Starting rice farming
in Nigeria is a business that requires large capital. But nevertheless, you can
still start small if you do not have the required capital for a large scale
production of rice.
Some of the important
and required things you need to start rice farming in Nigeria are: capital,
land, labour (manpower & skills), mechanical and technical facilities, raw
materials and other materials needed like the plant seeds itself, the seedbed,
etc.
Rice farming is the
most lucrative and profitable business in the agricultural sector of Nigeria
and this business even grow better year by year. So, starting rice farming in Nigeria
if done right will generate lot of income for you.
Looking at the tons of
rice Nigerians consume annually which has led to high importation of rice since
the locally produced ones cannot circulate round, rice farming is a very
profitable business.
This post includes what
you should do and how to do it for you to start rice farming in Nigeria.
You can start your rice
farming business by focusing on one, few or all of these areas; cultivating and
harvesting rice, milling and processing rice (by constructing rice mills),
distributing rice in wholesales and so on.
In starting rice
farming in Nigeria, you should do the following:
1..Generate Startup Capital
You need to get the
money you want to use for rice farming ready before you start any process on
the business. You can get startup money by recruiting investors for your
business. Startup money is very important in starting rice farming in Nigeria
because it is a business that requires huge amount of money and also because a
business barely survives without money, you cannot even start a business
without money.
It is also important
that you get cash flow for your business in order to avoid indebtedness or
frozen business, you should be able to get money for your business whenever it
is needed.
After getting your
startup money, you should also get information, if possible training on how the
business of rice farming is done in Nigeria and so on.
2..Choose Rice Seeds
In choosing rice seeds,
make sure you choose healthy and good ones. Do not settle for anything less
than good and healthy because such seeds will die along the line. How healthy
your seeds are determines the quantity of yield you will achieve. It is
important that you choose your seeds based on the environment where you want to
cultivate your seeds and also choose them manually.
Choosing healthy seeds
will help in improving your yield by 5 to 10%, will improve germination of the
seeds, reduce weeds problems that can be experienced during cultivation,
improve the resistance to diseases and pests and also harvest plants with
consistent size.
3..Producing Rice Seedlings
This is done by preparing
seedbeds that will be enough for the seeds you have selected, then you need to
prepare your plant seeds also.
After this has been
done, you then take the seedbeds to the nursery where they will be raise. Once
you take the seedbeds to the nursery, you should cover them (especially the
soil) with a polythene bag to avoid soil borne diseases and also to maintain
the environment temperature.
The only thing that can
reduce your yield at this stage is if the plants are attacked by nematodes and
soil borne pathogens.
4..Choose the Land for Production
One of the most
essential capital assets in rice farming business in Nigeria is your choice of land.
Therefore, you need to be careful in choosing the land for your rice
production. You should consider factors like drainage equipments and
facilities, soil type, location, land space (because rice farming requires a
large piece of land especially for drying the paddy rice after harvest).
It is advisable that
you choose a land that is in a zone where rice is made locally, is fertile and
can retain water well. You can also choose a swampy land for planting your rice
because it reduces the hassles of irrigation and also reduce capital. You
should till your land to prepare the soil for the transplanting of your rice
seedlings.
5..Management of Soil Nutrients and Weeds
This is very important
because rice can’t do well with weed around. It is required that you remove
weeds from your rice farm after some months of transplanting the rice
seedlings, you can also apply herbicide to destroy weeds and also apply
fertilizer to boost up the growth of your rice.
Please, don’t just use
any fertilizer on your rice farm. You should have tested the soil with the help
of any specialist to know the kind of fertilizer that will do well on that
soil.
6..Harvesting the Crop
After 4-5 months of
planting the rice, they will be ready for harvest then you are good to go. Make
sure when harvesting and picking your rice, care should be taken to avoid
stones. If you can afford the machine, it will be better or you can meet with
any farmer that has and pay to sort it properly.
These are not only the
important things to consider when starting rice farming in Nigeria, you also
need to put your marketing, price policy and distribution strategies into
consideration to know what suits your business the most.
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