Farming in Nigeria has taken a dramatic turn to a better direction in recent years, creating jobs and opportunities for entrepreneurs who dare to go into farming business. There are good reasons why farming in Nigeria is doing very well.
Foremost among these reasons is the fact that Nigeria has large expanses of fertile farmlands laying fallow across the nation. Nigerian land area when measured in sq km is about 910,770. The land area of any country is the country’s total area, excluding areas that are considered to be water bodies. So, Nigeria has one of the biggest expanse of Land in Africa of which 70 percent is available for farming.
Poultry Farming
Everyone knows how profitable poultry farming is, it doesn’t need much introduction. Yet, it is still not fully tapped. What we currently have is few badly managed, scantily equipped poultry farms except for few ones like Obasanjo Farm, Tunsfarm, Zartatech and Folawuyo farms. Entrepreneurs who are able to fire up serious investment into this sector will have huge profit to contend with due to the large consumption rate of chicken, still, 70% of our consumption still based on importation. The egg is yet another goldmine.
Plantain & Banana Plantation
This is another but yet untapped promising venture in agriculture in Nigeria who production is only yet limited to Ondo, Edo, Delta and Osun.
The beautiful thing about plantains is that it keeps producing year in year out for eternity. Like Rice and Garri, Plantain is widely consumed in Nigeria. Plantain is highly priced in Nigeria and is always in high demand all year round.
Root Crops (Cassava, Yam, Sweet Potato)
The popularity of cassava as the major source of food for Nigerians dates back to ages. Between Garri and Rice, it is hard to tell which one is the most popular food in Nigeria. The potential in this area is as large as $ 6 billion dollar in annual revenue per crop especially when further processing is incorporated to the last. A bag of Garri costs almost the same as a bag of rice. Apart from garri, there are countless of other food stuffs that are processed from Cassava in Nigeria. The introduction of the high yield species of Cassava has made it possible for Nigerian cassava farmers to produce more cassava per plot.
Rice Farming
It is the most popular staple food among Nigerians, eaten by both rich and poor. At the moment, the government is trying to reduce importation of rice so as to increase the production capacity of local farmers.
Nigeria has one of the world’s highest Rice consumption stat. Almost every family eats rice daily in Nigeria. In 2011 alone, Nigeria spent N991 billion on rice importation and the rice we import is said to be nothing less than 10 years old in storage. That means we spent billions buying rice that has since lost its nutritional values.
Cocoa
Its prospect alone is as huge as $ 10 billion dollars if the harvest precedes are further processed to finished goods like the regular bournvita and milo and the rest of beverages used by the likes of Nestle, Cardbury and Unilever.
Catfish Farming
Catfish farming is one of the easiest business ventures to setup. It is one of the branches of fish farming.
Many catfish farmers have their fish ponds within their homes. It is a type of farming that doesn’t require too much attention and can be run side by side with another business.
Vegetable, Mushroom, fruits, carrots, spring onion, Spice or Culinary & Maize Farming
This is no doubt the 4th most lucrative venture in agriculture. your vegetables, pumpkin leave, tomatoes, pepper, ginger, spinach, garlic and other items in this field is a get away field that requires less than a 100 thousand naira input on a large hectares and yet you are bound to make your kill.
Beans Farming
Beans farming in Nigeria is commoner in the Northern part of the country. Beans can be grown anywhere in Nigeria, although there are some parts of the country like the northern region that you may say have good rich soil for beans. Nonetheless, there is no region in Nigeria where you cannot grow beans. Beans are cash crops and can grow in the midst of other crops. They can be computed into cassava or sorghum farm.
