SUCCESS STORIES Pt. 2

This is a Compilation of the experiences of only a few of the multitude of farmers from around the world and India specifically. This Men, Women, Communities, Youths and Children by their sheer dint of hard word, perseverance and zeal to do better are silently re-writing the story of Indian Agriculture. They are a few of the flag bearers of Change, innovation, enterprise and courage.

The Stories Captured in this edition and indeed other editions to come are but a drop in the ocean of experiences and achievements of farmers across the globe.

To Nigeria, this is an opportunity for the youths to take advantage of this stories, wear them as shields in times of perils and forge ahead in their agricultural pursuits.

These Stories are to encourage and motivate people - Those already in the sector and those planning to get into the sector - and highlight the Power of co-operation among individuals and communities.

Click here to download the Pdf file.


God Bless Nigeria!

source: farmers portal

SUCCESS STORIES Pt.1

The stories in this PDF file are quite inspiring, showing Communal Collaboration, Individual Determination, Hard work, Perseverance and LOVE FOR WHAT THEY DO.

Click SUCCESS STORIES to download


source: farmers portal

Raw Cashew Nuts Investment; What You Must Know

Virtually every day, at the Agric Investment Unit of Agro News Nigeria, we get numerous calls and enquiries from Nigerians, who want to join the Multi – billion Cashew Nuts trading and processing business.

With Cashew investors and traders in Nigeria raking in over One Hundred and Fifty Million Us dollars annually ($150, 000,000), alone from local trading and export of  Raw Cashew Nuts, Nigerians are awakening to the fact that Raw Cashew Nuts is gradually becoming the new dollar spinner and income generation agric crop.

Gone are the days when people would throw away cashew nuts after eating the cashew fruit. It is now like oil, a most cherished commodity.

From youths, adults to established agric investors, the reoccurring question have always centered on the following;

• How can I make money trading Raw Cashew Nuts?

• How can I get Indians and foreigners to purchase the cashew nuts?

• Is it true that I can make a lot of money from Raw Cashew Nuts?

• Where do I source my Cashew nuts?

Unfortunately, the above questions are not the basic questions anyone interested in the business of Raw Cashew Nuts and its processing should be asking.

The established fact and truth is that there is money to be made from Raw Cashew Nuts, but with every business, anyone looking to build income and wealth through Raw Cashew Nuts must be able to understand the following basics; I term them the “Raw Cashew Nuts Investment Must Know”

These Cashew Nuts Must Know Include but not limited to;

• How Much Funds Is Needed to start

• Best Time to Source for Raw Cashew Nuts.

• Cheapest Locations to Source Raw Cashew Nuts

• The Best Strategy to Adopt to Be Able to Source At Cheaper Rates (Buying More For Less)

• How To Ensure Quality of Nuts

• How To Maximise Profit Through Storage

• How To Maximize Profit Through Local Processing (More is to be made from this than export of raw nuts)

• Best Strategy To Mop Up Funds To Purchase Raw Cashew Nuts

• When Best To Sell Your Raw Cashew Nuts

• Investing in the Raw Cashew Nuts Business As a Cooperative

• How To Access Foreign Buyers

• Exporting RCN (Raw Cashew Nuts)

Mastery of all the above questions, steps and guide lines in the RCN (Raw Cashew Nuts) Business and Investment would ensure your success in the business and that you maximise and optimise profit.

Cucumber Farming

Cucumber farming is one venture that the profitability could actually surprise anyone who dares to go into it with the right knowledge and skills.

While thousands of young men and women are busy seeking for employment and white collar jobs those who have seen the income opportunity in cucumber farming are not concerned about any of that because their ventures are adequately taking good care of them financially.

Cucumber farming in Nigeria is one of those opportunities that are begging to be explored.

Cucumber is a vegetable that is widely consumed all over the world due to its health benefits which both the educated and non-educated individuals testify to.

Before you start cucumber farming in Nigeria, you need to gather all of the necessary information in order to setup your farm at the right location, right time and the right cost.

The right information should be obtained about the following areas to be farm cucumber profitably;

• Marketable variety / Specie

• Variety with better yield

• Site selection

• Soil testing

• Land preparation

• Inter row and intra row spacing

• Planting depth

• Pesticide and herbicide application

• Water and irrigation practice (You can do cucumber all year round in Greenhouse)

• Fertilizer application

• Staking

• Harvesting Practices

• Marketing (Strategic marketing guides)

Why Nigerian cocoa production is on steady decline

The president of the Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr. Victor Iyama, has attributed the continued decline in cocoa production in Nigeria to the long period it takes to mature as well as impatience among Nigerian youth, who are expected to embrace its production.

Iyama, who spoke in Abuja, yesterday, at the 2nd Daily Trust Agric Conference, said cocoa was a  good crop to invest in but required a lot of patience from youth willing to go into its production.

“It’s not four to six months, it is up to five years minimum but the beauty is that it can last for 70 years,” he said.

Dr. Victor also stated that production of cocoa beans from harvest up to the time when it is properly fermented took between 27 and 30 days depending on the weather.

He said chocolate was the easiest cocoa product to make and it generates large sums of money from the cocoa industry.

“Out of the 120 billion USD cocoa economy, less than 15 billion USD goes to cocoa beans, cocoa cake and cocoa butter while the rest goes to chocolate,” he said.

Dr. Victor noted that cocoa was the second largest foreign exchange earner, next only to oil, adding that 29 states in the country can produce cocoa.

“There’s cocoa in Adamawa, Taraba, Niger, Kogi and so many states have joined, it is no longer a southern affair but a national affair,” Dr. Victor said

FG’s budgetary allocation to agriculture unrealistic- Stakeholders

Key stakeholders at the ongoing 2nd Daily Trust Agriculture Conference and Expo are of the opinion that the present budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector by the federal government can not address the many challenges facing the sector.

Those who spoke at the confab’s interactive session particularly frowned at the 2017 budgetary allocation, which they said was still less than one percent of the total budget.

Leading the session, Mr. S.J. Samuel, Group Executive Chairman of VegeFresh Group, said the sector was facing lots of challenges including un-organised market structure, absence of good inputs and poor infrastructure among others which required huge budgetary allocation.

“There is disconnect in government policies towards agriculture, because they said agriculture is their slogan but allocated less than 1% in the  recently released budget to the sector. How will this address the numerous challenges facing the long neglected sector,”? he asked.

As part of solutions to the problem, Mr. Samuel advised that proper  coordination of the value chain should be carried out, adding that the  private sector could key in and contribute to the budgetary needs of  agriculture under certain agreement with the government.

“Currently, Nigeria imports food worth 23 billion USD (N1.5 trillion), contributing 3 billion USD to the country’s export earnings, unlike in the 70s when agriculture contributed up to 70% to the country’s export earnings,” he said.

Mr. Samuel recalled that about 15 tomato factories have since closed down operations in the country, his factory inclusive.

Narrating a personal experience, he also recalled how they tried to acquire a factory among the ailing factories but found it impossible, adding that their farms also had to close down because of security challenges in the North.

On infrastructure, he stated that previous policies were put in place to stimulate agriculture but the linkages were not well coordinated as such people that went into dector ran at a loss

Source: Daily Trust

Guinea Fowl Farming

Many poultry farmers in Nigeria don’t usually pay attention to guinea fowl farming but experts say farming the birds is quite easy and economical.

The Managing Director, Dan-Hassan Livestock and Poultry Services, Madugu House, Katsina, Malam Musa Rabo Dan-Hassan, said that one could start guinea fowl farming with one adult male and four females (guinea hens).

Musa said: “People tend to have preference for their meat and eggs. They also serve as security animals alerting on unusual things and persons in their environment.”

Dr Abubakar A. Adeiza, a poultry expert in the Department of Animal Science, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, said that guinea fowls are best kept under a semi-intensive system.

He said that the young hatchlings (keets) are best kept indoors and fed on poultry grower mash until they reach about 12 weeks and then subsequently released to an open area that has a shelter and a bit of trees.

Adeiza said that the birds can also be fed with maize, sorghum and other vegetables. He said guinea fowls generally have higher disease resistance than chickens.

The birds take about 20 weeks to mature and lay eggs only during the wet season.

However, Dan-Hassan said that hybrid guinea fowls can produce eggs throughout the year with good management and feeding, unlike local breeds that lay eggs only in the wet season.

“Females weigh about 3kg while males can weigh up to 4kg and could be imported from France.

“Hybrids are best kept under the intensive system or indoors and layer mash is given to the guinea hens during production season,” he said.

“One limiting factor is that when kept in, say point ‘A,’ they lay their eggs in point ‘E.”

A local guinea fowl farmer, Lawal Barau, said that he prefers using chicken hen for brooding because they make better mothers and take about 28 days to hatch.

The farmer added that it takes about 25 days for guinea hen to hatch.

An extension agent, Dahiru Abdullahi, said that at about two months, the birds begin ‘helmet’ development on their head and are given white millet (maiwa) to help them while it takes about eight months to reach full maturity when extensively reared

FG to reduce wheat import by 50%

The federal government will support potato farmers to achieve all year round production in order to reduce wheat flour importation in 2017, the minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has said.

Dr Onu, who said this in Abuja when the executives of the Potato Farmers Association of Nigeria (POFAN) paid him a visit in his office, added the government’s interest in cutting down wheat import by 50% starting from 2017 was borne out of its efforts to conserve foreign exchange.

The minister said Nigeria was spending too much of its foreign exchange on commodities it could produce locally.

He said cassava and potatoes which Nigeria produces in large quantities were veritable alternatives to wheat flour.

He said the major challenge confronting the potato farmers was their inability to cultivate the crop all year round, but added that government would help them surmount it

Abdulsalami, Brass king, Attah, Stakeholders, list challenges to Agric devt

Former Head of State, retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the King of Brass in Rivers State, Chief Alfred Diete-Spiff and the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, have identified absence of infrastructural facilities, effective insurance packages, access to finance and absence of quality inputs and ready markets as some of the problems confronting agricultural development in the country.

They spoke at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Daily Trust Agric Confab that began yesterday in Abuja.

The former head of state, who narrated how he lost milk concentrate while transporting it from Kwara State, added that Maizube yoghurt produced by his farm, Maizube Farms Limited, in Minna, Niger State may not be available for the next couple of months because the input they used in making the yoghurt is not in the market.

“The vehicle was bringing about 5000 litres of milk from the farm, and it broke down because of the road and unfortunately the cooling system of the vehicle got bad and the milk got spoilt. We had to throw it away.”
He attributed the incident to bad infrastructure.

General Abdulsalami also noted that his farm had a very bad experience this year because of infestation by insects.

“We had to spray the farm two times and we discovered the insecticide and pesticide we were using was ‘jabu’ (fake); maybe it had expired or the mixture went wrong somewhere,” he said adding that farm inputs supplied in the country must be regulated.

On his part, the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, who also spoke on how absence of infrastructural facilities like roads was affecting agricultural development, recalled how his pineapples worth millions of naira got rotten while on transit to a company in Ogun State.

Former  governor Attah said he was the largest producer and exporter of pineapple but when he could no longer supply the produce to foreign countries because of some reasons, a company in Ogun State requested him to be supplying them but that because of the bad road, the produce one day got rotten on the road.
Chief Alfred Diete-Spiff, the King of Brass in Rivers State also spoke on the importance of insurance for farmers, saying they are exposed to various risks.

He narrated how he was scared away from farming, explaining that his brother once planted yams in his farm but before he could harvest it, thieves invaded the farm and stole everything.

Chief Diete-Spiff said the incident scared him away from farming and called for reliable insurance packages for farmers.

Speaking earlier, Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh, said government has commenced implementation of the agricultural road map, which he said, included provision of inputs like improved seeds and fertilisers, among others to the farmers.

As part of the implementation process, the minister, who was represented by Alhaji Abdulazeez Misbau Olumuyiwa, said the Bank of Agriculture  is being recapitalised, saying the process will be completed before the end of the year to enable farmers have easy access to credit facility.

While commending Daily Trust for organising the event, he said the federal government made extensive use of inputs from the Daily Trust agric conference in preparing the road map tagged ‘The Green Alternative’.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief, Daily Trust newspapers, Malam Mannir Dan-Ali, said Daily Trust has been in forefront in the promotion of agriculture in Nigeria, noting with delight that the sector is now seen as agribusiness which can sustain itself, making it more attractive.

Investment Opportunities In Ginger

Ginger is well known in many human communities around the world. Nigeria is the fourth largest exporter of ginger in the world, with China being the second largest producer and India the largest producer and exporter to more than 50 countries and accounting for more than 70% of the world’s production.

In the Nigerian market, ginger is well known and on high demand even though it is quite expensive.


SOURCING

Kaduna State is the highest producer of ginger in Nigeria, while states like Gombe, Bauchi, Benue, Nassarawa among others are major producers of the crop.


NIGERIA’S PRODUCTION STATISTICS

Nigeria produces an average of 160,000 metric tonnes of fresh weight ginger per annum.


PLANTING SEASON

Planting is done at the start of the rainy season, usually April to May. In areas with abundant supply of water throughout the year, planting can be done anytime. Ginger is usually intercropped with perennial crops such as coconut and coffee.


USES

Ginger is highly medicinal as it aids in digestion and absorption of food and has antiseptic properties.
Ginger based products have wide range of applications in many industries like food processing, pharmaceutical, soft drinks, meat canning, confectionary, tobacco processing, soap making and so on.


PRICING

Between N200, 000 and N230, 000, an individual can procure one ton of powdered ginger for export, also between N160, 000 and N180, 000, one can also procure similar tonnage of dry ginger.


EXPORT MARKET

The export markets for the Nigerian ginger includes the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, France, United States of America, Russia, Saudi, Arabia among others


TRADING

On the average, ginger takes about nine months from the time of planting to mature. Harvesting of ginger starts from October and normally continues until April/May. This largely depends on the market situation as ginger can be left on the ground (not harvested) for two years.
 
Ginger is traded in three basic forms, which includes fresh, pickled or preserved and dried.


EXPORT SEASON

The export season of ginger begins from January to May and from October-November.


PROCESSING

Many products can be manufactured from ginger like dehydrated ginger, ginger candy, ginger powder, ginger oil and oleoresins.

The activities involved in processing ginger depends on the end product required. When the harvested rhizome is washed with boiling water and dried the product is called dried ginger and this can be grinded to produce powdered ginger or can be used as a full dried ginger rhizome. The rhizome can also be processed as fresh ginger or peeled.


STORAGE

Dried ginger when stored in woven plastic sacks in non-cemented dusty rooms can stay for up to 10 years depending on the kind of variety and market demand.


CHALLENGES IN PRODUCTION

Challenges facing ginger production in the country includes poor researches, lack of organic fertilizer, loan facilities, modern farming implements, direct link with international buyers and exploitation of farmers by middle-men, who are reaping big at the expense of the local farmers.


GINGER INVESTMENT SUMMARY

• Production
• Processing
• Export
• Storage