Banana Farming In Nigeria: Guide on How To Start (2024)
Easy guide on how to start banana farming in Nigeria, business, the environmental requirements, soil to grow plantain or plant banana for farming in Nigeria is what this post is all about.
Banana Farming in Nigeria
One of the most neglected farming in Nigeria is Banana farming. Interestingly, it is one of the most profitable farming ventures you can go into it in Nigeria. One thing I found cool about this venture is you only need to plant once after which you will keep harvesting for a period of 10 – 15 years depending on some variables. While it is not a set it and forgets it business, it is one that allows you to attend to other things.
ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENT ON BANANA FARMING BUSINESS
Banana just like other plants don’t grow anywhere you want them to grow. They grow where the conditions are right to support them so anybody interested in growing it need to know what it require from the environment for it to produce the required result.
The plant strives well in an environment that is average. That’s, a climate that is not too cold and too hot. They do well in naturally fertilized soil or thick compost manure. Having trees surrounding them help in provided shades for them which also increase the humidity of the area and give them the right condition necessary.
BANANA FARMING IN NIGERIA: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE
As with every business idea, you would need a business plan. In this case, you should draft a plantain farming business plan which will serve as a manual that will help guide you in achieving your objective in this venture. Below are the step by step guide to start Banana farming business in Nigeria.
Step 1: Get Neccessary Training
The first step to take if you want to succeed in this is to get trained. Yes, get trained. Don’t read online stuffs and feel you have acquired the necessary knowledge unless of course you are ready to make mistakes. Get close to anyone already in the banana business in Nigeria and learn it. While it is practically impossible to learn everything about it in a short while, you sure can learn what will get you started. This is to prevent loss. You can also google tips on plantain farming to have an idea on how to go about it.
Step 2: Get Fertile Land
After you have acquired the necessary training required to start and grow banana, the next step is to get land in a place with the required climate and soil. This is to ensure you provide it the plant the necessary condition to grow. After getting the land, you also get healthy suckers. Unlike other plants that grow from seed, banana grows from sucker and getting a healthy one could make a huge difference.
Step 3: Transplanting
The next step is transplanting. While doing this, make sure that the corm or the roots at the bottom is trimmed properly to facilitate good growths. Give five meters gap between plants and keep the plants moist at the early days but do not over wet the soil because the leaves are not yet out for much water evaporation.
Step 4: Banana Farming
This is the last step in banana farming. As your banana grows, you need to take care of them. Weeding is a very important care you can give to this plant. You also need to prevent them from strong wind and also provide fertilizer (organic is best) for them. If everything is done right, in 13 – 15 months, your first set of banana is ready for harvesting. After harvesting this set, there is no need planting another as the suckers will shot out themselves, this means you would harvest your plant for a long time ideally between 10 – 15 years.
