How to Start Cassava Farming Business in Nigeria / Business Plan

How to Start Cassava Farming Business in Nigeria: Cassava Farming Business Plan

How to Start Cassava Farming Business in Nigeria – On a daily basis, more and more products are being churned out from cassava; making it a very important crop to Nigerians, thus proving that cassava farming in Nigeria is one of the most lucrative agribusinesses to engage in today. This crop has been a major source of income for several farmers in Nigeria and even the Western part of Africa. In Nigeria alone, there are several cassava products that are served as major meals in different localities, studies even show that a whopping 90% of Nigeria families consume cassava based meals daily. Some of these meals include wheat flour, garri, fufu, abacha, and many more.

Population projections show that yearly the population of Nigeria and many other African countries keeps increasing at a geometric rate, this means there will be increased need for food production to satisfy the growing population. Since cassava based meals are major in most tribes across the country, it means that cassava will continue to be a cash crop, yielding more revenue to farmers and food processing businesses involved with cassava production and processing.

One question that begs to be answered is: “why have many Nigerians not noticed this major income source?” Another is: “why are Nigerians not involved in cassava farming?” A lot of people will answer both questions with the same word, “capital.” Many people believe if there was capital available, they will be motivated to take advantage of several sectors of the economy. Well, here is some good news, since the economic recession hit the country, the government has been more interested in supporting the growth of small and medium scale businesses, especially those that are agriculturally inclined. The Bank of Agriculture has been mandated by the government to allot grants to agribusinesses, meaning you can take advantage of this to start up your own farm. In case you are looking for ideas for your agribusiness, cassava farming is proving itself as a great option.

If you are interested in starting your cassava farm then you can look through the following suggestions to plan your business.

How to Start Cassava Farming Business in Nigeria

Write your Business Plan: Before setting out to invest your money on cassava production in Nigeria, you need to do a proper feasibility study on cassava production in Nigeria (Regardless of your preferred location) when you are done with that, its time to write a business plan. A business plan will be able to point you in the right direction respect to:

• How much money you need to start your cassava farm.
• Where to locate your cassava farm.
• How to market your products and so much more.

If you do not know how to write a business plan then you can follow the steps that we highlighted in these posts: “How to Write a Business Plan” or “How to Write a Business Plan and Make Sense”

You can also buy our cassava farming business plan in Nigeria for just N10,000. You can use this business plan and feasibility study to access bank loans, government grants and attract local and international investors.

To place order for this cassava farming business plan and feasibility study, Pay N10,000 to:

BANK NAME: GUARANTY TRUST BANK (GTB)

ACCOUNT NAME: CHIBUZOR TOCHI ONYEMENAM

ACCOUNT NUMBER: 0044056891

After payment, send the following details via text to 07033378184.

Depositors Name

Your email address

The title of the business plan you paid for (i.e. cassava farming business plan pdf)

1. Selecting a site for your cassava farm. It is important that you take serious consideration as regards where you want to site your cassava farm. There are some conditions necessary for cassava to thrive properly and yield optimally, you need to pick a farm land is predominantly loamy in nature. The climate in that environment should be one with adequate rainfall, along with moderate temperature and relative high humidity. It is quite easy to recognize a land with such qualities, it is a land with:
   1. A thick vegetation around it.
   2. Good soil texture.
   3. The topography is usually flat or gentle sloping.

Picking the right site is paramount to the growth of your cassava business, ensure that the land is properly checked out by scientists as well as find out the history of the land from locals to ensure that you are not misled to investing wrongly.

2. Improving your soil to suit cassava production. This step is very important in the event that you were not able to access a suitable land with the above stated qualities. You might be spending quite an amount of money to improve the soil, but it is wise to spend this and avoid a poor yield altogether. Below are a few farm practices that can be carried out to improve the farm land:
   1. Add manure to the soil.
   2. Prepare good farm beds.
   3. Introduce mixed cropping. This is a method of farming which involves planting two crops on the same land which do not necessarily need the same nutrients. This is advantageous because, while one uses up a particular nutrient, it is most likely to add another to the soil. The best mix is planting alongside leguminous crops as they help in fixing nitrogen and other important elements into the soil.
   4. Irrigation if the area lacks adequate rainfall.

To avoid unnecessary loss it is imperative that these measures and more are carried out, however, the best option still lies in choosing a fertile land from the onset.

3. Picking out the best varieties. It is one thing to have a fertile farm land, it is another to have a good variety of the crop. There are several varieties of cassava and each have their peculiarities relating to several parameters like fertility and productivity, resistance to diseases and pests, yield and speed of growth among others. There are some factors you should consider in making a choice of variety:
   1. Varieties with good food quality.
   2. Varieties with good cooking abilities.
   3. Varieties that yield within the shortest possible time.
   4. Varieties with great storability, meaning the varieties that can be left unprocessed for a longer period of time.
   5. Varieties tolerant to pests, diseases and weed attack.
   6. Most importantly, varieties that are best suited to the prevalent climate in your location.

Selecting the right variety will be greatly beneficial as a mix of fertile soil with a complimenting variety will mean awesome yield. It is also important to seek out the variety that is most consumed in your vicinity, you do not want to produce a crop that people are not interested in consuming, it will turn out to be a waste of resources and effort altogether. Take time to do a proper feasibility study to find this out. These are a few recommended varieties, TMS 30572, NR 8082, NR 8083, TMS 4(2) 1425, TMS 81/00110, TMS 92/0326.

4. Seek out healthy stem cuttings. Cassava is propagated via the stem cuttings thus just like selecting a good seed, it is important to select good stem cuttings for optimal yield. If a poor choice is made in this regard, the farm and other resources might be lost before the plant even germinates. The farmer is therefore advised to seek out very healthy stems for propagation purposes. You can get stem cuttings from the nearby markets in surrounding towns and villages, but it is advisable to take prior survey to find out the best supplier of healthy stem cuttings. After initial purchase, the best place to get healthy stem cuttings is your own farm. Ensure you look out for healthy cassava cuttings with a history of resistance to pests and diseases as well as high yield potential.
5. Get the planting process right. Before undertaking the planting process, ensure that you have studied well to ensure that you meet all the conditions necessary to plant. Such conditions include, the tillage method, the time of the year to plant, the seed bed type, the method of preparation, handling and planting of the cassava stem cuttings. The best time to plant cassava in Nigeria according to general practice is April, it can however be extended to October. The quantity of cassava per hectare for optimal productivity is sixty bundles of cassava stem. Cassava stems cuttings of 25 centimeters in length should be planted within a spacing of 1m x 1m and it is important to check through frequently to seek out dead stems and replace them.
6. Fertilizer application. Fertilizers are important to improve the crop yield and ensure optimal production. Best farm practice states that fertilizers should be applied eight weeks after planting the cassava, it should be done in a ring with a distance of ten centimeters from the plant and six centimeters round it. The fertilizer can also be applied via broadcasting method carefully ensuring the fertilizer does not make contact with the leaves or stem of the plant. Below is a list of recommended fertilizers with their application rates per hectare:
   1. NPK 15:15:15–12 (50 kg) bags/hectare
   2. NPK 20:10:10–9 (50 kg) bags/hectare
   3. NPK 12:12:17–15 (50 kg) bags/hectare
7. Set up cost. Just like any other business, it is important to consider the financial implication of starting up the business. This helps to developing a detailed business plan and getting investment capital from several channels. Below is a sample costing list to start up a cassava farm in Nigeria:
   1. Land Cost:                                                 NGN 75,000 (this depends on the location)
   2. Land preparation:                                     NGN 25,000 (this could vary also depending on location)
   3. Cassava Stem Cuttings:                           NGN 50,000 (For 100 bundles. Bundle price could vary per location)
   4. Fertilizer                                                   NGN 25,000 (The price could vary depending on  quantity)
   5. Fermentation Tank:                                 NGN 220,000
   6. Hydraulic Press:                                       NGN 280,000
   7. Hammer Mill:                                           NGN 700,000

So many other costs are not stated because they are majorly dependent on the scale the farmer wants to run the farm, some of them include carriage bags, insecticides, farm maintenance, harvesting labor fees, general employee salaries, and a couple others.

Why You Should Start Cassava Farming Today

There are several reasons why a person should be involved with cassava farming in Nigeria and even beyond the borders of the country to other African countries. Cassava farming possesses boundless opportunities which can be tapped into to generate so much sustainable income for the farmer and even make him/her an employer of labor thus sorting out the challenge of unemployment facing the continent. All one needs to invest in cassava is a willingness to start up and a little capital which can be gotten from government grants and agricultural loans. Tapping into this industry will afford the farmer opportunities for government aids as well as endorsements from foreign organizations. After harvesting the crop, it attracts the attention of several other businesses especially those involved in food processing. Cassava can be processed into several staple foods like garri, bread, fufu, as well as cassava starch which can be used in laundry. It is evident that no part of the cassava crop is wasted, meaning that there is boundless opportunities for income generation for anyone involved with growing this crop.

MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT

After the crop has fully matured and has been harvested, the next important step is selling out the product. As a farmer, you can decide to sell unprocessed crop materials or push further and process before selling. Take a study of the surrounding markets to find out what best suits their needs and invest in that area. Ensure that your prices are customer friendly and you create a good delivery system.

Hurry now and get your own cassava farming business plan in Nigeria + feasibility study.

To plan order, pay N10,000 to:

 BANK NAME: GUARANTY TRUST BANK (GTB)
ACCOUNT NAME: CHIBUZOR TOCHI ONYEMENAM
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 0044056891
OR
BANK NAME: FIRST BANK PLC
ACCOUNT NAME: CHIBUZOR TOCHI ONYEMENAM
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 3066880122

After payment, send your name, email address and title of business plan (i.e. cassava farming business plan pdf) via text to 07033378184. Your business plan will be sent to your email within 10 minutes after payment. Thank you.

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