How to Start Maize Farming Business In Nigeria
Have you ever considered starting your own maize farm here in Nigeria? I was driving through the city of Umuahia the other day and what I discovered prompted me to write this article.
I saw maize sellers by roadside, roasting corn as customer’s thread in to get one or more for themselves. Some customers were buying in bags while some were packing them inside their car. I actually saw one seller, counting huge neat stack of money and I stood, stunned with what I saw. A little finding proved that these sellers make double of their initial investment within a day.
Instantly, I became sad. Not because they are doing a business that has proved to be lucrative, but because a lot of our graduates still waste years of their life, looking for jobs that no longer exist all in the hope of being paid millions a month. While they walk the street of Lagos with shoes that have seen better days, some are in agriculture making fortunes.
Maize farming business is one of these agribusiness that makes their starters millionaires because agricultural products are high in demand here in Nigeria and all over the world. If you’re looking for a business to start this season or year, maize farming business should be the business you should look into.
Now, how can you start maize farming business and make a lot of gains? Well, that’s why I’m here, with a coke and a system, to guide you on how you can start this profitable business easily without any hurdles. Let’s delve into the business of the day, shall we?
THE TWO ROUTES IN MAIZE FARMING BUSINESS
1. STARTING FROM SCRATCH
This farming route entails getting a land, getting the seeds, planting and harvesting when the time is due.
2. BUYING FROM MAIZE FARMERS
This means, buying from farmers in huge quantity and selling to the final consumer to make a gain.
The former is more profitable, but time consuming and risky to some extent. Your farm can be destroyed by winds or heavy rain. It could also be dealt with by thieves. The latter isn’t too risky, but the profit is low compared to starting from scratch.
Compare both models or route and then choose the one that best suits you. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to guide you on how you can start from scratch and make mind boggling gains.
HOW TO START MAIZE FARMING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA
1. GET A FERTILE LAND
Getting a land is one of the first step and also the most important when starting a maize farming business. When I started mine, I made sure that the soil is loamy, rich with manure, and coupled with a good topography. Also, make sure that the land is in an open place where sunlight cannot be restricted.
When you’ve gotten a land, start the land preparation by clearing the bushes, tilling the soil and making the land more fertile by adding more organic or inorganic manure like a fertilizer with 15:15:15 composition.
If you can’t do this yourself, you can always hire a laborer to help out for a little token. Well, the money might not necessarily be a token, but it will be better than to stress yourself beyond your capabilities.
2. PLANTING OF YOUR CORN
After your land preparation, the next logical step would be to acquire healthy seeds and plant. The variety to go for is determined by the one more popular in the market you wish to dominate. In some places, white maize is more popular, while yellow is more widely accepted in some areas than others. Through your market surveys, you should be able to arrive at a conclusion.
I also don’t need to remind you that planting maize here in Nigeria is during the raining season which is usually between March to September. Sometimes, it might come too early or too late.
3. WEEDING AND PEST CONTROL
In maize farming business, weeds are seen as adversaries, don’t ever allow them spring forth their ugly heads in your farm. weeding is done to prevent some unnecessary competition with the maize. Please, weed the farm at least, every 2 weeks till harvest. This encourages high yields a lot.
If your farm is in a good site, you might not need to worry about pest, but in case they come as plagues, there are numerous pesticides which you can use to get rid of them. Below is some pest every maize farmer should watch out for:
- Helicoverpa armigera (corn earworm)
- Black Earwigs
- True wirewormlarvae
- False wirewormlarvae and so many others.
4. APPLYING MANURE
There are tons of fertilizers that will ensure an amazing return of output. The best fertilizer composition to go for is 15:15:15. With this, you’re good to go in the maize farming business here in Nigeria. If your budget is too tight, you can decide to go for organic by getting cow dungs or making a compost manure yourself. There are many ways to make your land more fertile. Discover them and implement.
HOW DO YOU START MARKETING YOUR MAIZE?
The demand of maize as food is so high that maize farmers are yet to optimally satisfy that need, compared to even industrial demand. Maize can be cooked, boiled and grounded to make pap, porridge etc. It is also used for the making of popcorn.
Apart from human consumption, it also has some industrial usage like production of starch, ethanol, sweeteners, and oil (corn oil). To have the opportunity to supply to such big companies, you’ll need to be able to produce in large quantity.
With all the above, it’s evident that demand is there. All you need is to market without fear. Your target market is waiting and their demands are yet to be met. Join the few players and become a millionaire.
CONCLUSION
Maize farming business is the business of the future. Most people have asked me, “Is maize or corn farming lucrative?” The answer is YES and it can actually change your financial life for the better. There are many agribusinesses out there, but maize farming is the one closest to my heart, maybe because I love eating roasted corn a lot LOL.
