Plantain Plantation in Nigeria and it's Benefits...

You might be wondering why i am starting my blog posts with agricultural discoveries in Nigeria, well yes i am because the greatest discovery so far about Nigeria is that agriculture is the future of Nigeria. Agriculture was the source of Nigeria's wealth in the pre independence and independence epochs before the discovery of crude oil, permit me to say that corruption became prevalent since the period of oil discovery in Nigeria which has brought us to this point. Nigeria can become the richest country in the world with just agriculture which is about 1% fraction of the natural resources Almighty God has blessed Nigeria with. We need to look inwards and see the inbound riches of our nation, the solution to joblessness, unemployment, under employment and the frustrations in this country. Well, today i will be talking about THE GOLDMINE IN PLANTAIN PLANTATION Plantain and banana are widely cultivated in the southern and middle belt regions in Nigeria. The annual local production outruns the demand. Being a highly perishable food item, substantial quantities rot away in a short period after harvest. When the rains start which signals the commencement of planting, the plantain farmers plant at the same time. They harvest at the same period and flood the markets with the product. After a short while, the product soon becomes scarce where much rots away due to unavailable technology for conversion for a longer shelf life. The solution is to process the fruits into a powdered form which can be packaged and stored for a longer time without spoilage and wastage occurring. The natural flavors in the powdered form can also be utilized in industrial food processing. Foods and drinks such as cakes, ice creams, yoghurt and custard are flavored to enhance their taste. The flavors are imported into Nigeria and are synthetic, therefore not as good as the natural flavors in banana and plantain powder. The natural flavors can be imparted into other foods. There is a readymade market within and outside Nigeria for banana and plantain powder. Nigerians in the diaspora, who are looking for businesses to do in Nigeria can look into the aspect of setting up a suitable processing technology to convert banana and plantain into powdered form. The benefits are many to the farmers and to the economy. When the planting season commences, at the start of the rains, the improved variety sucker costs about N120.00 to N150.00 per sucker even from official sources. The demand for the improved variety sucker is high. Investment Costing STAGE 1: Cost of renting 1 acre of land for 2 years/24 Months (@ N2,500 a year ) N5,000. STAGE 2: Cost of renting tractor Plough@ N7,000 (or less @ N3000 from govt but this takes time to get) STAGE 3: Cost of buying 1,000 double bunch Plantain suckers @ N150 each is N150,000. STAGE 4: Transportation of suckers to farm, estimated is N10,000 STAGE 5: Cost of Planting 1,000 suckers at N15 per stand is NN15,000 STAGE 6: 1st -5th Weeding @ N30,000. STAGE 7: Purchase of Manure/Fertilizer, Transportation & Fertilizer Application @ N25,000. STAGE 8: Irrigation, Security, Harvesting, Transportation@ N20,000. STAGE 9: If you buy an acre of land in oyo state (N45k/N50k per acres). Optional, say N50,000 TOTAL= N262,000. + Land N50,000 + miscellaneous 50,000 = N362,000 At harvest you will get 2,000 bunches, if you sell at give away price of N800 each, you will have N1.6Million and 3,000 New Suckers. By 2nd -3rd year this Plantain Farm may expand to 2 or 3 Acres if seed suckers and proceeds are reinvested. With a Projected Return On Investment ranging between N1Million and N4Million by 3rd year if expanded.