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Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 11:57am On Jul 03, 2019 |
Let us grow the Economy I build businesses; therefore, I talk to many people everyday. On this thread, I will discuss only ideas. Among the topics I am going to write about are: cash crops, fruits, aquatic businesses, poultry, piggery, herbs, spicies, grains, tubers, and even vegetables. I understand how things work in advance countries and I have dined and wined with poor farmers in Nigerian bushes. I have worked in many parts of the country; therefore I can tell you what works and what does not. One of my strengths is my experience working in Europe with one of the big fours in the area of Business Development and Strategy. So, I know the value chain from the farm in Borno/Sokoto/Enugu/Ogbomosho/Ilaro etc to the final consumer. For example, I can tell you about cocoa to chocolate, and advise you where to enter and exit in the chain. I can tell you how kids in African nations suffer in the sun to produce cocoa beans, and how they end up destroying Swiss kids teeth. lol. Do not be deceived with the show-off of our politicians and royal heads in Nigeria. Ondo State governor is hailed here and there for providing cocoa seedlings. lol. Even the Ooni of Ife is not left out. My question is that: "Is it seedlings we go chop?" Do they follow up with the farmers who they donated the seedlings to? If Chief Awolowo did it the way they are doing it, we will not see the evidences. We saw harvests fron Obafemi Awolowo's agricultural exploits. But these ones are just playing on our intelliegence. While their counterpart in Anambra showed us finished goods, they continue giving us seedlings. I appreciate the Eagle company cattle, but I am scared of cancer. That cow shown is so scary. It looks like it's been fed with ho.rmones. This is the problem we always encounter, and the biggest opportunity for cancer people to get into business, they do not slack. Trust me, these biotechnology people kill more than Fulani. We will start having cattle feeding on antibiotics, in.jected with different kinds of ster.iods, feeding them with horm.ones and deadly vitamins, etc. I am really scared. I have peace of mind eating Fulani meat than poultry meat and eggs. Who are my audience? If you are in diaspora, this thread is for you. If you are interested in locking your money in the Agricultural sector, I am here to show you the risks you must carry. Follow me as I show you the prons and cons of most businesses I have written business and marketing plans on. I know about them in details. Small farmers and hu.stlers can just follow, but I beg you not to interject with "how can a common man start this?" There are extraordinary men among the common. If you do not see yourself climbing the ladder of success, hmmm.... please, take back seat. What should I do? Cassava, cocoyam, cocoa, rubber, oil palm? What exactly? Should I invest in a massive fish business, or should I start a ranch business in the country? Let me ask you this question: Since how many years has Wor.ld Bank started promoting, funding, and assisting with starch production from cassava in West Africa? Is it not the same subsistence farmers that are still into garri production? Where are the so called Vitamin A cassava stems? Hehehehe! You better not listen to the W.orld Bank, IMF, and their mouth pieces so you do not regret it. Farming is extremely tough in Nigeria, but if you can solve the challenges involved in the area you want to dive into, I assure you that 10 generations from you will pray for you. They will all pay homage to your final resting place. So, do you know the hurdles ahead you must jump over? Feel free to write me on: pistotita19@gmail.com 4 Likes |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Ayodehji202: 2:55pm On Jul 03, 2019 |
a well written analysis,but OP hope you are not one of those online farmers if you are truly interested In enlighten Nigeria young and graduate farmers like me,then am happy to be the FTC on this thread . Now you can carry on. 1 Like |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by mankettle(m): 3:48am On Jul 04, 2019 |
following |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 8:21am On Jul 04, 2019 |
1. Cassava World Bank is really interested in this crop the moment bio-technology made it possible to produce cassava with extreme high starch content. Funny that Nigerians are not interested in starch but in the most common end products in SW and SE which are garri, and another one called "fufu" in the west. Hahaha! The Ijebus (a popular mini tribe in the Yoruba land which spreads from Epe, Lagos to Ogun State with their main town in Ijebu Ode) have a special fermented garri with peculiar aroma. It just must be sour, else it is worthless in the market. Actually, I enjoy drinking garri with powdered milk, nuts, and without any sweetner. Hahaha! But I do not so much like eating "eba", the cooked form of garri because it takes too long to digest. I just do not like it, and fufu is a capital NO for me too. While the Ibos hate so much this fermented version, they usually make their garri by adding palm oil to it which turns the color to yellow. Yeah! This version of "eba" tastes better in my mouth, while drinking it as garri is disastr.ous. And they even pound it to make it smoother. Value Chain 1. Cassava Tubers --> Cooked tubers 2. Cassava Tubers --> Processed to garri ---> Local Market --->Packed for grocery stores 3. Cassava Tubers ---> Processed to Fufu wet/dry powder -->Local Market --> Packed for grocery stores 4. Cassava Tubers ---> Cassava Flour ---> Used in 10-20% flour proposed for bakery esp bread, but not used OR Exported 5. Cassava Tubers ---> Starch ---> Replace Corn Starch by Many industries OR Exported Cassava Starch is the reason World Bank got involved, and it is expected that cassava starch will overtake corn starch in the world market. But it has its limitation too. One of it is that cassava tubers must be processed immediately after harvest, not even 24 hours after. The earlier it's processed, the better the starch or flour from it. Therefore, it is expected to situate the factory right inside the farm. Huge Challenge For Corn and Starch Production How is it possible to situate a huge factory in the bush? Where is the power to drive the equipment? Or do you want to use solar energy to drive huge equipment? Hehehe. I believe World Bank should be tired to pushing cassava starch at this stage because Africa, especially Nigeria is not ready. The world expects more productivity from Nigeria, but she is slacking. This country should be great, but her obituary is coming out soon with the kind of people in power, and I seriously pray against it. Free Trade Zones and the World Starch Market It sounded like a good idea to situate ones business in the free trade zone to enjoy free taxes since the business is going to be more of exportation. In 2013 when I was writing 2 billion naira 80 tons of cassava starch daily production business for Lekki Zone (actually the optimum production of the factory was suppose to be 100 tons daily), I realised that the road network even from Epe town to the destination might be ok at the initial stage, but may be hard in the future. I just know most of our tubers would not gain easy access to the factory because of congestion, and we would run at loss. My partners were trying to force it just to take advantage of the already available loan and other incentives attached. But I was going to be most likely the CEO of the firm, and I would be the one with sleepless nights during operation. I looked at the incentives attached, and what we would likely face in the nearest future, and I just said No. I was not going forward. Since there was no way to install another form of plant to generate energy for the factory in the bush at the time, I could not run the business..They felt I was joking with all the benefits attached, but they were wrong. While I was trying to convince myself if their proposal could be looked into, I met the expat who is the MD of the firm which was about installing the factory in Eko Hotel. Fortunately, he came to Lagos from Europe for a week business meetings, and he was the one who told me about all the failed factories his company had installed in West Africa, even one along Ibadan Express Way just because the factories were not in the bush. That was when I quit the business. No power in the bush, forget Cassava Starch production in a very big way. Except you just can arrange smooth transportation from farm to your factory continuously. Do not ever depend on farmers for tuber supply. You have just dug out the pit your factory will be buried before you start operation by relying on farmers. Dead on arrival! Subsistence Cassava Farming Until power improves tremendously in Nigeria, Cassava cultivation will stil continue to be dominated by subsistence farmers. In fact by indegenes of the areas garri, fufu, and starch food are known for. Low Yield Since the sponsors of mandates of research institutes are not interested in cassava production for local diets, old cultivars are still mostly used. Well, might be IITA has got some better versions, I do not know. But I am sure that these indegenes are so concerned about a peculiar aroma, taste, or whatever they want which warrants them to stay more with low yield cultivars. There is a saying amount them that Never use fertilizer to grow cassava . Is it true? Waoooo! Therefore, land rest is vital since they need natural nutrients only. It's cheap for them too. But they always run out of land faster than expected; therefore, they remain extremely poor. Please, if you are a cassava farmer producing for making garri, kindly share with us more information about this believe of not cultivating cassava with fertilizer, and why is the believe so common among them. Or has it changed? I doubt it. lol. Cassava production leads me to my first 2 principles for commercial Agro farming business in Nigeria. Principle 1: Be extra careful with Agro processing businesses which require heavy equipment usage, especially if the product has short shelf life, or just avoid them Power needs to be available. Until power is supplied uninterrupted, Nigeria cannot fly like eagle on her coat of arm. Mark my words, power is the main ingredient lost in taking our economy to the next level. APC and Buhari are jokes concerning their next level without sufficient power. I believe we should let any incoming president know that if he cannot supply minimum of 50MW power, he should forget it. For Christ sake, Lagos population is millions. I believe the official figure for Lagos population is flawed as the real figure is much more than the official figure. It is cra.zy. Something is wrong with Nigeria. And can you imagine how big the north is, and the population there is so scanty compared to Lagos. Even hausas are migrating to Lagos to hustle. And Buhari wanted cows to join the population too in the name of creating farm ranches (Ruga) across the country. Hahahahah. Ma.dness dey oooo. Walahi! Federal Government does not understand anything about economy. Standard and confirmed! Full Stop! Thank God President Buhari admitted yesterday that his best is not good enough for the power sector. Click HERE On the otherhand, I don't still know how anything which requires physical wire electricity distribution will work in Nigeria. The people themselves are hear.tless, wic.ked, and they are their own wor.st ene.mies. Telecommunication did not work until physical wire distribution was dumped. Is there any wifi electrical distributions which Nigerians can use? Why? Nigerians tamper with these cables. When a man has the confidence to tamper with high voltage transformer powering several streets with minimum of 30 houses in each, then you realise that de.vil resides in many Nigerians. Hehehehehe! When you gat the confidence to climb a ladder and tamper with live cables without consulting the authority so that experts can be sent to check the fault. But the so called experts too are ma.d set of humans. Seriously, the man who will solve Nigerian Power challenges might be more powerful than Angel Michael, and softer than Gabriel. Principle 2: An agro processing firm should produce at least 80% of its raw material The second principle was confirmed after the collapsed of Dangote tomato factory and I think he is trying to correct it. Your business is dead on arrival if you rely on farmers to supply up to 50% of the raw materials for your factory. This is not a trading business. After the tomato factory issue, Alhaji Dangote approached another governor in the North for land for farming, and that one too was asking him to liase with farmers. Dangote just told the governor that he, his farmers, their land will be alright. lol. They lost huge investment from Dangote Who has resources to waste on lazy farmers. That's even in the north..South is worse. Hehehe! The northern farmers still produced, but these southern farmers will definitely divert the money invested in them elsewhere. Never work with the do - called Togolese, Cotonou, Benue, etc workers if you do not know how to handle them. They are de.mons on farms. Your investment will start evaporating like boiled water in your presence using these people as workers. They do not care. They just want to collect salary. And if you know any farmer who is using them, tell him to take Blood Pressure test, and you will understand. Even the boss on farms ages faster than the boys working because of unrest mind set. Hehehehe! Please, do not ever write me to come manage your farm, esp if it's located in the south. I beg you in God's name. I gat my challenges in my business to address. Lol. Lessons learnt 1. Becareful with government, IMF, and World Banks proposals. They are not the best in most cases. Personally, I do not like most of their solutions for developing nations. They are more interested in serving the developed nations funding them. Until Nigeria starts funding them too, I do not expect much from them. 2. Stay away from using too much power in your farm. Push forward any farming operation that require power till Nigeria gets it right. Maybe not in our generation. So, do not do it. 3. Farmers are not reliable. Be the farmer of what you want to process. Infact, cover about 80% of the value chain of the industry you want to dive in. Else, you will have serious and many challenges in the nearest future after the commencement of operation. Recommendations for Cassava Business 1. Cassava is not meant for subsistence farming. You need minimum of 10 ha to do it well with tractors of yours; else, you will be poor like the indegenes. 2. Your best bet as at this moment is still local food production such as garri/fufu/food starch, etc.. 3. Consult IITA to get local manufacturers of equipment used for such processing. Make sure you calculate the energy needed before you dived into it. Never go for too heavy equipment. Look for equipment which are very good on low power or manually easily operated. Never listen only to those manufacturers because they want to sell. Consult users of their machines. Not only the ones they send you to, but dig deep to find angry customers and listen to them very well. 4. Consult a vegetable expert to take you on ways to boost nutrients in your soil organically so you can keep down the quantity of fertilizer. Check this other thread of mine to start thinking like a vegetable farmer. Click HERE. 5. For uninterrupted operation, plan towards getting your own mini tractor. 6. Do not expand too fast. Since you do not have power to operate heavy equipment, you are going to still rely on moderately to heavily on human resources. 7. Cassava tuber sales is not profitable. Aim at processing your tubers. 8. Personally, I think if you cannot monitor harvest and processing through a trusted manager or by yourself, keep off cassava business. It takes minimum of 8 months to mature, and then, you run at loss during harvest and processing just because you cannot monitor it well. So, if you are in diaspora, consider all these issues before setting up a cassava farm. It is not such a wonderful business as promoted by consultants as at this moments. It is ok, but it has got its challenges which they will not tell you. 9. That cassava farming involves lower production risks does not mean the losses are low. Infact, cassava tubers and wholesale end products prices are highly volatile. 8 months is a long time to predict sales price. So, I put it under high risk farming business. And cassava removes too much nutrients in the soil. It's a tricky farming in my opinion, and can be ridiculous if you do not know the tricks 2 Likes |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 10:48am On Jul 04, 2019 |
Pistotita: You are very right, cassava farming is a very unprofitable venture. Lot of those who claim it is profitable are out to sell their stems and nothing more 2 Likes |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 2:07pm On Jul 04, 2019 |
Some notable points Cassava needs fertilizer especially N and K. It takes a lot of nutrients from the soil and may have to be replaced. A friend sold his house for about 30m and cultivated about 300 hectares of cassava last year. He sold the tubers to an ethanol plant in Kogi at an average of 22,000 per tonne and made a lot of money. He even sponsored his wife masters UK study from the profits. 1 Like |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 3:20pm On Jul 04, 2019 |
EMMAACHILE:Thanks for stating your own point concerning the need of N and K for Cassava. But really, it needs huge amount of P because it's root. The set of people I know who do not use inorganic fertilizers are those who make garri, especially the so called "garri ijebu". Some old women told me that fertilizers make their tuber rotten after harvest, another group said the aroma from NPK grown tubers do not have the peculiar aroma they want in their garri. I am trying to get people who know about it to make comments.
Yeah! I know about the ethanol plant by the kogi state government, but the issues around Kogi politics and business warrant only people who have inside connection to do business with the factory. Is that a business? Of course not. Business should be free from government's interferences and political games. For you friend to sell 30 million naira house, he must be really sure of recovering his money even the cultivation failed. That I am sure of. No one has got the mind to sell 30 million house to farm cassava. Are you kidding me? He is supplying people he knows..And bro, the truth is that he may not meet up to expectation, but he is given the money on contract at the end of the day. But they just want to show that a farm was created, and that is it. He is not the only person that arranged the project. They are many in the scam sir. And if you really investigate well, Kogi government took loan ti build the factory. And perhaps World Bank assisted too. Just imagine how these people are destroying the chances of others. Of course, they produce ethanol, but the way they run the factory, it will surely collapse very soon. Kogi is not straight forward in everything. It is after Yaya Bello is kicked out we will read about all the scams in his government. And I don't think there is another extra big ethanol factory in Kogi apart from this one. That governor really me.ssed up the chances of youths. 30 million naira is over 69,000 British pounds sterling which is enough to sponsor anyone in the UK. My point is that your friend has the means to sponsor his wife without the sales of cassava. He could have just sold his house to sponsor his wife. lol. To me, this is a very good example of how investors are misled into the cassava projects. The plant is just like 1 year old or so. Let us wait and see how they continue powering the heavy equipment continuously. A project that another cra.zy governor can come in and stop. Don't you know politicians are the "ma.dest of the most ma.destest thu.gs" in the Nigerian history? A beg make dem no make me blow grammar upside down. lol. Deal with government only when you are inside, and listen to them at your own risk when you are outside. Bro, the profit in cassava plantation is in industrial processing. And as long as we do not have power in Nigeria, it is very hard to get into it. It is only government that has the mind to erect processing plants and ask farmers to bring in raw materials. Who is going to bear the loss? Of course the debt is on Kogi people. The tax master will soon start dealing with them. And the first set of sca.pe goats are civil servants, especially teachers. Hehehe. Lastly, you gat some stuff about Agric that I have been reading. Same with the momax3 Moringa thread of yours. I think with this information in your hand, you can easily make good cash. The reason people get rich in poor economy is spotting unusual opportunities like this one you have just mentioned. I just hope your friend actually cultivated above 50 ha out of the so called 300 ha he listed as being cultivated, and that he got a yield up to 10 ha out of the 50 ha. I know what I am saying because Nigerians are crafty. If the factory is a private company and we know the owner, then, I can say....yeah yeah yeah. 8 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 10:57am On Jul 05, 2019 |
2. Plantain and Banana Plantain is one of the crops that I know one can easily get it right because of the input of IITA. One of the mandates of IITA is to improve food production in Africa; therefore, there are templates for subsistence practice of plantain and banana. I looked into these two crops when I was researching cocoa since they are both used as shades to nurture cocoa from seedlings to matured plants in Africa. I really enjoyed everything about these crops because research materials published by IITA are too numerous. The information is just out there. I mean same applies to Cassava too. And from these researches, I diverted into horticulture which I will forever be grateful to all the people I have met in the journey. Suckers Sold by Farmers are Dead Traps The first mistake most new comers and even old farmers continue making is using suckers directly from another farm. It is what I call direct licence to import foreign diseases to ones farm. It's simple as ABC. No matter how the farmer treats the seedlings, diseases are surely in them. Do those things called suckers packed in those vehicles look like success to you? I can just imagine the population of foreign diseases imported to new farms via these suckers. OK. "Business don pafuka for suckers sellers. Lol. They will soon be out after me like hungry lions. Hehehe! Tissue Culture and Macro Propagation Get your seedlings via these two means. Recently, I was discussing with a seller who does not even understand the difference between the two. I was trying to outsource producing tissue culture seedkings since I do not have much time to do it myself. He was not able to differentiate the two, and this is an OP of over 30-something pages of plantain suckers thread on nairaland. I just swallowed the disappointment and left him in peace. Irrigation Make no mistake, all crops need irrigation. It is old form of farming to rely on rain. Rain fed farmers do not always have full benefits of their crops. And I realised this because some fruits are just tiny and too small in the market that I begin to wonder what could be wrong with these fruits since it is absolutely not necessary to bombard these crops with high dose of fertilizer. It did not occur to me that rainy season fruits are robust than dry season fruits, and that water is the main difference until I saw a banana farm (those cultivars with over 100 fruits in a bunch) thriving in the dry season. Why? The owner chose a slight swampy land for his banana plants. That was when I realised the necessity of water because I used to think since banana and plantain don't die (but keep coming up), water is not needed. That was a wrong assumption. lol. But I also know it is impossible to cultivate with irrigation everytime, and good swampy land is scarce. Threats Theft is the main obstacle. Workers on farm, other farmers around, and even villagers are all dangerous to these crops. Glut is another challenge for rain fed farmers, but I can say food is extremely becoming expensive that glut period still comes with reasonable profit for most agricultural products. Just from my personal observation. Opportunities Chips making in different forms is very profitable. And this is a very good reason one can decide to cultivate 50 hectares of these crops. The idea is to get the right cultivar for what you want to do. There are chips that are brown and soft, and in the shape of potato fries from McDonalds, while there are ones that are in the shape of fried plantain called "Dodo". Some processed with salt, while others are dressed with chilli. Or perhaps just plain chips without special spicies. Chips can last very long without using power to preserve them. Recommendations 1. Look at the cost of production very well before embarking on it. 2. It is a profitable venture, but the threats can easily make it a frustrating venture. 3. It is possible to use manual and human resources for processing as long one can monitor workers properly. 4. Make sure you get the right cultivar for your end products. If you use a bitter plantain to make chips, buyers will ignore your products, likewise you need to know the cultivar market women purchase more in your area of selling raw fruits. If you are in diaspora, let this venture slide if the venture is not big enough. It is not just for you. The main threat which is theft will consume your efforts. Please, there is no gain for you in this venture. Except you do it on a very large expanse of land and you are into different kinds of end products like fruit juice, chips, flour, etc. In this case, thieves will steal and will eventually get tired. Or you can provide security. Caution Do not join the league of producers, wholesalers, and retailers who are in the habit of using deadly chemicals to preserve plantain, banana, oranges, and mangoes. Please, stop it if you are doing it, you are giving consumer of your products cancer which is extremely painful. It is just plain wickedness. 8 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Ayodehji202: 11:48am On Jul 06, 2019 |
you are truly enlighten
post like this should be encourage on the agric section
more grace and knowledge to you and I hope after every thing you won't tell us to buy your E book |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Kobomax(m): 9:54am On Jul 08, 2019 |
Pistotita: Nice thread. God bless you for sharing this information and more. Can you please explain better how banana/plantain seedlings can be gotten through tissue culture and macro propagation. Thanks |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 1:30pm On Jul 08, 2019 |
Kobomax: Tissue Culture It's like the micro biologist in the lab who incubates fluid or "things" from human like urine, blood, stool, saliva, sweat, etc with nutrients so that pathogens inside them can grow. In this case, it's for plants. Plant tissues are taken from roots, stem, leaves, etc, nutrients are added inside testtubes or sterilized laboratory containers, and grown inside a disease free controlled environment. This is purely not GMO. But the GMO idea started with it. Seedlings can be produced organically via this method. Almost all seedlings produced are virtually free from fungi and bacteria infection, but some can still have viral infection. And there is a process to address that too, thereby getting excellent seedlings. Macro The suckers are prepared in a way such that germinating nodes are exposed. Then, they are placed in a special chamber locally made and filled with a sterilized medium like sawdust, rice husk, etc. New seedlings emerge from these nodes. This is how I can explain the two methods to the ordinary man as I do not want to go deeply into technical aspects. This thread is just for investing ideas in the Agricultural sector in Nigeria. 7 Likes |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 8:16am On Jul 10, 2019 |
3. Oil Palm A decade ago, my dream was having about 1,000 ha of oil palm plantation. I made serious research on this project that I could tell you almost everything about it. I am sure most Nigerians in diaspora think likewise. But I saw reality when I observed the business. Highlights 1. You must establish a processing unit to make it meaningful 2. NIFOR has got processing units developed. 3. Packing into 1 liter bottles looks more profitable than selling in 20 liters plastic cans. Or into sachets. 4. Trees should last around 25 years before real decline in production is observed. 5. Using bigger pots of soil to nurse seedlings and keeping seedling in mini greenhouse for a longer period of time increase the survival rate of seedlings when eventually transplanted. 6. Oil palm can further be bleached into plain vegetable oil just like groundnut oil. And it is very healthy. 7. Other products from oil palm are: Kernel oil, and Palm Stearin used for margarine, biodiesel, vegetable ghee, etc. Challenges 1. It is a very stressful kind of farming. Harvesting is a lot of work. Although new varieties are dwarf in nature. 2. Processing into oil is not an easy task too. 3. The processing units by NIFOR are for small scale farmers. And these units are not fully automated. Therefore, manual efforts are still needed. 4. Any business which require heavy usage of power should be evaluated very well before commencement. 5. The moment you transplant your oil palm seedlings, the families you bought land from are ready to fight you with anything to reclaim the land. This is from personal experience. Although, I have heard positive stories too. Opportunities 1. If you get this venture right, it is life time investment. 2. Though we always say 25 years old plants should be replaced, but the reality is that these trees can produce for many more years, and they are like properties farmers include in their will which are transferred yo beneficiaries after the passing to glory of the farmer. Observations 1. The Nigerian cultivars are jokes. They do not produce very well. 2. There are better cultivars which give better oil yield. It is better to know how to go about getting these cultivars. Personally, I dropped this venture because of power challneges, but there may be a solution. Do you remember Free Trade Zone I mentioned in the Cassava section? Check my post on cassava. If you can get an allocation there, move your palm fruits there and process. For most businesses now, it seems establishing there is the best option. I will write a detailed post on Free Trade Zone soon. Now check this picture attached. It's a sachet pack of Palm Olein. And it is made in Lekki Free Trade Zone. The rules at there. I need to check the rules again as some producers must export 70% of their products. If this rule applies to Oil Palm products, I think it will be hard to compete with Malaysis, except the producer focuses on Africa. Also, Olive and Canola oil are better quality which makes Palm Olein less valuable in Europe and America. (I don't want to go into the oil palm high cholesterol debate). Of course, personally I prefer olive oil but in Nigeria, it is the anointing oil. Churches and their members are good customers. LOl. Environmental Issues with Oil Palm 1. Outside burning of fruits remains is a big concern. 2. Bush burning in Africa and Asia is a big challenge too 3. Wild Life preservation is lost more in Asia; therefore, oil palm products are discriminated in Europe and America. 4. Saturated fat which is unhealthy is high in Oil Palm which makes Olive and Canola oil the first choice for most consumers in Europe and America. Corn oil, Flaxseed, Sunflower, etc are better choices too. I strongly advise Palm Olein new coming exporters to find market in West Africa first before checking other nations. Laws sorrounding these nations are not so rigid. If Nigerians can pick up African Markets, Malaysia will definitely downsize it's production. the market in Africa is too encouraging.
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Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 4:12pm On Jul 10, 2019 |
Is power oil from palm oil? |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 4:14pm On Jul 10, 2019 |
Palm oil is not advisable to any young chap because there are better alternatives like cashew with less processing or Plantain if you can irrigate with better yields. Unconventional trees in my opinion will give better returns as opposed to main stream cash crops but irrigation is key here. 2 Likes |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 1:35pm On Jul 11, 2019 |
EMMAACHILE: Yes. I deliberately attached the pictures. Check them very well, and you will see where it's written Palm Olein. That is when the color red is totally bleached out. I don't think there is a single red oil from Malaysia imported to Nigeria, and all the vegetable oil are palm olein. Take note of those ones in metallic containers. NIFOR needs to step up its game. EMMAACHILE: I cannot add more words to the bolded words of yours. 100% accurate. My guess is that the owner of Power Oil deliberately moved it to Lekki Free Trade ZONE because of the incentives. And really will that help our economy in the long term? Really I am not sure because of the kind of people Nigerians are. Obviously, it was the reason I dropped Oil Palm business. I was chatting with someone from nairaland this morning and I observed he is trying to diversify. He pointed my attention to high cost of producing branded sachets like the example I showed. And he was wondering how one can easily breakeven and make profit. LOL. He used to move his products to the north from Owerri, Imo, and he said he stopped it because it was no more profitable for him. So, I can imagine anyone who does not have a processing unit is coping selling only the fruits. But at the same time, if one can lay his hands on incentives from government (which I don't really look after), then, this business is like lotto with inside information. ![]() Finally brother, 1. what are the other uncoventional trees you have identified apart from cashew and plantain? 2. Maybe you can write an article about cashew here. Really, I don't understand that business because anything Indians lay hands on, I always avoid. lol. 1 Like |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 3:11pm On Jul 11, 2019 |
Pawpaw with yields of at a least N5000 per tree per year and about 2000 can be planted on a hectare. Moringa even if local can give about N3000 per harvest per year with 2 harvest a year. I have a local one in the village giving about 3kg per harvest. You can grow about 1600 per hectare. The best bride if there is capital is the wambugu apple. I learnt one of the cons is the attack from birds so I didn't order to plant. Anything not safe from birds is a headache for me. It could give at least N50,000 per tree with about 640 per hectare. It could last for a 100 years and over. The startup for Apple is very high. To get these yields, we must farm smart with irrigation. 3 Likes |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 6:56pm On Jul 11, 2019 |
EMMAACHILE:Very possible. I agree with you. Infact, I am getting to fruits, non cash crop trees, and vegetables very soon. These are the areas extremely fast returns are with huge sakes locally. I don't know how to tell farmers to import vegetables when the prices locally are better. lol. I have heard about Moringa too. I only used it as tea during the period the ovation was very loud. But I know there are hidden treasures in it. However, I know how to use the leaves in crops and animals organic production. Yeah! Very possible there is hidden market for it. Apple is a tree on its own with full potentials, and many are still shocked if apples can grow in tropics. I will "tear into pieces" this fruit and it's potentials very soon. Yes, you are right about birds invasion and it's why I developed a new pattern of doing it in a protected environment. Like 1 plot has the potential of producing up to 4 plots to an acre of the style you have just mentioned which reduces the cost of covering the farm. However, there are risks involved there which I will discuss at the right time. Thank you for your comments. 4 Likes |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by FMCASH(m): 7:10pm On Jul 11, 2019 |
But there should be solution for the birds palaver. Technology will solve that bro EMMAACHILE: |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 10:21pm On Jul 11, 2019 |
FMCASH:The only solution so far is covering the fruits with nets. That's very tasking for a large no of trees. 2 Likes |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by FMCASH(m): 11:00pm On Jul 11, 2019 |
EMMAACHILE:
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Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 11:25pm On Jul 11, 2019 |
At 800kg per tree, even if the apple weight is 500g or half kg, that's 1600 fruits for a super large apple fruit. This should be a mature wambugu tree. The normal apple is about 10 fruits in a kg pack. Price for the fruit can't be less than 200 per fruit meaning it's capable of generating even N320,000 per tree. This is incredible. 1 Like |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 7:25am On Jul 12, 2019 |
I know that Mr. Wambugu exaggerated the figure. That I am sure of. Also, I keep wondering why this cultivar name is not yet accepted world wide. Perhaps, it is because Wambugu is not the one who crossed it, but he is deceiving African farmers. Someone else made this variety sirs, and the name Wambugu will never be recognised. In addition, he refused to let you know that the cultivar is not the first choice for Apple lovers. Got some kind of sour taste. Also, the Apple does not have long life shelf after harvest. So, having many trees is bad business. The reason many have been burnt in Agricultural businesses is because consultants and seedlings/seed sellers tell too many lies to enrich themselves. Apple production is no doubt a big business, but with its own risks too. 4 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 9:35am On Jul 13, 2019 |
4. Apple I decided to push apple forward because it has been mentioned. Your first impulse is to rush at this venture, but be extra careful if you do not want to run into extremely big loss due to inexperience. I know many who are crying because they did not carry out thorough research. I am not saying it is not a good business. Prons 1. There are few very fast cultivars for tropics. Within 1 year, it's already fruiting. 2. In Nigeria, it is highly profitable. It's possible to make over N30 million sales yearly on 1 ha farm. 3. It's not too demanding Cons 1. Cost of seedlings is extremely high 2. Sellers don't replace bad seedlings, and not every seedling they supply is good. 3. Diseases are imported to your farm via seedlings just like plantain. 4. The best tropics varieties for fresh market are not fast producing cultivars. Some take about 5 years. 5. The fast producing cultivars are usually used for making wine. They get spoilt very fast, and they have some funny taste at times. Producers who converted wine apple cultivars to fresh market always suffer the loss. Security is a big challenge To secure an apple orchard is not a joke. Infact, sorrounding villagers can turn the farm to free breakfast, lunch, and dinner arena. Workers are not left out. If you want to do it, be ready to employ professionals, and not hungry boys as workers in your orchad. Birds are Threat I have heard stories about this, and there are areas birds don't disturb. But once birds locate that farm, that's the end. They will destroy the trees. So, it is better to not go the route of cultivating big trees. Owners should choose intensive apple orchad option. Normally, there should be about 1,111 trees in 1 ha with the route most African seedlings sellers take, but it's possible to have 4 to 6 times that population with less robust trees. And fruits will be so much that you need to support the trees, else they will definitely break because the fruits weight will be too much them. By so doing, it is possible to easily cultivate 1 plot under a very good net, and expand annually or bi-annually. Producing Apple Juice is an Option The only challenge here is power; therefore, you may still want to consider the fresh market option first. 2 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 6:42pm On Jul 13, 2019 |
Importance of Irrigation To have rest of mind and be able to sleep at night well without turning to an emergency prayer warrior, install irrigation on your farm. Consider ground irrigation instead of overhead. Irrigation allows you to produce during off peak periods so you can easily cover the additional cost of production. You will produce fresh and big fruits which translate to higher yield And many more benefits. You will be glad you do so. uche393, please check the email you used to open nairaland. I replied your very first request, but I keep getting emails access requests from you. Thanks! 2 Likes |
Re: Investors Corner: Commercial Farming Ideas by Nobody: 11:37am On Jul 14, 2019 |
ksolomania: 1. You question is a bit hard to tackle because it's vague. I think you should let readers know where your farm is situated. 2. Most people buy fruits from local markets or grocery stores. And since you have limited trees, you cannot approach juice makers and grocery stores. But I am sure there are fruits wheelbarrow hawkers in your area. Try these boys also. You may eventually see huge opportunity in it which might prompt you to grow more trees. |
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