How to start profitable sugarcane farming in Nigeria
Sugar cane farming like any other agricultural businesses has been left in the hand of villagers, who see farming as a job and not business.
This is due to wrong perception youth have about farming activities, they see agriculture has a poor man business, not something to be proud of.
Well, this has changed has many young people are now investing their money in agric business, perhaps they’ve seen the potential in agric businesses.
Though most of the agric business is profitable there are some that are not profitale and should not be venture in to.
One of the lucrative agric businesses is Sugar cane farming. Yes, normal sugar cane the one you buy from mallam, it is actually a raw material for sugar and has sugar demand rises so the demand for sugar cane.
How profitable is sugar farming in Nigeria
In the first quarter of 2021 a report from National Bureau of Statistics peg the amount spend by Nigeria on sugarcane to 89 billion naira, not the edible sugar but sugarcane itself. Imagine if you can find your way to such industry, sure it will be a profitable venture.
How to start sugarcane farming in Nigeria
Chose a suitable land
Sugarcane requires a particular land, you can’t just plant them anywhere it will flop, so select land that have ph range between 6 to 7.5. You can find this kind of land mostly in the northern part of the country, (so sorry southerner). Some of the state you can plant sugar cane are
- Kano
- Katsina
- Niger
- Kwara
- Kaduna
Due to low rainfall in the north you might want to set up irrigation system for your sugarcane to do well, so put that into consideration when acquiring land.
Plant the right sugarcane (stem)
Sugarcane is planted by inserting the stem into soil with the bud facing upward. For sugarcane business to be profitable you need to buy big stem that is germinating already. Stem that has no bud may not grow at all which can lead to loss.
Planting and care for sugarcane
Sugarcane can be planted by inserting the stem slightly into a hole not more than 3 inches. It should be planted horizontally with the bud facing upward for proper germination.
To have bountiful harvest do not plant your sugar under a shade, in fact clear the land of all tree before you start to plant.
Taking care of sugar farm is not hard, you can use chemical to reduce the weed, after some month you should be free of weeding because your sugarcane would have extend to the nook and crony of your farm.
To fight off insect and parasite, you can also use chemical. To improve sugar cane yield use Nitrogen based fertilizer.
Harvesting
There are two method of harvesting sugar cane in Nigeria, one is manual in which you cut the sugar manually usually with cutlass, this is applicable if your farm is not big. Second, is burning method, here you burn your farm for some minute, so that the leaf is removed completely from the stem.
The yield of sugarcane per acre in Nigeria is between 15,000 sticks to 60,000 sticks, if everything is right, you should know what to expect from your farm.
Sugarcane market and marketing
After tedious farm activities, the next thing is to reap your labour. Well, that’s if you do your due diligence before embarking on sugarcane business.
Before planting carry out market research and determine market segment you will target. Below is where you can sell your SugarcaneY
- You can sell to retailer
- Sell to final consumer
- Sell to agro allied industry
Conclusion
According to National Bureau of Statistics Nigeria is meeting 10% of its sugarcane need, a thing of joy to entrepreneur who is ready to get their hand dirty. To add to above steps find or hire some one who has experience in sugarcane farming and you will forever smile to bank.
