Hello all...I'm djdoxx...Some of you may recall my first plantain merchandise trip which I shared here on NL sometime last year immediately after my NYSC...Some of you may also recall I made mention of the fact that I discovered having your farm is extremely more profitable to buying from farmers and reselling them at any market.

After my first and second plantain merchandise, I promised myself I must start my plantain farming during the next plantain season.

After my last year's merchandise, I left the plantain business and ventured into other online businesses...Now, planting season is here again...I am about to take you through my first plantain farming experience which has already begun.

Welcome to my pain and gain series.

Below is the link to last year's thread on my first plantain merchandise to Lagos


https://www.nairaland.com/2677475/first-plantain-merchandise-lagos

After learning and running few things in Lagos , I decided to visit Akure and stay there. It was on staying there I met an old friend who also schooled in FUTA...We were both doing our individual businesses and stayed separately until one day we got talking and we discussed about farming together...

He (Quaresma) told me he already got some acres of land from his dad and he also was planning on running plantain farming...We then concluded that we travel down to Osun state together to start our farming there since we were opportuned to also get a three bedroom flat also from his dad...

We travelled down to OSU village where the farmlands are....And we started making inquiries of how to get our labour force into the farm.

Quaresma was told the acres of land available was up to 6 acres by the farmers and relatives in the village, so we sent them money to do the clearing of the land. We were advised by the farmers to plant between the month of August to September...October becomes too late to plant they say...We got the price of getting plantain stumps, clearing the land, digging and planting already from our source in the village, so we always sent money to him to help sort things out for us.

After about a week, since I couldn't drive from Akure to Osun state without my driver's licence, I asked a friend who had one to drive us to the farm...Another friend(Quaresma's friend) also asked he join us to visit our proposed farm... i.e four of us visited the proposed farm to see about the development...

On getting to the farm, We noticed the farmlands were cleared the way we wanted it...We wanted the lands to very clear and all trees felled...but the land clearers gave us brilliant reasons why the already felled trees were left on the farm and why some trees were not felled. I will point out the advantages as I write further.

On getting to the farm, the lands were already cleared, hole borers also already started boring the holes for the plantain to be planted.

cc: lesupnigeria

Remember i said we were told by our local consultant (a farmer) that we had 4 acres plant on....

We ordered and paid for 1000 stumps of plantain to be brought and planted...

Our farmer uses his bike to convey the stumps to the farm.

It was not until we started planting my friend and myself noticed the land was not even up to 1 acre...Upon telling them that the land wasn't up to an acre, they still argued it was 4 acres... What I want to point out is this- farmers who are illiterates do not know the exact measurement of their lands, they just give assumptions...

I have seen Lesgup and other plantain farmers encourage people go into plantain farming as it would generate them millions within a year...This may be true, and only can be true if all the conditions I will share here are followed strictly.

The main key to running a successful plantain farm or any other business generally is having 'Quality Education ' on the particular field you are venturing into.

Little wonder why our farmers in the village look very tattered and poor upon having 30 acres of land which they use for their various farming activities...

The 30 acres of land they claim to have is just really about 5 acres...lol

I will highlight on my next post some questions and would also give answers to them much later as I proceed...

Below are relevant questions to farming generally..

What is the size of an acre?

What is the best spacing to use for plantain farming?

How many plantain stumps can an acre hold?

Is there really need for irrigation?

Is there really need for weeding and pest control?

Can one really make millions from plantain farming?

How?

Capital and operations needed?

How to manage investment costs?

Best planting period?

Best plantain suckers(breeds) to plant? {According to Lagos market}

Best crops to plant along with plantain ?

Best management practices?


More questions may arise as I proceed....

following...

1) what is the size of an acre?

An acre of land is exactly 6 plots of land.

Let me add this: Hectare of land is different from acres of land.

Two and a half acres of land makes an hectare of land.

What is the best spacing for plantain farming?

Spacing method applied for plantain farming is relative.

And it depends on whether the farmer is going to do intercropping i.e plant other crops along side plantain

The spacing method can be 3m by 2m or 2.5m by 2.5m.

Following, with keen interest, please lead the way

Following.

djdoxxx Oil dey your Head, We go still go retry the Okigbe Charm..........

following with kunu

djdoxxx:
Below are relevant questions to farming generally..

What is the size of an acre?

What is the best spacing to use for plantain farming?

How many plantain stumps can an acre hold?

Is there really need for irrigation?

Is there really need for weeding and pest control?

Can one really make millions from plantain farming?

How?

Capital and operations needed?

How to manage investment costs?

Best planting period?

Best plantain suckers(breeds) to plant? {According to Lagos market}

Best crops to plant along with plantain ?

Best management practices?


More questions may arise as I proceed....

How many stumps can an acre occupy?

Depending on the spacing method used.....I have read in some articles that an acre would occupy 1,100 stumps of plantain using the 2.5 by 2.5 m spacing.....and between 800 - 900 stumps using the 3 by 3 m spacing...However, since this my first experience, I would like to see the numbers personally.

djdoxxx:
Below are relevant questions to farming generally..

What is the size of an acre?

What is the best spacing to use for plantain farming?

How many plantain stumps can an acre hold?

Is there really need for irrigation?

Is there really need for weeding and pest control?

Can one really make millions from plantain farming?

How?

Capital and operations needed?

How to manage investment costs?

Best planting period?

Best plantain suckers(breeds) to plant? {According to Lagos market}

Best crops to plant along with plantain ?

Best management practices?


More questions may arise as I proceed....

Is there really need for irrigation?

There is ALWAYS NEED for irrigation when it comes to any planting operations done on the farm. But most plantain experts would say otherwise. However, since the cost of irrigation or proximity to water may be of a problem, it is normally advised to carry on plantain farming without it...Down here in the west, almost every land is fertile for planting... Ogun state, osun state, ondo state, kwara state are states I know from experience have fertile lands.... You can reach me personally if you are interested in renting or buying some lands in the west here (Ogun state to be precise )


Is there really need for pest control?

Definitely, there is every need to control pests on your farm. Let me add the need to also control weeds.

djdoxxx:


How many acres do an acre occupy?

Depending on the spacing method used.....I have read in some articles that an acre would occupy 1,100 stumps of plantain using the 2.5 by 2.5 m spacing.....and between 800 - 900 stumps using the 3 by 3 m spacing...However, since this my first experience, I would like to see the numbers personally.

Plant population = Land area / plant density.

The area of an acre is 4046 m^2

Using a spacing of 2.5m by 2 5m,
The plant population / number of stumps would be = 4046m^2 / (2.5m * 2.5m)
which is 647 plants or stumps

Using a spacing of 3m by 3m, the plant population would be
4046m^2 / (3m*3m)
which is 499 plants or stumps.

The spacing of 3m by 3m is used when the farmer intends to intercrop as there would be spaces for other crops to grow.

Other common spacings are 3m by 2m recommended by IITA. This gives 666 plants per acre. And 2m by 2m, this spacing is advocated by people selling plantain suckers as it requires one to plant many suckers per acre. It gives 1000 plant/ stump per acre. The disadvantages is that the plantain would take longer time to produce fruit, grow taller and thinner due to competition for space and would produce smaller bunches.

Using fertigation ( constantly irrigating with water that contains fertilizer), and planting dwarf varieties, one can plant with a spacing of 1.5m by 1.5m which would give a plant population of 1777 plants per acre.

Thanks for this info....I have not read what your contribution yet....I would read it soon and compare it with what I have on my farm

phyllosilicate:


Plant population = Land area / plant density.

The area of an acre is 4046 m^2

Using a spacing of 2.5m by 2 5m,
The plant population / number of stumps would be = 4046m^2 / (2.5m * 2.5m)
which is 647 plants or stumps

Using a spacing of 3m by 3m, the plant population would be
4046m^2 / (3m*3m)
which is 499 plants or stumps.

The spacing of 3m by 3m is used when the farmer intends to intercrop as there would be spaces for other crops to grow.

Other common spacings are 3m by 2m recommended by IITA. This gives 666 plants per acre. And 2m by 2m, this spacing is advocated by people selling plantain suckers as it requires one to plant many suckers per acre. It gives 1000 plant/ stump per acre. The disadvantages is that the plantain would take longer time to produce fruit, grow taller and thinner due to competition for space and would produce smaller bunches.

Using fertigation ( constantly irrigating with water that contains fertilizer), and planting dwarf varieties, one can plant with a spacing of 1.5m by 1.5m which would give a plant population of 1777 plants per acre.

Thanks for this info....Finally digested your contribution....I really commend this illustration and appreciate the time taken to give this illustration.

ichommy:
djdoxxx Oil dey your Head, We go still go retry the Okigbe Charm..........

I see you boss in HD....Naso, We would try the okigbe thin out.

djdoxxx:


Thanks for this info....Finally digested your contribution....I really commend this illustration and appreciate the time taken to give this illustration.

You are welcome. Great job you're doing.

Went through your first thread, read it to the end. It was very educative. Seriously following this to learn from your experience.

Would keep my questions for now.

phyllosilicate:


You are welcome. Great job you're doing.

Went through your first thread, read it to the end. It was very educative. Seriously following this to learn from your experience.

Would keep my questions for now.

Yessire!!!

djdoxxx:

Yessire!!!

good job bro, I'm actually interested in plantain farming as I intend starting with 1 hectare of land I'm having by next year here in Ogun state. So I'll be needing some experience from you bro

By the way. 1 hectare being 10000 meter square and 1 acre being 4000 meter square using 2m by 3m should give you the below results


That's an app that calculates plant population

djdoxxx:
Remember i said we were told by our local consultant (a farmer) that we had 4 acres plant on....

We ordered and paid for 1000 stumps of plantain to be brought and planted...

Our farmer uses his bike to convey the stumps to the farm.

It was not until we started planting my friend and myself noticed the land was not even up to 1 acre...Upon telling them that the land wasn't up to an acre, they still argued it was 4 acres... What I want to point out is this- farmers who are illiterates do not know the exact measurement of their lands, they just give assumptions...

I have seen Lesgup and other plantain farmers encourage people go into plantain farming as it would generate them millions within a year...This may be true, and only can be true if all the conditions I will share here are followed strictly.

The main key to running a successful plantain farm or any other business generally is having 'Quality Education ' on the particular field you are venturing into.

Little wonder why our farmers in the village look very tattered and poor upon having 30 acres of land which they use for their various farming activities...

The 30 acres of land they claim to have is just really about 5 acres...lol

I will highlight on my next post some questions and would also give answers to them much later as I proceed...

I bought an app where you can easily measured your farmland accurately using GPS no matter how small/ big your farmland without a surveyor
1st rule in farming is measure your farmland first before cultivating it and half of the problem is solved.
You can contact me on WhatsApp 08164628081 to have access.

Lesgupnigeria:

I bought an app where you can easily measured your farmland accurately using GPS no matter how small/ big your farmland without a surveyor
1st rule in farming is measure your farmland first before cultivating it and half of the problem is solved.
You can contact me on WhatsApp 08164628081 to have access.

I will add you up soon...Thanks for the info....

Yea...measuring the farmlands is key.

harmbhrosz:
good job bro, I'm actually interested in plantain farming as I intend starting with 1 hectare of land I'm having by next year here in Ogun state. So I'll be needing some experience from you bro

By the way. 1 hectare being 10000 meter square and 1 acre being 4000 meter square using 2m by 3m should give you the below results


That's an app that calculates plant population

Nice job harmbhrozs...very cool!!! Nice one with the application...i hope everyone interested in plantain farming gains one thing or the other on this thread too and that includes you too....I would use this app to calculate the size of the farmlands with the number of stumps planted on here and meter spacing used.

djdoxxx:
Below are relevant questions to farming generally..

What is the size of an acre?

What is the best spacing to use for plantain farming?

How many plantain stumps can an acre hold?

Is there really need for irrigation?

Is there really need for weeding and pest control?

Can one really make millions from plantain farming?

How?

Capital and operations needed?

How to manage investment costs?

Best planting period?

Best plantain suckers(breeds) to plant? {According to Lagos market}

Best crops to plant along with plantain ?

Best management practices?


More questions may arise as I proceed....

Can one really make millions from plantain farming?


Yes, one can really make millions from plantain farming

The return on investment actually depends on the size of farmlands planted on...It also depends on the management practices put in place. When the best management practices are carried out, the expected result would be met.

Don't ever dress like this to a farm!!! You all need to see my body....been scratching my body as I have insects feasting on me....Best way to dress is on an overall with all your body fully covered....Our Yoruba attire would be perfect(My suggestion though

Quaresma's (my partner in crime) suggestion about dressing to the farm..pretty awkward to me...lol





Nigga be dabbing on the farm !!!

djdoxxx:
Don't ever dress like this to a farm!!! You all need to see my body....been scratching my body as I have insects feasting on me....Best way to dress is on an overall with all your body fully covered....Our Yoruba attire would be perfect(My suggestion though

Following you bumper to bumper

Well done