Nigeria is a nation blessed with abundant agricultural resources coupled with a large expanse of land. Most parts of the country are embedded with rich soil, stable rainfall as well as the warm year-round temperatures. Each Nigerian State has its own unique climatic conditions that favours unique agricultural produce.
Agriculture occupies a major position in the history of the nation; this is evident in the ‘green’ colour in the flag, and also plays a prominent role which serves as the major source of livelihood to majority of the population. The agricultural history of Nigeria is similar to its political history. This can be evaluated from the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial eras.
Nigeria farming facts in this present day
In 2011, Nigeria government established the Agricultural Transformation Agenda to change the perspective of people about agriculture.
The vision of the project is to achieve a hunger-free Nigeria through the transformation of the agricultural sector that accelerates the achievement of nutritional and food security to drive income growth and generates employment.
In order to actualize this vision, the value chain method has been applied. Fertilizer distribution and procurement, financial value chains, marketing institutions, and agricultural investment framework will be revived using this approach.
List of lucrative farming in Nigeria
Farming requires skills and knowledge to excel. You may not necessarily need to be a graduate to do well. You just need to read and write and adhere to instructions. Below is a list of profitable farming you can start off with:
Plantain farming
Plantain is a staple food that is commonly cultivated in tropical regions. Plantain is similar to potatoes in the sense that it comes with similar texture and natural flavour when the unripe fruit is cooked by boiling, steaming or frying and it can also be processed into flour and plantain chips.
Plantain produces fruits all year round, which implies that the crop is a reliable stable food, especially in developing nations like Nigeria with inefficient transportation, inadequate preservation technology, and food storage. In Africa, this crop provides at least 25 per cent of the carbohydrate needed for over 700 million people.
The fact is that plantain farming is a profitable agri-business venture. You can purchase plantain sucker at the rate of N150 per sucker. An exciting fact is that you only have to do the planting once and expect harvest for the rest of the season.
Pineapple farming
Pineapple is one of the most valuable fruit among Nigerians and is also considered as a lucrative farming business because it is sold for both commercial consumption (i.e. production of juice) and domestic consumption. Anybody who intends to start this business must select a good farm with fertile sandy loamy soil, but can also be cultivated on other soil types provided that it contains organic matter and is free of waterlogging contents.
One pineapple costs N200 in the local market and can even go for N300+ in the fruit shops. Let us assume you harvested 100,000 pineapples and decided to set the wholesale price at N50 per head. You will make a whopping N5 million. Let us say you spent N1.5 million as the cost of transportation, production, and labour. You will be left with N3.5 million as net profit. The interesting thing is that once the crop starts producing, they can fruit for the next ten years if properly managed and maintained.
Rice farming
According to genuine research, it has been established that rice is the second most popular crop in the world. There is a massive demand for rice in Nigeria, so, it is a lucrative business that promises huge returns. Every year, Nigerians consume around six millions tons of rice and the exciting fact is that around 70% of this rice quantity is manufactured locally.
In fact, local production is unable to make up for the high demand for rice which creates a way for the importation of the product. This simply means that there are endless business opportunities for rice production in Nigeria. Since local production cannot satisfy the entire population, it implies that if you even decide to concentrate solely on the local market, you will still end up winning. The price of a 50kg bag of rice ranges from N10000 – N12000. Note that this price is unstable due to the volatility of the market.
Poultry farming
Poultry farming is regarded as the act of raising domesticated birds such as ducks, chickens, turkey, etc. for the purpose of getting eggs or meat for food. This involves brooding, vaccination, and building poultry pens, raising the chicks from tender age and selling of meat and eggs to the consumers.
There are lots of advantages of poultry farming; first, poultry birds provide us with meat and eggs that is a major source of nutritious food. Since there is a high demand for eggs and meat, you should expect that poultry business will never run dry. It is a business that guarantees returns as long as you follow the right procedures. In this business, you can get your profit in two ways; that is, meat and eggs production. A crate of the egg goes for N700 while broiler breed of chicken costs N3500
Catfish farming
Catfish belongs to the group of ray-finned fish. The act of raising them for a commercial purpose is referred to as Catfish farming. This involves stocking the juveniles or fingernails, building concrete, earthen or tarpaulin ponds, and raising the fish till market size. In the most hospitality industry, catfish is prepared as pepper soup which inked that this business will be profitable in the long run.
The cost for 1kg of catfish goes for N800 and it is quite possible to make a gross margin profit of 22.58%.
Goat rearing
The act of breeding and raising goats is referred to as Goat rearing. Goats are raised to produce milk, fibre, meat, and skin. The interesting fact about goat rearing is that it doesn’t require much stress. Anyone can venture into this business and will eventually make a profit. Asides from cow meat, goat meat is loved by many people in Nigeria. The reason is due to the unique aroma or taste.
A goat costs around N50000 or even more, and you can make a profit of 40% by venturing into goat rearing business.
Snail farming
Snail farming is popular due to its delicious taste. Snail contains lots of amino acids required by the body system and most of its by-products are used for medicines and cosmetics. Snails have been always been a popular item on the menus of restaurant, hotels, and bars where they feature as fried, boiled and spiced kebabs.
Snails are scarce during the dry season, so, that implies that you should target this period for your sale. It guarantees over 100% profit return.
Maize farming
Maize also referred to as corn in some countries is one of the most popular and consumed food crops across Africa. It is widely consumed in various forms and a lot of people depend on this crop every year because it is cheaper compared to wheat and rice, two of the other most popular cereals.
Maize can be consumed in diverse forms such as maize flour, feed mill, corn beef, etc. It can also be roasted or boiled and served as snacks. Maize is an incredibly amazing crop, you will get at least 500 kernels at harvest by planting just one seed. This is an incredible profit return. However, the price of maize varies from one place to another and is seasonal.
Cassava farming
Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world which depicts the importance of the commodity to the economy of Nigeria. The crop is produced in the majority of the states in the country. It has well-established processing and multiplication techniques for cattle feed and food products. There are at least 40 cassava varieties in use. Cassava is processed in numerous fabricating enterprises and processing facilities set-up in the country.
Cassava can be processed into various products such as chips, flour, starch, bread, ethanol, and glucose syrup, etc. These products are widely consumed locally and can also be exported to other countries. This guarantees a huge profit return by investing in this product.
Beans farming
Beans belong to the legumes family and there are numerous varieties of beans but the particular type used in Nigeria are the brown beans and the kidney-shaped black eyed beans. There is a high demand for beans in the Nigeria market due to the fact that they can be cooked to prepare a variety of recipes. Sometimes, it requires the removal of beans coat to prepare various recipes such as Moi-Moi, akara, beans porridge, fried beans, etc.
Beans farming are untapped business opportunities that guarantee huge profit return because it is just a few people that are engaged in the business. The price of a bag of beans (100kg) today is around N35000.