Posts
Eco-friendly Agriculture:
- Growers should resort to practices that encourage the cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity
Artificial/Synthetic inputs:
- Growers should restrict the synthetic fertilizers and pesticides they use to those approved in the organic regulations.
- Growers should use preventive measures and physical controls before using approved pesticides
Fertility and nutrient management:
- Grow it green focuses on developing soil in ways that rely on natural material
It is also about Green (Organic) Handlers
Green handlers
- process, package, or store organic agricultural products
Green handlers modify
- agricultural products using methods that comply with organic regulations (such as: cooking, baking, curing, drying, mixing, grinding, churning, separating, distilling, extracting, slaughtering, fermenting, dehydrating, freezing, packaging, canning, etc.)
Green handlers must protect organic products from:
- Contamination by prohibited substances
- Commingling with inorganic products
Organic Products command higher value and prices in the local and global market, for obvious reasons being that they are completely safe, with a guarantee of no adverse effects on the human body.
Consequently, it is also about organic certification
By the way what can be certified?
- Category A: unprocessed plant products originating from farming or wild collection
- Category B: live animals or unprocessed animal products (please refer to the species
listed in Annex III of the Ecocert Organic Standard (EOS); bees.- Category C: aquaculture animals (species listed in the dedicated EOS chapter), wild
seaweeds or farmed seaweed as well as micro-algae from fresh or brackish water.- Category D: processed agricultural products and yeasts intended for food
- Category E: processed agricultural products and yeasts intended for feed
- Category F: Vegetative propagating material and seeds for cultivation
Having realized the inestimable importance of Organic Agriculture today, and of course the benefits of making a transition from conventional agriculture to Organic based practices, it becomes necessary to further show you that it is far easier than you may have envisaged getting organic certification that gives you a license and backing to export your products to the European and indeed the global market, for better returns on your investment. In Nigeria, in the year 2017, an initiative was taken (the first of its kind in Nigeria) by the Niger State government to Set up the first certification body in Nigeria, this was realized and we now have a certification body in Nigeria (named NICERT, a subsidiary of a world renowned certification body - ECOCERT SA) domiciled in Abuja which certifies organic products according to European Commission (EC) and USDA (NOP) standards. This certification grants you access (a legal backing) to export your products as "ORGANIC" to the international market, you have nothing to lose, many farms and organizations have already keyed into this great opportunity, you can also apply for your Fair Trade certification......
What Grow it Green Network is About
What Grow it Green Network is About
Eco-friendly Agriculture:
- Growers should resort to practices that encourage the cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity
Artificial/Synthetic inputs:
- Growers should restrict the synthetic fertilizers and pesticides they use to those approved in the organic regulations.
- Growers should use preventive measures and physical controls before using approved pesticides
Fertility and nutrient management:
- Grow it green focuses on developing soil in ways that rely on natural material
It is also about Green (Organic) Handlers
Green handlers
- process, package, or store organic agricultural products
Green handlers modify
- agricultural products using methods that comply with organic regulations (such as: cooking, baking, curing, drying, mixing, grinding, churning, separating, distilling, extracting, slaughtering, fermenting, dehydrating, freezing, packaging, canning, etc.)
Green handlers must protect organic products from:
- Contamination by prohibited substances
- Commingling with inorganic products
Organic Products command higher value and prices in the local and global market, for obvious reasons being that they are completely safe, with a guarantee of no adverse effects on the human body.
Consequently, it is also about organic certification
By the way what can be certified?
- Category A: unprocessed plant products originating from farming or wild collection
- Category B: live animals or unprocessed animal products (please refer to the species
listed in Annex III of the Ecocert Organic Standard (EOS); bees. - Category C: aquaculture animals (species listed in the dedicated EOS chapter), wild
seaweeds or farmed seaweed as well as micro-algae from fresh or brackish water. - Category D: processed agricultural products and yeasts intended for food
- Category E: processed agricultural products and yeasts intended for feed
- Category F: Vegetative propagating material and seeds for cultivation
Having realized the inestimable importance of Organic Agriculture today, and of course the benefits of making a transition from conventional agriculture to Organic based practices, it becomes necessary to further show you that it is far easier than you may have envisaged getting organic certification that gives you a license and backing to export your products to the European and indeed the global market, for better returns on your investment. In Nigeria, in the year 2017, an initiative was taken (the first of its kind in Nigeria) by the Niger State government to Set up the first certification body in Nigeria, this was realized and we now have a certification body in Nigeria (named NICERT, a subsidiary of a world renowned certification body - ECOCERT SA) domiciled in Abuja which certifies organic products according to European Commission (EC) and USDA (NOP) standards. This certification grants you access (a legal backing) to export your products as "ORGANIC" to the international market, you have nothing to lose, many farms and organizations have already keyed into this great opportunity, you can also apply for your Fair Trade certification......
WHY GO INTO ORGANIC FARMING
Organic agriculture is a very
interesting aspect of agriculture because in recent times, through properly
defined standards and measures which serve as a means of assuring consumers
that products of organic quality are better in value, health wise, economically
and otherwise. Organic agriculture in a layman terminology would simply imply
agricultural processes that are carried out from inception to the consumption
of proceeds therefrom without the use of synthetic inputs in the said process.
This actually shows in part the basic idea or foundation for organic farming;
organic agriculture lately transcends this point and now includes agricultural
practices carried out in compliance with unanimously set world standards (controlled
by organic certification bodies around the world).
Organic
agriculture and products promises higher income to adherents (farmers and
processors of organic products) by ensuring that they command higher values in
the local and foreign markets relative to their conventional counterparts.
Anyone developing products of organic standard stands to gain more, this will
ultimately improve the standard of living of the people especially farmers who
usually receive income that is not commensurate to their labour and it also
gives agriculture a facelift as farmers can now earn as much and even more than
those engaged in the much-mentioned white collar jobs. In the western world,
farmers are commonly seen in the higher class of the society. In Africa,
particularly Nigeria, much value has not been placed on products of organic
quality, but in various quarters at the state and federal levels, efforts are
ongoing to set up a globally recognized body in the country that will be
saddled with certification of organic products in keeping with organic
standards. At the moment, only a few farms in the country are certified by
foreign bodies as producers of organic products with examples in Cross River
and Calabar. The market for organic products is just at its bloom, and if you go
into organic agriculture, you can rest assured that you will not regret it.
HOW CAN WE SOLVE WORLD HUNGER?
While the quest to solve world hunger permanently may be considered a
pipe dream,there are things individuals and governments can do to
ameliorate the current world hunger problem. Because the world has a
fixed amount of farmable land and a seemingly uncontrollable new
supply of inhabitants who will need to eat, solving world hunger often
seems like an insurmountable challenge. However, new food technologies
and improvements in the political climate can go a long way towards
ending mass starvation and famine.
One way to solve world hunger would be to develop new ways to grow
food on a global scale. Many people today live in areas of the world
which were never suitable for producing sufficient foodcrops or are
nearly impossible to irrigate. Some arable land remains underused
because it is under the control of rogue governments or is currently
too inaccessible for agriculture. By introducing new methods for
maximizing crop growth on substandard land, the populace can grow
enough food to meet their needs.
Another way to solve world hunger would be to improve the food
distribution pathway. A number of first-world countries have massive
surpluses of staple crops and grains, especially wheat , rice and
maize. These stockpiles are replaced always through subsidized
farming. The problem is that poorer nations which could benefit from
these surpluses are often led by hostile governments which either
refuse offers of food delay the food materials at several distribution
points. If relief agencies and government services had better means
for proper food distribution, the delivery of surplus food to
famine-stricken areas would go a long way towards solving the problem
of world hunger. Encouraging populations of poorer countries to move
closer to sustainable sources of food would also solve world hunger,
but this has proven to be difficultfor sociological, religious and
logistical reasons.
Creating new farming technologies could also help solve world
hunger.If food can be grown in large mechanized farms , for example,
there would less strain put on traditional soil farms. Farmers in
poorer countries could be trained to rotate their crops in order to
keep the soil healthier season after season. Better seeds with higher
yields or resistance to insect or weather damage could help farmers
grow more usable crops on the same amount of arable land.
A renewed emphasis on agriculture as a career could also encourage
more young people to start their own farms and produce more food for
others. The problem of world hunger is always going to remain as long
as the world population continues to be substantially higher than the
amount of food that farmers are able to produce. Large scale efforts
to control population growth have proven to be extremely unpopular and
nearly impossible to enforce. Many organizations such as UNICEF have
dedicated themselves to the eradication of world hunger and famine,
but the only way to solve world hunger permanently would involve the
unified efforts of thousands of agricultural experts and significant
amounts of money and material support from hundreds of world leaders.
It is not an impossible feat to achieve if we all co-operate and do
what we know best about agriculture.
pipe dream,there are things individuals and governments can do to
ameliorate the current world hunger problem. Because the world has a
fixed amount of farmable land and a seemingly uncontrollable new
supply of inhabitants who will need to eat, solving world hunger often
seems like an insurmountable challenge. However, new food technologies
and improvements in the political climate can go a long way towards
ending mass starvation and famine.
One way to solve world hunger would be to develop new ways to grow
food on a global scale. Many people today live in areas of the world
which were never suitable for producing sufficient foodcrops or are
nearly impossible to irrigate. Some arable land remains underused
because it is under the control of rogue governments or is currently
too inaccessible for agriculture. By introducing new methods for
maximizing crop growth on substandard land, the populace can grow
enough food to meet their needs.
Another way to solve world hunger would be to improve the food
distribution pathway. A number of first-world countries have massive
surpluses of staple crops and grains, especially wheat , rice and
maize. These stockpiles are replaced always through subsidized
farming. The problem is that poorer nations which could benefit from
these surpluses are often led by hostile governments which either
refuse offers of food delay the food materials at several distribution
points. If relief agencies and government services had better means
for proper food distribution, the delivery of surplus food to
famine-stricken areas would go a long way towards solving the problem
of world hunger. Encouraging populations of poorer countries to move
closer to sustainable sources of food would also solve world hunger,
but this has proven to be difficultfor sociological, religious and
logistical reasons.
Creating new farming technologies could also help solve world
hunger.If food can be grown in large mechanized farms , for example,
there would less strain put on traditional soil farms. Farmers in
poorer countries could be trained to rotate their crops in order to
keep the soil healthier season after season. Better seeds with higher
yields or resistance to insect or weather damage could help farmers
grow more usable crops on the same amount of arable land.
A renewed emphasis on agriculture as a career could also encourage
more young people to start their own farms and produce more food for
others. The problem of world hunger is always going to remain as long
as the world population continues to be substantially higher than the
amount of food that farmers are able to produce. Large scale efforts
to control population growth have proven to be extremely unpopular and
nearly impossible to enforce. Many organizations such as UNICEF have
dedicated themselves to the eradication of world hunger and famine,
but the only way to solve world hunger permanently would involve the
unified efforts of thousands of agricultural experts and significant
amounts of money and material support from hundreds of world leaders.
It is not an impossible feat to achieve if we all co-operate and do
what we know best about agriculture.
HOW CAN WE SOLVE WORLD HUNGER?
While the quest to solve world hunger permanently may be considered a pipe dream,there are things individuals and governments can do to ameliorate the current world hunger problem. Because the world has a fixed amount of farmable land and a seemingly uncontrollable new supply of inhabitants who will need to eat, solving world hunger often seems like an insurmountable challenge. However, new food technologies and improvements in the political climate can go a long way towards ending mass starvation and famine.
One way to solve world hunger would be to develop new ways to grow food on a global scale. Many people today live in areas of the world which were never suitable for producing sufficient foodcrops or are nearly impossible to irrigate. Some arable land remains underused because it is under the control of rogue governments or is currently too inaccessible for agriculture. By introducing new methods for maximizing crop growth on substandard land, the populace can grow enough food to meet their needs.
Another way to solve world hunger would be to improve the food distribution pathway. A number of first-world countries have massive surpluses of staple crops and grains, especially wheat , rice and maize. These stockpiles are replaced always through subsidized farming. The problem is that poorer nations which could benefit from these surpluses are often led by hostile governments which either refuse offers of food delay the food materials at several distribution points. If relief agencies and government services had better means for proper food distribution, the delivery of surplus food to famine-stricken areas would go a long way towards solving the problem of world hunger. Encouraging populations of poorer countries to move closer to sustainable sources of food would also solve world hunger, but this has proven to be difficultfor sociological, religious and logistical reasons.
Creating new farming technologies could also help solve world hunger.If food can be grown in large mechanized farms , for example, there would less strain put on traditional soil farms. Farmers in poorer countries could be trained to rotate their crops in order to keep the soil healthier season after season. Better seeds with higher yields or resistance to insect or weather damage could help farmers grow more usable crops on the same amount of arable land.
A renewed emphasis on agriculture as a career could also encourage more young people to start their own farms and produce more food for others. The problem of world hunger is always going to remain as long as the world population continues to be substantially higher than the amount of food that farmers are able to produce. Large scale efforts to control population growth have proven to be extremely unpopular and nearly impossible to enforce. Many organizations such as UNICEF have dedicated themselves to the eradication of world hunger and famine, but the only way to solve world hunger permanently would involve the unified efforts of thousands of agricultural experts and significant amounts of money and material support from hundreds of world leaders.
It is not an impossible feat to achieve if we all co-operate and do what we know best about agriculture.
One way to solve world hunger would be to develop new ways to grow food on a global scale. Many people today live in areas of the world which were never suitable for producing sufficient foodcrops or are nearly impossible to irrigate. Some arable land remains underused because it is under the control of rogue governments or is currently too inaccessible for agriculture. By introducing new methods for maximizing crop growth on substandard land, the populace can grow enough food to meet their needs.
Another way to solve world hunger would be to improve the food distribution pathway. A number of first-world countries have massive surpluses of staple crops and grains, especially wheat , rice and maize. These stockpiles are replaced always through subsidized farming. The problem is that poorer nations which could benefit from these surpluses are often led by hostile governments which either refuse offers of food delay the food materials at several distribution points. If relief agencies and government services had better means for proper food distribution, the delivery of surplus food to famine-stricken areas would go a long way towards solving the problem of world hunger. Encouraging populations of poorer countries to move closer to sustainable sources of food would also solve world hunger, but this has proven to be difficultfor sociological, religious and logistical reasons.
Creating new farming technologies could also help solve world hunger.If food can be grown in large mechanized farms , for example, there would less strain put on traditional soil farms. Farmers in poorer countries could be trained to rotate their crops in order to keep the soil healthier season after season. Better seeds with higher yields or resistance to insect or weather damage could help farmers grow more usable crops on the same amount of arable land.
A renewed emphasis on agriculture as a career could also encourage more young people to start their own farms and produce more food for others. The problem of world hunger is always going to remain as long as the world population continues to be substantially higher than the amount of food that farmers are able to produce. Large scale efforts to control population growth have proven to be extremely unpopular and nearly impossible to enforce. Many organizations such as UNICEF have dedicated themselves to the eradication of world hunger and famine, but the only way to solve world hunger permanently would involve the unified efforts of thousands of agricultural experts and significant amounts of money and material support from hundreds of world leaders.
It is not an impossible feat to achieve if we all co-operate and do what we know best about agriculture.
INVESTING IN CULTIVATION OF HERBAL PLANTS IN NIGERIA.
The growing of herbal plants on a commercial scale compared to crops like cocoa,cassava and other food cropsis still very low in Nigeria. There are very few herbs plantations in Nigeria compared to some other African countries.
The opportunities in growingherbs is enormous. Global trends toward healthier lifestyles have resulted in a tremendous expansion in demand for herbs and spices.As a result, there are lucrativeopportunities for investors who wish to invest in the production of any exportable herbs and spices. Nigerian farmers and investors have the opportunity to get involved in the production, processing and marketing of herbs and spices.
The market for herbs and spices can be divided into four segments. These are: culinary uses including fresh and dried powdered products, medicine and supplement applications, essential oils, and pharmaceuticals
Medicinal, herbal and aromatic plants constitute a large segment of the flora, which provide raw materials for use by pharmaceutical, cosmetic, fragrance and flavour industries.
India is considered a treasurehouse of valuable medicinal and aromatic plant species. Ithas 15 agro-climatic zones, 47000 different plant speciesand 15000 medicinal plants. About 2000 native plant species have curative properties and 1300 species are known for their aroma and flavour. The Indian system of medicines, popularly known as Ayurveda, has identified 1500 medicinal plants, of which 500 species are mostlyused in the preparation of drugs.
The medicinal plants contribute to 80% of the rawmaterials used in the preparation of drugs.
In Nigeria, there is also a growing demand for natural products including items of medicinal value/ pharmaceuticals, food supplements and cosmetics inboth domestic and international markets.
Tips on starting:
Educate yourself about herbs.Read books about them. You can't have too much knowledge when it comes to growing any type of plant successfully. Know each herb's specific requirements so you'll be able to meet them.
Climate and Market: The first thing to do is to find out what kinds of herb farms already exist in your area. Talk to the farmers and find out what the climate is like, and which herbs grow best there.
Find out what the local market for produce from your herb farm will be. How are other herb farms doing financially? Is there market for herb farm? How do others sell their produce? Do they sell herbal products as well as herbs? What equipment is needed to makethose products? All these youcan learn at our 1st exposition seminar on investment in herbs, coming up this Saturday in Ibadan.
Just as you would with any business, do a thorough market analysis before deciding to start herb farm.
Land for herb farms: There are several things to considerwhen you start to look for land. How much land do you need? Do you want cleared orwooded land? Do you want previously cultivated land?
Choose the herbs you'd like to grow. You can buy the seeds or seedlings or cuttings. Seedlings will grow faster than seeds or cuttings. For seed, it can sometimes take several months from the sprouting stage to full grown.
Marketing
For effective marketing of herbal plants and herbal products do a comprehensivewrite up on the medicinal values and uses of the plant or product and distribute to prospective buyers.
Make some business cards. Hand your business cards outat every opportunity. List your contact information. Friends and families are greatsources to help you obtain business or sell your product.
Go to fairs and events and display your herbs.
Talk to supermarkets that might be interested in purchasing your products. Visit local tea shops, herb stores, flower shops, health food stores or other places that might be interested in herbs
Advertise and promote your business. Place an ad in your local newspapers advertising your herbs. It may take a little time for people to become aware of your business, but don't give up. Growing herbs and creating herb products can be fun andfinancially rewarding. It will just take a little time and patience.
Happy Farming! (Tribune sourced)
The opportunities in growingherbs is enormous. Global trends toward healthier lifestyles have resulted in a tremendous expansion in demand for herbs and spices.As a result, there are lucrativeopportunities for investors who wish to invest in the production of any exportable herbs and spices. Nigerian farmers and investors have the opportunity to get involved in the production, processing and marketing of herbs and spices.
The market for herbs and spices can be divided into four segments. These are: culinary uses including fresh and dried powdered products, medicine and supplement applications, essential oils, and pharmaceuticals
Medicinal, herbal and aromatic plants constitute a large segment of the flora, which provide raw materials for use by pharmaceutical, cosmetic, fragrance and flavour industries.
India is considered a treasurehouse of valuable medicinal and aromatic plant species. Ithas 15 agro-climatic zones, 47000 different plant speciesand 15000 medicinal plants. About 2000 native plant species have curative properties and 1300 species are known for their aroma and flavour. The Indian system of medicines, popularly known as Ayurveda, has identified 1500 medicinal plants, of which 500 species are mostlyused in the preparation of drugs.
The medicinal plants contribute to 80% of the rawmaterials used in the preparation of drugs.
In Nigeria, there is also a growing demand for natural products including items of medicinal value/ pharmaceuticals, food supplements and cosmetics inboth domestic and international markets.
Tips on starting:
Educate yourself about herbs.Read books about them. You can't have too much knowledge when it comes to growing any type of plant successfully. Know each herb's specific requirements so you'll be able to meet them.
Climate and Market: The first thing to do is to find out what kinds of herb farms already exist in your area. Talk to the farmers and find out what the climate is like, and which herbs grow best there.
Find out what the local market for produce from your herb farm will be. How are other herb farms doing financially? Is there market for herb farm? How do others sell their produce? Do they sell herbal products as well as herbs? What equipment is needed to makethose products? All these youcan learn at our 1st exposition seminar on investment in herbs, coming up this Saturday in Ibadan.
Just as you would with any business, do a thorough market analysis before deciding to start herb farm.
Land for herb farms: There are several things to considerwhen you start to look for land. How much land do you need? Do you want cleared orwooded land? Do you want previously cultivated land?
Choose the herbs you'd like to grow. You can buy the seeds or seedlings or cuttings. Seedlings will grow faster than seeds or cuttings. For seed, it can sometimes take several months from the sprouting stage to full grown.
Marketing
For effective marketing of herbal plants and herbal products do a comprehensivewrite up on the medicinal values and uses of the plant or product and distribute to prospective buyers.
Make some business cards. Hand your business cards outat every opportunity. List your contact information. Friends and families are greatsources to help you obtain business or sell your product.
Go to fairs and events and display your herbs.
Talk to supermarkets that might be interested in purchasing your products. Visit local tea shops, herb stores, flower shops, health food stores or other places that might be interested in herbs
Advertise and promote your business. Place an ad in your local newspapers advertising your herbs. It may take a little time for people to become aware of your business, but don't give up. Growing herbs and creating herb products can be fun andfinancially rewarding. It will just take a little time and patience.
Happy Farming! (Tribune sourced)
.THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO INVEST IN AGRICULTURE.
There is no better time to start your agric business than now.
The removal of the fuel subsidy is an indicator to the fact that we must look in the direction of agriculture. For the past days we have been staying at home eating!. That is to tell you that food or foodstuff is a commodity that will always sell. Here aresome tips on how to start your agric business this year.
1.Set Goals- What are your goals for your farm? What kind of farm are you planning? It might be a hobby farm, where your farm is a supplement to a full-time job, something relaxing you can do for fun inthe evenings and on the weekends. It could be that you want your farm to actually make money(a commercial farm), eventually replacing your current job. Or, your goal might be to produce all the food that you and your family need - homesteading or self-sufficiency. Your goal will determine the size of land, location and amount of money needed to start.
2. Identify and list what youwant to raise or grow: your decision on what you want to grow or raise depends on the purpose of the farm project either for business (profit) or for family consumption. A commercial farmer might be interested in setting up a plantation- oilpalm, cocoa, jatropha, moringa, cashew or pineapple plantation.
3. Draw a time table of when you want to start. Some crops have different growing periods. Animals can be raised anytime of the year .
4. Information Gathering : no knowledge is wasted, getall the necessary informationon what you want to raise. Without proper information on what you want to do, you might make some expensivemistakes that should have been avoided. You can get more informed by attending workshops, seminars, reading books on your proposed projects, asking questions from people already in the business or hiring a consultant.
5 Prepare a feasibility report/Business plan : this gives you a summary of what you want to do. This you can do for yourself or pay someone to do it for you.. The feasibility study provides an investigating function that should answer the question of "Is this a viable business venture?" The business plan provides a planning function that outlines the actions needed to take the proposal from "idea" to "reality." The feasibility study is conductedbefore the business plan. A business plan is prepared only after the business venture has been deemed tobe feasible.A business plan iscompulsory for a large scale investor especially if you need a loan from your bank.
6. Acquire land or lease.- thisapplies to people who don't have land. If you already have land you can begin to clear the land.
7. Name your Farm : Registering your business is essential. Register the name of your farm and more importantly, the name of your agricultural business. A farm that is not registered with CAC cannot access loan from any bank in Nigeria.
8. Raising Capital : Personally, I advise against borrowing by a new comer into agric business. But if youthink you must, these are ways to raise capitals either from formal or informal institutions : Informal institutions :
*Loan from spouse.
*Loan from relatives/Friends.
*Equity participation.
*Partnership
*Loan from Foundations, NGOS, Church, etc
Formal institutions :
*Cooperatives
*Micro- finance banks.
*Commercial banks.
9. Don't quit your job: if you have a job that brings you a regular income, by all means hang on to it until your farm enterprise begins to yield enough for you to take salaryout of the profits. If you are close to retirement, I strongly advise that you start you agric project while you are re still working, don'twait until you retire.
10. Get the support of your spouse , other family members or good friends: 'Support' might be what you need to reduce initial expenses. Let the people close to you understand what you are trying to do, they may find it very exciting. Sometimes, whole families pitch in and work together and share in the success of a venture
11. Get your initial stocks and start! . Some Areas of investment :
Plantation Agriculture : Teak,oil palm, cocoa, rice, millet, moringa,
jatropha, pineapple, cashew, groundnut, orchards,African mango, etc
Animals : grass cutter, goat, cow, sheep, rabbits, snails, dog breeding,Quail, etc
Some Areas of investment :
Food crops - cassava. yam. cocoyam, sweet potatoes, corn, millet, soya beans, groundnuts, etc
Horticulture : vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers, dry season vegetable production, etc
Plantation Agriculture : Teak,oil palm, cocoa, rice, millet, moringa,
jatropha, pineapple, cashew, groundnut, orchards,etc
Livestock : poultry, hatchery business, selling of 6weeks old birds, quails, turkeys, guinea fowl, etc
Agro -allied/equipment - inputs, agricultural equipment -tractor, sprinklers, fertilizer, chemicals, etc.
Food processing/cottage agric businesses : foodstuff processing and packaging(gaari, yam flour, starch, beans, pepper, rice,etc), catfish smoking business, frozen food-chicken, snails, grasscutter, quail meat, prawns , palm oil milling business, moringa powder and oil production,cashew nuts processing and packaging, feed formulation for catfish,poultry, quails, dogs. (tribune sourced)
The removal of the fuel subsidy is an indicator to the fact that we must look in the direction of agriculture. For the past days we have been staying at home eating!. That is to tell you that food or foodstuff is a commodity that will always sell. Here aresome tips on how to start your agric business this year.
1.Set Goals- What are your goals for your farm? What kind of farm are you planning? It might be a hobby farm, where your farm is a supplement to a full-time job, something relaxing you can do for fun inthe evenings and on the weekends. It could be that you want your farm to actually make money(a commercial farm), eventually replacing your current job. Or, your goal might be to produce all the food that you and your family need - homesteading or self-sufficiency. Your goal will determine the size of land, location and amount of money needed to start.
2. Identify and list what youwant to raise or grow: your decision on what you want to grow or raise depends on the purpose of the farm project either for business (profit) or for family consumption. A commercial farmer might be interested in setting up a plantation- oilpalm, cocoa, jatropha, moringa, cashew or pineapple plantation.
3. Draw a time table of when you want to start. Some crops have different growing periods. Animals can be raised anytime of the year .
4. Information Gathering : no knowledge is wasted, getall the necessary informationon what you want to raise. Without proper information on what you want to do, you might make some expensivemistakes that should have been avoided. You can get more informed by attending workshops, seminars, reading books on your proposed projects, asking questions from people already in the business or hiring a consultant.
5 Prepare a feasibility report/Business plan : this gives you a summary of what you want to do. This you can do for yourself or pay someone to do it for you.. The feasibility study provides an investigating function that should answer the question of "Is this a viable business venture?" The business plan provides a planning function that outlines the actions needed to take the proposal from "idea" to "reality." The feasibility study is conductedbefore the business plan. A business plan is prepared only after the business venture has been deemed tobe feasible.A business plan iscompulsory for a large scale investor especially if you need a loan from your bank.
6. Acquire land or lease.- thisapplies to people who don't have land. If you already have land you can begin to clear the land.
7. Name your Farm : Registering your business is essential. Register the name of your farm and more importantly, the name of your agricultural business. A farm that is not registered with CAC cannot access loan from any bank in Nigeria.
8. Raising Capital : Personally, I advise against borrowing by a new comer into agric business. But if youthink you must, these are ways to raise capitals either from formal or informal institutions : Informal institutions :
*Loan from spouse.
*Loan from relatives/Friends.
*Equity participation.
*Partnership
*Loan from Foundations, NGOS, Church, etc
Formal institutions :
*Cooperatives
*Micro- finance banks.
*Commercial banks.
9. Don't quit your job: if you have a job that brings you a regular income, by all means hang on to it until your farm enterprise begins to yield enough for you to take salaryout of the profits. If you are close to retirement, I strongly advise that you start you agric project while you are re still working, don'twait until you retire.
10. Get the support of your spouse , other family members or good friends: 'Support' might be what you need to reduce initial expenses. Let the people close to you understand what you are trying to do, they may find it very exciting. Sometimes, whole families pitch in and work together and share in the success of a venture
11. Get your initial stocks and start! . Some Areas of investment :
Plantation Agriculture : Teak,oil palm, cocoa, rice, millet, moringa,
jatropha, pineapple, cashew, groundnut, orchards,African mango, etc
Animals : grass cutter, goat, cow, sheep, rabbits, snails, dog breeding,Quail, etc
Some Areas of investment :
Food crops - cassava. yam. cocoyam, sweet potatoes, corn, millet, soya beans, groundnuts, etc
Horticulture : vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers, dry season vegetable production, etc
Plantation Agriculture : Teak,oil palm, cocoa, rice, millet, moringa,
jatropha, pineapple, cashew, groundnut, orchards,etc
Livestock : poultry, hatchery business, selling of 6weeks old birds, quails, turkeys, guinea fowl, etc
Agro -allied/equipment - inputs, agricultural equipment -tractor, sprinklers, fertilizer, chemicals, etc.
Food processing/cottage agric businesses : foodstuff processing and packaging(gaari, yam flour, starch, beans, pepper, rice,etc), catfish smoking business, frozen food-chicken, snails, grasscutter, quail meat, prawns , palm oil milling business, moringa powder and oil production,cashew nuts processing and packaging, feed formulation for catfish,poultry, quails, dogs. (tribune sourced)
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