I went to confront them at my return but I couldn't get neither the money nor my chemicals, I told my Tiv friend and my friend said I should have stayed with his uncle that he won't repeat what he did. I gave him another opportunity thinking he won't do it again, but it's sad he did worse than I could ever imagine after handing him a second chance but it was a sorry case that it took my so long to discover the damages done by him.

After clearing the land I sat down and thought to myself that what will I achieve by coming all the way from Port Harcourt every month just to farm a so farm? It doesn't look challenging and it's almost a waste of time and resources. I then asked my friend's uncle to let's go scouting for bigger lands. While scouting together, he suddenly left me and followed a bike guy without telling where he's going all for him come back to tell me he has found a bigger land in a neighborhood community. I followed him there and I met the owner of the land.

My first question to him was "what's the size of your land"? He said he has more than 100hectares that his son will take me around just to have a view. We didn't looked around and surely there were lots of rice land. I went back and negotiated the price with him he charged me 1.5m which I negotiated it down to 450k.

I paid about 65% of the money and I promised to pay the remaining when I start my second season. Work started and the land was cleared. I was told to plough so that I can plant very early as soon as the rain starts.

Which I did....

arthurshelly:




Sure..when are you start cropping again?

Soon. I am waiting for the land to dry up a bit. There should be some major activities starting in two or three weeks.

spinna:
Very interesting to learn that the Mavic, the dream of filmmakers is being used to scare birds in a farm, a cheaper drone should hve been use i think, i mean you don't really need the expensive camera and gimbal if all you need the drone for is scaring birds.

But based on reading i would advise either netting or falcons..the falcons seem the best option and if one perfects it it becomes a service/product that can be sold to farmers.

Best of luck in your green endeavours, dont give up

Thank you for your kind wishes.

You probably know more about drones than the little I know.

Before selecting the Mavic Pro, I saw several of much cheaper ones...in fact so many of them.

I set up my selection criteria to include
1) big enough not be knocked out of flight easily if it flies into the legion of birds.... Thant knocked off many smaller drones
2) I wanted the battery life to be atbl ast 25minutes per charge

3) I wanted to be able to take quality aerial pictures and videos of my current and future farms without having to buy another drone down the line

3) I wanted a drone that had rave reviews...from a reputable drone manufacturer that consumers are generally happy with.

I thought with the Mavic I would have most of these criteria met....one or two other drones checked these boxes as well, but I just thought the Mavic was just cool

I have not explored the full capabilities of the drone yet....but I intend to soon

Thanks for your input

I felt it was only just to plough and harrow I never knew I was just starting to see the capitalist game in play.

First getting a tractor in some parts of Benue is a luxury and even after you get it they charge you base on how they feel regardless of the size of land. Funny enough the least you can hire a tractor is 30k and you will have to fuel it yourself, I am talking in terms of my own axis. Poor enough many of this tractor owners will not move their tractor until you pay the full charges and it's sad to discover that most tractors are faulty and all they do is to manage it into your farm. You'll discover you were just doing the repairs for them just for the fact of haven to go all over again looking for tractors and having to lose your money incase you send the tractor packing because surely YOU WILL NEVER GET THE MONEY BACK!!!

Before I could realise I had to hire four different tractors which none of them used nothing leaa than 3daysaeach, with a total charges of 60k a day including the gasoline.

I know it sounds like that's not too much to get hat kind of land done, but I will tell you that that's where ignorance can be expensive.

Land preparation in gear....

Purchase of seeds....

On the day of broadcasting the seeds, my friend's uncle told he received a call that that there is a fight in hi community, I sent him home to rescue his family, thinking he will be back, the second I received a call informing me he has been arrested! Reality dawn on me that now I am all alone to finish what I don't have a clue about.

I went online reading up on the next moves I did the preemergence spraying by seeking my chemical supplier's advice. To me my Chemical dealer was helping till at the latter end I discovered he has killed everything from the beginning.

The measurement he gave me was to low to handle the weeds, the chemical prescriptions isn't the best in handling rice weed but I couldn't figured those out because of inexperience. I couldn't go home again I had to start leaving in the thatch house (hut) in the village tilli could find a comfortable apartment which is the first ever hat was built for rented in the village. Lucky me .. I became a full time farmer in no man's land.

21 days to spraying post emergence will come and I will spray and go back home, here comes day 21 my chemical supplier said I should chill that he will give me a fantastic emergence to use that I shouldn't panic, 21 became 40 yet my dealer said it's never too late that he will give me a very good chemical that will handle it perfectly.

I sat and figured it out how could a chemical take care of what has been overdue for two weeks? I couldn't sleep anymore, I had to take a trip to see the chemical dealer the next morning I told him I am not interested in whatsoever chemical again that he should give me whichever post emergence he has regardless of how much it cost. He said I should parodon him that he will go and search the particular chemical he has been telling me about that it was delayed due to the fact that he didn't have in his shop. He came back with some of it and promised to get the remaining and waybill it down to me in the village.

Rice at emergence stage....

I went ahead an sprayed the chemical with the measurement gave, I instructed my boys to spray according to the descriptions thinking weeds will soon be a story on my feed. Funny enough there is a particular weed called Ben that was in my rice that was making me think I was having so much rice on my feed till I was inform that Ben is what I am seeing and not rice. They look so much alike that you won't be able to differentiate if you are just into farming until I started differentiating them by their stems.

I sprayed the chemical....

The reactions.....

My rice turned yellow for weeks...
Some area became totally fried off.

Area fried by the chemical.

Instead of destroying the weeds, my rice was the one damaged. I called my chemical supplier to tell him about the reaction, he said that after two weeks the weeds will start dying. I waited two more weeks to discover that nothing happened to the weeds they were only waxing stronger.

What next to do...?

After having a sleepiness night I decided on the option I have canceled out that I will never embark on.

What option...?
Manual weeding!
Hosted close to forty people for 3weeks+

Operation feed the nation. [center][/center][center][/center]

After all efforts, my rice showed up greener and pretty but with scanty panicles.

The sad revelation....

During these period I contacted a friend whom I later discovered he too his a farmer, after discussing the whole thing with him, he asked me to go measure my land that it might not truly be the size they claimed it to be. I took the advice and did the survey, I discovered I have been the biggest fool of the century. The whole land isn't up to 15 acres. Then hearing it won't even cost me 100k to acquire such land in the west I felt like collapsing, it was a painful discovery afterall my expectations and spendings was based on the size of land I thought it to be but it's too late to go back.

I moved on a started preparing for the harvest, I bought a mini harvester and set for the harvest. Become we could get started the rice was getting overdue I used the harvester to harvest the ones I could but due to lack of technicians to handle some little problems with the machine I had to put it aside and get it done manually to hasten things up.

I sought out for the boys to come and harvest, many turns down the offer that the water is too much on the field for them to work inside.

Weeks gone rice has started bending and drying up, I ran around and found someone who went and bring me aomew labourers miles away from my own village. I paid the price fed them thrice a day and accommodated them for 2weeks.

They agreed before coming to harvest and to thresh but after harvesting they refused to threshed the rice and left my rice scattered in the water.

Less I forget the bird scaring part was a little bit fair but expensive, I had to contract the work to a guy who mobilized about 9 boys into my field where I supplied them with cassette tapes, twain, catapults, and all sort of means of chasing birds. After calculating the charges and the feeding (FYI - Tiv people can eat!) for more than a month, it discovered that alone has gulped a lot but I scored them 70%.



The rain kept falling and falling, no one is ready to thresh the rice, all claiming it's too wet and it will be very difficult to thresh, getting a threshing machine around was hard. I had to go everyday to start bringing out the rice from the water.

After waiting and n one came around to thresh I had to be going everyday to bring out the harvested rice that has been submerged under the water. Which I am still doing till now. It's been two month and I can't tell you enough the damages incurred so far.


Less I forget, I employed guy who mobilized about 9boys into my field to supervise, with the aid of catapults, cassette tapes, twain, scarecrows and many other forms of scaring beds. I cost a lot to host them for one month having to pay a huge amount for the services and to feed them ×3 daily doesn't come easy. FYI - Tiv people eat a lot.

After all efforts to bring out the rice and stand it, here comes the birds. I would have preferred leaving it in the water if not for the rottenness under water than seeing birds destroying then after rescue.

To end it all, the expected tonnage was 20tonnes but right now as I am saying I have not gotten up to 1ton, the chaff gotten during the winnowing is as much as the grains gotten.

With all these I nearly reached the height of frustration and depresion after leaving everything behind for months to pursue a vision in a no man's land.

All the experience and problems encountered doesn't really sound technical but I will tell you it was a challenge having to do what you've never done before with any guidance or help from any expertise, and also been enclosed in an environment closed to information and people seeking out for your failure. It was disheartening and discouraging. But haven looked at the journey so far, I never regret ever taking the step for the problems caused me to seek for solutions and during the finding of solution it opened me up to a greater platform of connections and informtion. I found out million dollar opportunities laying fallow around and I see a future where my little loss is bringing great gains beyond borders.

My experience was a great one but am thankful for all the privileges, pains, pursuits, worries, suspense, connections and opportunities for they've all mode me and strengthen my mental strength for greater pursuits.


I choose not to write more about my friend uncle's deed because I can't tell what were hi true intentions though I found out alot of untruthfulness about the land and some suspicions about him having hand in the extortion but I can't validate my suspicions since I have no proof.

He came back during the harvest that he has been released and that he will like to continue with hi work, I told him his services were no longer needed.


Thanks for granting the privilege to share my little experience, I hope it helps someone who is going through the same and am also sorry for my grammar and typos.

Kindly enjoy the view of the rice gotten so far.

Quite detailed.

In summary, here are the two areas you ignored:

1. You did not research the business well before doing it.

2. You did not make a business plan. You do not need a professional plan but you need something to guide you. You do not need to consult anyone to do this. It is just putting down on paper A to Z of what you need.

One advice. Never go too far from your home to do farm business. For people living in Lagos and cultivating corn, rice or millet, Oyo is even too far. Get somewhere near your city or very close to you. How can you live in Lagos and set up vegetable farm in Iseyin. Ibadan is even too far. But if you are doing cash crop, Ogbomosho is still ok. Anyway, always put this into consideration. That land which is N15,000 per acre in a remote area in Osun State does not mean it is better than a place in Ogun where it is N350,000. #JustSaying

@Fadphil u made lots of mistakes. In bizness, i wont advice u to put ur whole trust on sb, esp sb u dont know well enof. If u cant farm sth all by urself, take time and learn it b4 patnering. If u learn from this experience and dont give, u'll achieve greater things to the shame of schemers.

Thanks @fluentifor.
Really I did a business plan base on what the Tiv guy told me and also claiming he has a first hand experience in it. But after I stepped in, I threw the business plan our of the window because it was far from the reality. I had to learn things first hand before accepting okay this is what and what it takes to achieve so and so.

But I will always accept the fact that so many stupid mistakes were made on my side.

Secondly on going the distance to farm
If I had known someone who could guide me from the west I would have head on straight to the west but it's sad (maybe it's a blessing) that the Tiv guy was the first person to draw my attention to agriculture and having to farm in Port Harcourt is a no no except you want the locals (militants) to then your farm to an extortion ground. That was what led me to Benue and also the fact that I thought that it's only in the north that they have enough of fadama lands not knowing some part of the west has too. Though the fadama lands here are quite vast and good with large rivers for irrigation.

@Farmtech
I 100% agree with you on my mistakes and I learnt the hard way. I also forgot to mention that the land owner came harassing me for the remaining 170k which I took up to the local authority, we are yet to hear the final judgement but I was told is either the man calculates my money base on the hectare I use and give me back my remaining money or I use the land again for the next year planting season and also having a 2hectares for my maize and casava running till 2020, a very nice apartment and also a standard storage facility.

Really the experience and the exposure I have got aside farming but also on commodities outweighs the pain and also haven to leave among the farmers and learn so tricks has really really paid off not to talk of the contacts and influence made among the locals. Now am a legitimate citizen rooting the whole angles of the community like they are mine.

The greatest question am facing now is should I continue my journey there or pack my bags and move to the west which I don't think I can find such vast land in Lagos to farm rice neither can I find it in Port Harcourt except I relocate to Oyo state which I will have to start all over again by getting used to the locals.

This thread is interesting

Fadphils:

Thanks @fluentifor.
Really I did a business plan base on what the Tiv guy told me and also claiming he has a first hand experience in it. But after I stepped in, I threw the business plan our of the window because it was far from the reality. I had to learn things first hand before accepting okay this is what and what it takes to achieve so and so.

But I will always accept the fact that so many stupid mistakes were made on my side.

Secondly on going the distance to farm
If I had known someone who could guide me from the west I would have head on straight to the west but it's sad (maybe it's a blessing) that the Tiv guy was the first person to draw my attention to agriculture and having to farm in Port Harcourt is a no no except you want the locals (militants) to then your farm to an extortion ground. That was what led me to Benue and also the fact that I thought that it's only in the north that they have enough of fadama lands not knowing some part of the west has too. Though the fadama lands here are quite vast and good with large rivers for irrigation.

Wow! You really put a lot on the line. What part of Benue did you cultivate the rice? I also have farms in katsina ala.

Fadphils:

Thanks @fluentifor.
Really I did a business plan base on what the Tiv guy told me and also claiming he has a first hand experience in it. But after I stepped in, I threw the business plan our of the window because it was far from the reality. I had to learn things first hand before accepting okay this is what and what it takes to achieve so and so.

But I will always accept the fact that so many stupid mistakes were made on my side.

Secondly on going the distance to farm
If I had known someone who could guide me from the west I would have head on straight to the west but it's sad (maybe it's a blessing) that the Tiv guy was the first person to draw my attention to agriculture and having to farm in Port Harcourt is a no no except you want the locals (militants) to then your farm to an extortion ground. That was what led me to Benue and also the fact that I thought that it's only in the north that they have enough of fadama lands not knowing some part of the west has too. Though the fadama lands here are quite vast and good with large rivers for irrigation.

It will end in praise by the special grace of God.

Yes, it is why I tell anyone who cares to listen that it will take extra effort to compete with products coming from the north. How can you easily beat them with the facilities over there like the Fadama land? Almost free land with irrigation.

I think I should share the basic lessons I learnt about rice farming from the locals. And senior farmers with countless experience.

1. Do not farm rice during the raining season (April-June), you will always loose.
How?
1. The rainfall pattern during that period is not stable and there won't be enough water for the rice to be productive enough.
2. The post emergence chemical called 2-4D works better with enough water on the field to keep it active and sustain the rice from whatever shock received from the 2-4D.
3. There will be less weed inside fadama when it has enough water than when it is dry which will save you from having to fight with weeds.
4. There will be more birds during the (April-June) rice season due to the fact that only few farm rice which makes ones field an attraction centre for all the birds in your environment.
5. Harvest made easy due to the harmattan during the harvest period and threshing becomes faster. Incase you couldn't pack your rice early there wouldn't be water again in the farm to destroy your rice.
6. April-June rice can't be stored except well dried which you will have to sell for almost giveaway price because of the low demand while the July-Nov rice is easily stored without going through any stress and while you store them and sell your grains at a good price when the scarcity of rice kicks in.
7. Don't ever make the mistake of you going to mill your rice at the miller factories you will regret it except you set up your own milling equipment that's when you can make a good gain in milling rice.
8. Always get used to the locals they might be helpful in given you directions in areas you know nothing about.
9. If you know you want to farm during this (April-June/Jan-June) rice season please and please irrigate and also do it small in other to be able to control the weeds and especially the birds or you must be ready to invest big like @TangoAlpha and @Saliubello are planning to.
Thanks.

@hoyzy24 at Sati-Ikov ushongo local government. Very close to Katsina Ala. I come almost every week to katsina for banking stuffs.
Please I do like to connect, meeting a 21st century farmer from Benue for the first time.

Fadphils:
@hoyzy24 at Sati-Ikov ushongo local government. Very close to Katsina Ala. I come almost every week to katsina for banking stuffs.
Please I do like to connect, meeting a 21st century farmer from Benue for the first time.

I have friends who hail from Ushongo. I'm currently out of Benue, would be back by mid November. Would let you know when I get back.

hoyze24:

I have friends who hail from Ushongo. I'm currently out of Benue, would be back by mid November. Would let you know when I get back.

okay.
I don't know f I will be around by then but I will surely let you know if I will be.

Fadphils:

The greatest question am facing now is should I continue my journey there or pack my bags and move to the west which I don't think I can find such vast land in Lagos to farm rice neither can I find it in Port Harcourt except I relocate to Oyo state which I will have to start all over again by getting used to the locals.

It is only a business plan that will show you clearly what next to do. Hmmmm!

@TangoAlpha and I are working on improving some areas based on the revelations on this thread. Ok, let him come online, if he agrees to share more details especialy on the financial aspect of his farm, I will personally write a business plan for you. Yeah, anyone doing rice farm can benefit from it but i will prefer to limit it. Will not want to involve any other person for now or release it for anyone until the goal is achieved. People need to research more by themselves and not just "xerox" everything.

What we will work on will include Start up cost, personnel, outsourcing, Sales, Income Statement, Cash Flow, Business Ratios (ROI, ROA, IRR, etc up to 30 ratios), Balance Sheet, Inventory Analysis, Breakeven Analaysis, etc. You know we will get almkst accurate figures since two guys here have done it. Though, I was an observer of a rice project too recently. Lol

Above all, a pilot will commence soon and that is exaclty what we will rely on and use for the final plan.

Anyway, let him come online first. If he is in, we can do our best to move it forward.

Remember, the challenge is to find the best method to fight those frustrating tiny birds.

Bro, do not be surprise ooo. There are places in Lagos you can cultivate rice and irrigation is available. Ogun Osun River Basin in Ikorodu is a place you can look into. Though, i am not a fan of usimg governement land.

fluentinfor:


It will end in praise by the special grace of God.

Yes, it is why I tell anyone who cares to listen that it will take extra effort to compete with products coming from the north. How can you easily beat them with the facilities over there like the Fadama land? Almost free land with irrigation.

Amen!
Seriously there is a lot that can be achieve with what they have around here but it's sad that they are not making great exploits with what they have. Enough resources being underutilized. I am talking of the north central though.

fluentinfor:


It is only a business plan that will show you clearly what next to do. Hmmmm!

@TangoAlpha and I are working on improving some areas based on the revelations on this thread. Ok, let him come online, if he agrees to share more details especialy on the financial aspect of his farm, I will personally write a business plan for you. Yeah, anyone doing rice farm can benefit from it but i will prefer to limit it. Will not want to involve any other person for now or release it for anyone until the goal is achieved. People need to research more by themselves and not just "xerox" everything.

What we will work on will include Start up cost, personnel, outsourcing, Sales, Income Statement, Cash Flow, Business Ratios (ROI, ROA, IRR, etc up to 30 ratios), Balance Sheet, Inventory Analysis, Breakeven Analaysis, etc. You know we will get almkst accurate figures since two guys here have done it. Though, I was an observer of a rice project too recently. Lol

Above all, a pilot will commence soon and that is exaclty what we will rely on and use for the final plan.

Anyway, let him come online first. If he is in, we can do our best to move it forward.

Remember, the challenge is to find the best method to fight those frustrating tiny birds.

Bro, do not be surprise ooo. There are places in Lagos you can cultivate rice and irrigation is available. Ogun Osun River Basin in Ikorodu is a place you can look into. Though, i am not a fan of usimg governement land.

thanks for that great info @fluentifor concerning land in ikorodu, I will do my findings. I will be glad also to partake in the business plan on the bird management scheme too we never can tell if I too will be needing them in the nearest future maybe even now