The maize farming business in Nigeria is a goldmine, but the fact remains that not many people know so much about it and its large potential. First of all, maize is the most widely farmed grain produced in the world due to its importance.
It also stands as the most important cereal in sub-Saharan Africa and an important staple food for more than 1.2 billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, according to an article by IITA.
This cereal comes in different colors which are mostly white and red. White maize has been popularly consumed in Nigeria. It is used for different delicacies: cooked fresh, roasted, and consumed with other kinds of foods as a snack.
Red maize is used in the production of animal feed as it is believed to have a higher nutritional value than its counterpart. Ok, before we move on, I won’t be discussing the processes of planting maize in this article: how to make money from the maize farming business in Nigeria.
The focus will be on the opportunity in Nigeria’s maize farming.
Producers of Maize in the World
As it stands, the United States of America is the largest producer of maize in the world, followed by Africa while Nigeria sits on the table of the highest maize producers in Africa, and South Africa seat at the second place.
The demand for maize is on the rise due to the increase in population. This increase in population also calls for a progressive increase in the demand for maize.
Despite Nigeria sitting at the top in Africa our production capacity, which stands at about 8 million tons cannot cover up for the surge in demand.
And one of the major challenges contributing to this shortage is the fact that we all rely solely on irrigation for our farm production. This means a lack of or low rainfall might result in famine and food shortages.
Opportunity in Maize Farming in Nigeria
How to make money from the maize farming business in Nigeria is also linked to the various Opportunities in maize farming in Nigeria. So we will be looking into that right away.
Animals are the number one contender for the use of maize in recent times. About 18 to 20 percent of animal feeds are composed of maize.
The demand for maize for animal feed will surely be on the rice since we will love to boost both egg and poultry meat production; since, presently, Nigeria only produces about 30 percent of the poultry products she consumes.
Now, here lies the opportunity in maize farming in Nigeria; day in and day out there have been high demands, and people are desperately searching for quality maize products both in large and small quantities.
As a farmer at the end of the season, maize farming is a good one. Below are a few things you can do fast:
- Go entirely into maize production, harvest, dry, bag, and sell
- Another option is to buy off-takes from farmers who are into maize production.
This means you don’t have to own a farm, all you need to do is to find communities that major in maize production and form clusters of farmers while you buy off their maize before it’s harvested.
This also implies you will be taking care of processing, such as shelling, cleaning, bagging, and transporting.
Remember, you will need a maize Sheller for this, and the good news is that I am your savior when it comes to this as I am into Agricultural machine fabrication, and we produce Maize shellers that have a blower incorporated into it.
Lastly, this involves you buying the already processed maize from the farmers. The only thing involved in this entails transporting it to your preferred destination.
How to make money from Maize production
Making money from maize production might not really involve you doing the farming yourself,f as I have explained earlier.
Now from the last topic I touched on: opportunity in maize farming, you will notice I did not really touch how you could actually make money from it. Now, let’s touch that aspect a bit before we call it a day.
- You can help people who need maize to source the produce from either farmers or large dealers. All you have to do is to locate those who need maize and also find those who have it.
Make a bargain, but remember to find out the cost of the transportation and include it, buy the maize from whoever has it in stock and arrange for the waybill, get it delivered; and keep your profit.
- Make a link with local feed mills around you even in your state as well as neighboring states. Get the price they buy, go out and find a better bargain, and make it into a business
- This involves money anyway. You can buy maize in bulk during harvest, as this is when the price is usually low. Store them till the price is quite high and the demand is up then you sell out and make your money.
Thank you. I am sure the article has blessed a life. Please do a favour also by sharing this on your social media platforms so that others can have access to it as well.
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