There is a massive opportunity for starting a profitable sugarcane farming business in Nigeria. But, unfortunately, Nigerian agricultural entrepreneurs and farmers are not taking advantage of this opportunity.
According to Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report, Nigeria spent a whopping 89 billion Naira on sugarcane importation in the first quarter of 2021 alone! This data inadvertently means there’s an investment opportunity in sugarcane farming. Nigerian farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs can take advantage of this investment opportunity.
Sugarcane is a vital commodity. It’s the primary raw material used in manufacturing edible sugar. Also, it can be consumed directly and used for other agro-allied products. It, therefore, means that if you invest in sugarcane farming, the chances are that you will make a good profit.
But, how do you start a sugarcane farming business in Nigeria? What do you need to become profitable in sugarcane farming? What are some things you should put into consideration before starting a sugarcane farm in Nigeria? I will answer all these questions below.
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How To Start Sugarcane Farming In Nigeria
Choose A Suitable Land
Sugarcanes do very on particular types of lands. Therefore, if you want your farm to be highly profitable, know that a certain soil type produces optimum results for sugarcane farming. According to Kinikan, sugarcanes do well in well-drained loamy soil with a neutral reaction (pH 6.5-7.5). This means that you must choose a suitable land to start your sugarcane business to become successful.
The most suitable states for sugarcane farming in Nigeria include; Taraba, Kastina, Sokoto, Kano, Kwara, Kaduna, and Niger. Another thing that you must consider when choosing farmland for your sugarcane farm is, even though sugarcanes do well in drained lands, they also need a lot of rainfall to be productive. However, you can circumvent the lack of heavy rain further North by using irrigation.
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Source The Right Canes To Cultivate
Sugarcane is cultivated by properly burying the cane in the earth for the bud to germinate and take root. To make the most profit from your sugarcane farming, you have to select the right stems to plant. The best kinds of sugar canes to plant are thick stems, which are the most productive.
When buying stems, make sure that they are thick stems and already have the buds germinating so that you don’t buy dead canes that will not germinate.
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Plant Properly And Take Care Of The Crop
To plant your sugar cane crop, dig a furrow about 4 inches deep and plant the stems horizontally so that the buds are positioned properly to aid germination. When planting your sugarcane stems, make sure that they are not shady so that the crop can get enough exposure to the sun to grow well.
After planting your crops, you should not just fold your arms and wait. You have to take care of your farm for your crops to grow properly. Sugarcanes are usually infested by pests and dangerous insects that might stunt the growth of your crop. So you have to use insecticides, germicides and pesticides for wading them away and protecting your farm.
Apart from insects, germs, and pests, you also have to continually weed your sugarcane farm to give it the space it needs to grow. Sugarcanes take roughly a year to mature, so that means you will have to continually weed until the sugarcane is grown enough to provide shade and stifle weed from growing around it.
Lastly, you will need to fertilise your crops to make sure that they reach their full potentials. According to experts, sugarcanes use mostly nitrogen fertilisers. With good planting and adequate fertilisation, your farm should give enough yields that will guarantee a return on investments.
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Harvest Your Crops The Right Way
You can harvest sugarcanes two ways in Nigeria, depending on your farm’s size and the quantity you are selling. For example, if you are selling hundreds of sugarcane sticks, you can use the manual method, but if you are selling thousands of sugarcane sticks, you might have to use the mechanical method. The mechanical method involves setting the sugarcane farm on fire and then cutting the sticks at scale.
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How To Sell Your Crops
You must start this step before actually delving into sugarcane farming if you want to be very successful. To do that, you have to identify the markets and partners that you want to sell to. Do you want to sell to people who will resell at the local markets? Do you want to sell by yourself at the local market? Are you looking to create strategic partnerships with agro-allied product makers and pharmaceuticals? Are you going to start supplying sugar factories around the country?
Whatever you want to do, make sure that you start the process before you go out and invest in sugarcane farming. Yes, sugarcane farming will always be profitable, as the National Bureau of Statistics report shows, but you have to create a proper structure that will help you make profits seamlessly.
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Conclusion
Sugarcane farming in Nigeria is a huge opportunity for agriculture entrepreneurs, and farmers should take advantage of it. According to the recent NBS report for the first quarter of 2021, Nigerians spent over 89 billion importing sugarcane to meet the local demand. Additionally, statistics show that Nigeria is still only meeting 10% of its local sugar needs, which means that we still import over 90% of our sugar. In light of that, you can take advantage of this opportunity as an entrepreneur to start a business that will remain profitable for you for a long time.
Aside from the sugarcane business, you can start other profitable businesses. Get the step-by-step guides to starting the most lucrative businesses from the shop today.
