soil test to know d nutrient content of the soil as at that moment. This will give us hint into our fertilizer recommendations(I.e d soil nutrient condition tell us what nutrient is deficient in the soil and in what proportion is it needed. And what fertilizer is needed for it. Is it slow nutrient releaser or fast nutrient replenisher. This is what I mean)
Once we get this, then we have gained already even before doing any planting
Pre planting operations:
Bush clearing, ridges making, aquisition of planting materials
Planting operations:
Planting, transport of planting materials and labourers+feeding , weeding(labourers or herbiside spray) and insecticide spraying(chemical +labour+ sprayer rent)
Second weeding, fertilizer application where neccessary, insecticide spraying.
Post planting operations:
Harvesting( labourers), transporting, drying and shelling or direct sales in produce market (oja oko) this is a. Draft template of rain fed maize production.

@ the man dat siad he has 100k for crop production. Do you think your 100k can finance all these expenses and can you cope with the stress in it? Mind you this business is very lucrative o. If YES, then I pledge my absolute support to make sure you make it in that business of your choice.
The Unbeatable!

@kelvin50. When you want to invest in crop production, please there are many things involved. Let me just outline them fast. The ones I can remember now ni o.
Your location is the prime director of what to do because it has both climatic and soil conditions that must be known so that we can know the crops that are best suited for that area.
Size of your farm
What scale do you want to practice I.e small scale or large scale?
How long do you want your investment incubation period to be? I.e how many months do you want to have your ROI?
Fo you want to run the business on short term or long term?
Are you mobile?
Are you rugged and dogged? ( I said this because the snake I saw walk pass my farm yesterday has a terifying size and I still went there this morning)
You need both mind and physical strenght to enjoy crop production!
Please, don't get me wrong o. I am trying to make people undastand what I have read for more than 6 years in a simple and straight forward way.
I like to always prepare peoples mind before hand so that they won't bow to field challenges because am a field not paper agriculturist.
For you to make money in crop production, sir, you need to have a plan for irrigation. No matter how little it may be. That is where you will beat local farmers.
You can ask any question
I will be pleased to answer it in a simple language and help you for free. Just post your question opely so that many people can benefit from it.

someone text me towrite how snails are kept! irrespective of the little charge on my phone, i will try to drop some lines here.
the question is not very clear to me o but let me answer it this way.
"how snails are kept"
does it mean
"husbandary"
"management practices"
processing and storage"
if it is husbandary, please, let that person extract it from my previous posts. management practices is also in those posts and if it is processing and storage?
ahahahahah(laughing), i dont know anything about that o!
snails are either consumed steam cooked, fried or roasted over open fire! thank you all!!!

At emmysteve, "specie best to rear"?
Hmnn, me don't undastand you again o(laughing) na which snail people no dey buy? Even my mother buys "Igbin Orisa" (one scary looking snail like that) even periwinkle, "Ipere" all snails are marketable and they appreciate in size over several months.

My bro, start with whatever you have, rome was not built in a day! Even if its 1k you have, go to where snails are sold and buy the ones without broken shells. Ik should be able to buy 3-4 250g-450g weight snails, cover them with a basket and put stone on the basket.
Oooh laaalaaa, you have a pen already! Stop following all this scientific tins hook line ans sinker at least we were existing before the Oyibo bamboozzlement. Will oyibos be teaching us how to rear our own "African" snails again? ( Laughing) bros, go start something abeg!

Whaaaaoooooh, as I sent my reply just now, I my leg kicked the magazine inside my wordrope ooo! Its only the mans e mail that is there o.
This is it:olatunde akanbi@co.uk
Cheers to all!!!

emmysteve, i fed my snails with cocoyam leaves today. let me observe the outcome and iiii can validate it for you sir. one thing i dint talk about was
routine maintainance:
water your snailry every other day (i.e every 2 days). please control insect intrusion into your pens. once your pen is well airated, you will have less problems!
@ sunata a, ostrich farming is a goood venture but i have not been to a farm with ostriches before even the prestigious sunghai farms in porto novo dont have because i have been there several times. but i have a magazine that has the contact of someone that rears it in nigeria. i have checked for it but not found it. if i get it i will update you.

Emmysteve, please forgive me. I need to go out now. I will finish up your snail rearing stuffs when next am relaxed again and I will ansa SuNdi ata a ( ostrich farming) give Jerom project some advice and greet my friend Dr Isa!

Please bear with me if I am not replying often because I use no manual but "my brain" and it takes some time before I can bring togrther and translate what is on my mind into what an unschooled person can easily understand! Thank you and remain husslling! Your brother, The Unbeatable.

FEEDING: my snails eat "chromolena odorata"(Akintola plant), Talinum fruticosum(Water leaf), decaying cassava peels, I heared they eat cocoyam leaf but I have not given them before. I give them ripe Carica papaya(pawpaw). Those are what I use to feed my over 30 snails of 4-5 different breeds.
I choose not to bamboozzle you with all the scientific names anymore, pls pardon me! Its just to drive home my points that its actually my line and my passion! I am not an authority on anything, We are all learning! There are many things I still don't know in this my line and it may be you( my reader now) that will teach me. So please don't hesistate to share your knowledge( that you know is viable o not what you heared from someone, please) for example, someone said pigs eat cassava peels and a pig farmer went to feed his pigs with cassava peels the other day, he was surprised when he got back that the pigs are dead! (That is 'owo wogbo ' monney enter bush I.e major loss) not knowing that it is dried cassava peels that pigs likes eating. I have tried it with mine and it worked! Cassava has high HCN (hydro cyanide or hydro cyanic acid) that is why garri is allowed to ferment before frying or "Epo pupa" (palm / Red oil ) is used when frying in some places.

Housing of snails is not a big deal. Your investment all depend on your capital. If you have either huge or small capital, you can start. You can use bascket to house them, you can use cage like the rabbit cage, you can use covered drums with perforations. The major thing is there must be soil in your housing and it must be kept moist always. Avoid insects from getting into the housing. Keep it as natural as possible!

STOCKING: ime getting you brooding or parent stock. Snails are hermaphrodite(they have both male and female reproductive organs in themselves). If you don't have plenty money, look around you house and gather the snails you can see! If you have money go and buy at the road sides. Please don't buy the snails with broken shells. I heared they will not grow but am trying to prove that now because I have one or two snails with broken shells in my farm and am observing them if trully what we learnt in school is true, real and practiceable!
Majority of our snails in Yoruba land Grow well to a considerable size! The question I pose to everyone is this " is it only Achachatina Marginata you eat?" Even in our side there is this small snail that we use to cook, we call it "Ipere" is that Achachatina? For all prospective snail farmers, if you you are always moved by what people say of or about you, you will not do anything! And don't think there will be a proper time "when there will be money" that you will start! That time will never come, my people!

@Emmysteve, I like you because you have actions not only mouth! Befor you start snail farming, I want to ask you some questions:
Where do you live? (State, local govt, your street, your house) answer this questions inside you o! Your environment determine your business sometimes. E.g if you live in Yobe state, even abuja gaan, the heat/temperature can not be compared with someone in Edo,Delta or Ondo state! We need to look into the environmental/weather or even soil requirements of some animals. Or can you imagine someone living in the riverine areas (Ilaje side) of ondo state saying He wants to embark on grasscutter rearing? Before we moove on sir, we need to consider pilfering (thieves)! Some places have more unfaithful people than the other e.g, Oyo and Lagos state. I stand to be corrected though! Imagine you raising snails among Lagos people even if your house is fenced! In some areas in Ibadan e.g Ajibode, Apata (wire and cable side) just to mention a few, stealling is rear! Ahen, in relatively safe places like these, siting of live stock is suitable.

@ dr isa, as much as I agree with you, I issue dat agric is not a business for "the hustler" does not go down well with me! In agric, you see your investment grow with your korokoro eyes! A calabash of palm wine under a "fruit tree" is a good investment energiser after taking a glimse at your growing crops and animals.

@ condi1704 dry season farming is calso known as fadama! it is planting at river basins and beds or irrigation agriculture. plants with short livespans are usually planted such as vegetables, maize ... dry season vegetable production is very lucrative because majority of the local fermers will be out of business since they depend on rain fed agriculture. once your produce gets to the market, i dont tink you will wait up to one hour because market resellers will clear your goods within minutes dat is if they dont tear or injure you in a bid to quickly take d best. Start up capital is low( since land is available) you will need a soil suitability test to know what crop is best for the land and the soil nutrient state. This will give you a Clue in what type of fertilizer to use and the quantity to apply if need be. You already have a source of water, so you need a watering can if you want the labourious farming or set up a mini irrigation system( get all your wetting done with just pressing a button). You need labour to make seed beds, weeding( hand weeded or use of herbicide) , spraying and harvesting( all these you can do yourself or with your family). I dont adhere strictly to the rules of budgetting because "all things are not that equall always in Nigeria" so you use the money at hand to do all you want. This is when the rule of "cheap substitute/ alternative" sets in. Bros, its morning ( Owuro lojo) like my people say! I need to get to work. I will reply dr isa when I get back.

But now, I can give anyone a valid and viable practical technical know how. I am into piggery and snailry now. I will include Rabbitary, dry season vegetable production and poultry within the next two to three months by Gods grace. I don't know how to upload pix, I would have upload some pixs from my 2 and half plot farm in Ondo state. Thanks to God and my very supportive family.

@ Lawmann, as much as I dislike criticism, I always embrace CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Despite d fact dat I am an agric graduate, I had several business failures some years back. I was into fishery, broiler production, maize production. In agric, advice from a practicing farmer is better than a scientific experiment publication from a theoretical prof! Stress, sweat, unpredictable weather, human being unfulfilled promises, money management and many other things are not quantifiable. Pls, let everyone look very well before jumping at any agric business. I take God beg all of una.

If you want to reach me, you can drop your questions here, in my mail if you like(bsadewumi@yahoo.com) or give me a voice call or sms on +2348024051709.once I see it, I will try torespond to those I am sure of and can help you inquire from my "Big brothers" if need be.
I WANT MANY PEOPLE IN AGRIC.
Above the gains, let's join hands and feed our people.
I respect and salut all my readers.
EnjoY brekete!!!

Agric is very profitable but
1.It is capital intensive.( You can start small though)
2. There is drugery in it(labour intensive)
3.To maximise profit, you need to know the techniques or be close to people that are in the business and wants to help you.
4.you need to know the short cuts.
5.you need to be mobile(have a vehincle)at least a bike(okada).
6.you need a large heart
You don't need to have all dis qualifications at start of business but you will get better on the work.
Good luck friends.

@ Dr,
I like you and am glad with the infos you are supplying.
I am an agronomist by profession, a post graduate student, a farmer and consultant(crop production and livestock). I am a field agriculturist.(Not praising myself thoug h because we are all learners)
"I think agric business is not this "Rossy" as you portray it sir!

I am a free lance consultant in the Agriculture industry and a farmer ( crops and livestock) in my state ( ondo state). In need of my wisdom? Call me 08024051709 before you add me 278072fb.

May He who made a way in the waters breathe on your baby In Jesus name. Amen.

I don't know about capsid but can help you with others. Where is your location? Am in ondo state. I will help you for free.

Georgiedey: Pls I intend going into poultry farming and specialize in birds for now.I need someone that can help advise me on how to start off.I have acquiredd an arce of land for these purpose.Thanks my tel no 08057600199 for more details

Place you questions straight and let me see how I can help you. I have more than 12 years poultry farming experience. This is my e_mail : bsadewumi@yahoo.com

A french home tutor is needed in akure, around federal government girls college, owo road, Akure. Applicants can call 08024051709 for enquires. Thank you.

lagbaja: The service of an experienced,young ( not more than 30 years old), honest and energetic agronomist is urgently required in Ogun state. The job comes with free accommodation, training opportunities, growth prospects, career advancements and on job working expereice in a modern agricultural farm. Send your CV to topjobrecruitment@yahoo.com.

hello sir, I sent my cv to your e mail. You siad I should send my phone no which I did but nothing more. I am interested in your offer. Thanks. My no is 08024051709.h

I have more than 5 years experience in plantation agriculture, arable farming and livestock production apart from having a degree in agriculture.I need a job. You can reach me on : bsadewumi@yahoo.com / 08024051709. Thanks.

akoraye: Fellow nairalanders, I need advices/enlightenment on my present condition, I have been working with a private owned company for over five years but suddenly the chairman started investing the capital of the company in real estate business without notifying anybody because the man is not a business oriented. now we were being notified since last month that he is folding up the business by April end.But my problem is that, nothing concerning our payoff has been discussed with any of us (workers) and my manager seems not to be taking any step about it and we don't have any form of labor union in the company.please any advice for me on how to go about it because working for that long with a company without any benefit or compensation seems to be as if my effort in the company is wasted and you know how difficult it is to get a job in Nigeria.please, I need your advice.

. Pray