Plantain Farming Business Plan in Nigeria (Current) PDF

Not many people know this, but there is a lot of money in plantain farming. Those who have seen the light are already finding a way to invest in starting a plantain farming business in Nigeria. Starting a plantain farm is not as difficult as it sounds, we will tell you all you need to know and also provide you with a sample plantain farming business plan in Nigeria in this post.

Do you know that plantain and its products are among the most consumed foods in Nigeria? there are so many local delicacies that are produced from plantain. This is why most farmers involved in plantain farming hide information about the profitability of the business.

Starting your plantain farm does not require so much capital or effort. What you will be doing most is caring for your crops and maintaining the farmland. In this post, we will share lots of secrets about how to start a plantain farming business in Nigeria.

Market Overview

Like we stated above, Nigerians consume a lot of plantains. Plantain can be eaten in different forms including raw, eaten fried with rice or other foods, boiled, and as chips. These are just a few forms in which plantain can be eaten.

This makes it clear that the demand for plantain far exceeds the supply in Nigeria. You should not be worried about selling your plantain as the market is very wide. So many establishments, asides the local market, need plantain. Hotels, restaurants, families, etc. all need plantain. This implies that your product will not go to waste.

Challenges of Plantain Farming in Nigeria

Most times, people tell you of the advantages of plantain farming and how much you can make. What they don’t tell you is that this business comes with its peculiar challenges. If you know about the challenges, it is easier to avoid and overcome them. In this section, we will outline some of the challenges of plantain farming in Nigeria:

Pests and diseases.
The high cost of farmlands.
Unhealthy suckers.
Problems associated with storage.
The high cost of transporting produce to markets.
The challenge of raising adequate capital.

How Profitable is Plantain Farming in Nigeria

Before you invest time, effort, or cash into any business, it is imperative to find out if the business is profitable or not. Plantain farming is no different even though plantain is in very high demand in Nigeria. Below is an example of how much you are likely to spend on cultivating plantain in Nigeria:

Cost Analysis for Plantain Plantation

Buying farmland – N400,000
Purchasing suckers at N200 each – N100,000 for 500 suckers.
Transportation of suckers to the farm – N7,000
Cost of labor for planting – N20 per sucker = N10,000
Cost of maintaining the farm – N15,000
Cost of manure – N3,000

Total = N535,000

So the question to answer is how do you make returns on your investment? There are two major ways of making returns on your investment when running a plantain farm:

Selling the plantain fruits. The usual price of a plantain bunch is about N500. If all your 500 suckers produce, then you should have N250,000 in your first year. Planting the same number of suckers by the second year means your business will break even in Year 2.
Selling suckers. Usually, a plantain will produce between 6 and 8 suckers. This means that your 500 plants will produce 3000 suckers. If you sell each sucker at N200, you will make N600,000. This implies that your business will hit break-even in the first year.

This should be a good proof of why you should invest in plantain farming in Nigeria.

Why you should invest in Plantain Farming Business in Nigeria

There are so many reasons why anyone should invest in plantain farming in Nigeria. We may not be able to share all the reasons with you in this post, however, here are some cogent reasons why.

It helps to eradicate poverty which is one of the SDGs.
This business is highly profitable and lucrative.
You will employ people to work on your farm even if it is for short periods. This means you are helping to reduce the unemployment and crime rates in Nigeria.
It helps you to attain self-dependence.
Reduces financial crises in the country.
You can become a mentor to many other young farmers interested in plantain farming in the future.

Starting a Plantain Farm in Nigeria

Before you jump into starting a plantain farm, there are several things you should know. Many people do not take the time to study about plantain farming before they dive in. The result of this negligence is the failure of the business and loss. We don’t want any of this to happen to you which is why we have put together this guide to help you out.

Note that these are just peripheral, if you want to know about plantain farming in-depth, you should visit an existing successful plantain farmer. This way, you can learn from their experiences and failures. So what should you do before starting your plantain farm?

Get a fertile land

If you are going to succeed as a plantain farmer, you need fertile farmland for cultivation. This means you should consider a soil that has all the necessary nutrients and satisfies the necessary conditions for plantain farming.

It is best you get land with loamy soil and contains lots of organic matter. The moisture content of the soil should be average. You can cultivate plantain in any of these Nigerian States Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Cross River, and Ogun amongst others.

Even if your land does not have the necessary nutrients, you can develop it. You do this by applying organic or inorganic fertilizer. The best way to know if the soil contains the necessary nutrients is by conducting a lab test of the soil. On the other hand, you can observe the vegetation on the land, if it is thick, then it should support plantain cultivation.

There are two ways of getting farmland for plantain cultivation. You can purchase the land outright from the owner. On the other hand, you can lease the land for a few years and then return it or purchase it afterward.

Land preparation

It is one thing to get the land, it is a different ball game to get it ready for plantain cultivation. There are certain land preparation processes you must carry out on the land before planting your plantain. You must do this else the crops will not do well and you will run at a loss. You will also put your crops at risk of diseases and pests if you don’t prepare the land adequately.

The land preparation processes include clearing the weeds and bushes, cutting any trees that may stand in the way, removal of stones and stumps, etc. Other processes involve tilling the ground and preparing the beds for cultivation and manure application.

These processes can be carried out by human labor or machinery. While machinery is costlier, it is faster and more efficient. If you are running a very large farm, we advise that you get machines to prepare the land for cultivation.

Purchasing healthy Plantain suckers

Plantain suckers are the equivalent of seeds that are planted to get plantain. You must have seen suckers at some point. They are the outgrowth you see on the bud that is at the base of the plantain plant. The suckers bear short narrow leaves and they are planted to get whole plantain plants.

If you get unhealthy suckers, your yield will be very poor which will mean you have wasted time and funds. This is why before buying your suckers, you should make findings from reputable plantain farmers. Ask them where they get healthy suckers that are resistant to pest and disease attack and have a high yield.

The three varieties planted in Nigeria include sword suckers, maidenhead, and water suckers. You can invest in any of the first two, they are very healthy and produce a high yield. Water suckers, on the other hand, produce low yield and the plants are always weak.

Planting, weeding, and fertilizer application

The suckers should typically be around 4 to 5 feet long and you should maintain between 8 t0 10 feet between each sucker. Before planting, the soil should be a bit wet but not waterlogged. Periodically, you should take out weeds from the farm. You will need manual labor to handle this process.

If the land is already fertile, you may not need to apply fertilizers. However, if it isn’t, then you need fertilizer that has sufficient levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Harvesting and marketing

Your plantain should be set for harvesting within 8 to 10 months. You should harvest the plantain once it begins to ripen. You must find buyers for your product before the harvesting season. Plantain is perishable so you cannot afford to leave it on the ground for too long.

Write a business plan

Business plans are very important to the growth of any business. They act as the map guiding the operations of the business. If you will succeed in your plantain farming business, then you need a business plan. You can contact us to write a detailed business plan at a subsidized fee.

Get your Plantain Farming Business Plan in Nigeria and feasibility study. pay N10,000 to:

Bank Name: Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB)

Account Name: Chibuzor Tochi Onyemenam

Account Number: 0044056891

After payment, send your name, email address and “Plantain Farming Business Plan in Nigeria” to 07033378184