By Isa Isawade
As the costs of living and doing business in Nigeria continue to go high, many entrepreneurs and would be entrepreneurs are finding it difficult to garner the required resources to embarked on large scale farming. It, therefore, becomes imperative for affected many to look in the direction of small scale farming businesses with affordable capital outlays and high profitability prospects.
Highlighted below are ten of such farming businesses you can explore this year:
1. Crop farming: Crop farming which could be food or cash crops can be done both on small and large scales. The food crops that you can farm on an acre of land and make good and quick profit from include cassava, maize, millet, yam, rice, plantain, soya beans, potato and fruits. All the listed produce are money spinning at the moment. The cash crops with good income potential and which could also be done on a small scale include cashew, cocoa, kolanut and palm trees. These are money spinning businesses now, no matter the scale. The processes of farming the crops are largely general with little modifications regarding the individual crops- from land clearing to stumping and tilling, all through mounds and heaps or ridges making, as the case may be, and mulching, application of fertilizers to weeding and harvesting.
2. Vegetable farming: Vegetable such as water melon, okra, pumpkin (ugwu) and other vegetable leaves sell like hot cakes now with consistent profit to reap there from. The procedures for raising vegetable are almost the same processes with those listed under crop farming above with little modifications.
3. Poultry farming: Poultry is another viable farming business you can invest in. Though it comes with some high risks such as bird flue infections, extreme weather effects on productivity and the ever-rising cost of feeds, it’s a business that is lucrative given the high rate of consumption of chickens and eggs everywhere in the country. Poultry can be done in small, medium and large scales. This means- it could be raised in a small cage at your backyard or beside the house or in a few cages or coops in an available space within your vicinity or in a large poultry farm which should be far apart from residential area. Adequate knowledge of the trade, proactiveness and proper care of the birds would ameliorate the risks, making the venture profitable.
4. Fish farming: This is another business that can be done in any scale. You don’t need a pond or ponds as large as rivers before you can embark on fish farming. Fishes can be raised in a bowl or plastic drum or a water tank and graduate to real or large ponds. According to fish farmers, it’s a business that grows fast with high profit prospects if one learns the nitty gritty of it before starting.
5. Snail farming: Snail farming is a venture unanimously regarded by farmers as most profitable because it requires little or no capital, especially when done in small scale. The foods to feed the snails are also readily and cheaply available; they are usually waste food items and plants. However, a snail farming consultant, Mr Ukonu Ukonu, says farmers require adequate training before venturing into it. “The major challenge we have in snail farming is that some farmers do not have adequate training before venturing into the trade.
“Snail farmers need adequate training to understand the lifestyle of snails. Lack of understanding of snails made many farmers fail to get proper housing system and adequate feeds for them,” Ukonu told the News Agency of Nigeria. He added that “Snails are hermaphrodites and as a result of that they multiply exponentially. They produce a lot and the farmers can sell in a short time…”
6. Beekeeping: Beekeeping otherwise called apiculture is a low-cost, yet very profitable venture. Researches have revealed that the sector is underutilized in Nigeria. As numerous as its health and economic benefits are, production of it lags far behind consumption. This make the country’s population to depend largely on imported honey. Demand for honey has always overwhelmed local supply, making it generate high returns to farmers or dealers. A litre of pure honey in Nigeria now costs between fifteen and twenty thousand Naira. Apiculture can be started with minimal capital. However, like every other business it needs adequate training before embarking on it.
7. Mushroom farming: According to an Agric consultant and CEO of Jovana Farms, Prince Onebunne, mushroom cultivation and production give small holder farmers “a big chance to increase their income, improve their health and offer an alternative means of livelihood to urban and rural farmers.”
According to him, the process of growing mushroom is one of the easiest, adding that it does not involve much physical strength.
Onebunne also said: “Not only can it be used for your dining table, you might also be able to develop great relationships with individuals, hotels and food caterers; if you have a small space to create a small farm.”
8. Grasscutter farming: The large rodent called grasscutter is a delicious meat with high demand among the elite bush meat consumers who regularly throng bukateria, restaurants and hotels to have the delicacy. There are also individuals who regularly order directly, fresh or barbecued grasscutter meat from farmers. This high demand coupled with the fact that the rodent’s feeding is cheap, makes rearing it a profitable venture. Grasscutters mainly feed on grasses and roots such as elephant grass, guinea grass, cassava tuber, sweet potatoes, yam and corn. According to the animal husbandry expert, Prince Arinze Onebunne, Grasscutters “are easy to keep and a source of food for many people. Why? First of all, because of the quality of the meat; it is considered a delicacy by rich and poor alike. In survey on consumer preference for different types of bush meat species it came out as number one.” Grasscutters could be rear in small scale in cage which could be put anywhere including house balconies and passages. They are also very prolific animals.
9. Cattle farming: Otherwise known as livestock farming, involves the raising of cows, bulls, camels, sheep and even goats. Though usually a large scale farming venture, it could also be done on a small scale of less than ten or fifteen animals especially if the purpose is mainly to raise the animals for their meat at maturity or to be sold during festive periods. Having a space of just a half of a plot of land fenced has enabled you to embark on cattle rearing. Livestock keepers say it’s very profitable, no matter the scale. Their foods are grasses, plants, tubers and grains including chaff. However, to be profitable it requires careful management, including providing a balanced diet, ensuring animal health, and protection from predators.
10. Rabbit farming: Rabbit farming otherwise called cuniculture is regarded as one of the most profitable animal husbandry ventures, and it could be started gainfully on a small scale. Rabbit farming is very lucrative because almost all parts of its body including the meat itself, the fur, nails, and even its faeces are sources of income. Rabbit is also confirmed to be a very nutritious and healthy meat because its meat is white. White meat “offers several health benefits compared to red meat. It’s typically lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, making it a heart-healthy choice”. Many meat eaters are aware of this and look for it. Feeding of rabbits too is cheap. Rabbits eat almost all foods eaten by man- tubers, grains, vegetable, leaves and grasses. Rabbit is also one of the most prolific animals, far more than grasscutters. However, its environment management and medical care should be painstaking to avoid the calamity of mass deaths from diseases such as intestinal parasites and the very ruthless rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD).
