Beans Farming in Nigeria: Guide on How To Start (2024)
Here is a step by step guide on how to start beans farming in Nigeria this 2024. This business is very lucrative. Since the demand is high, beans production is something to invest in. The price of a bag of beans in Nigeria today is about N35,000. So if you have a land, why not begin this venture.
It is not surprising that Nigerians consume beans a lot because of it is a rich source of protein and yet they produce little compared to what they consume. Where then does Nigeria gets the tonnes of beans it consumes? Niger Republic! the sad thing about this is that the Nigerian soil is so good for the cultivation of beans.
So, if you want, you can seize the opportunity for yourself to make some money by starting beans business. The venture is lucrative if you can invest in it. People consume beans a lot, due to its many health benefits and you can make money by tapping into this untapped farming enterprise.
To begin beans farming, there are things you must know. Apart from its high demand for it and the short supply, we have provided a guide below to start your own beans farm in Nigeria.
1. Selecting a good site
Your first step is to starting a beans farm is to choose a suitable location for it. Normally, the south eastern and western part of the country is very good for beans farming business. The pH level of soil favorable to beans farming is 6-7. This means the soil pH level should be neutral.
Also in this stage, preparing the land by ploughing would be a good idea. However, the soil should be well drained as beans cannot survive in a waterlogged area.To let the legume germinate well, you must expose the soil used in planting beans to sunlight. Mind you that a damp soil, will weaken the seed and might cause stunted growth.
2. Seed Selection
After choosing your farm location, the next step is choosing the seed variety as each have what it is best made for. Read on the variety of beans, specific requirement and what they can be used for.
If you have done your research of the different types of beans grown in Nigeria, it would be better you select the healthy seeds for planting. Damaged seeds won’t yield you a good return on investment. As with the normal practice, the seeds is expected to be planted at least 2 inches deep into the soil before it is covered with the soil surface.
If done well, your beans would sprout within 6 days. This shows you that the seed planted is already germinating, which is a good sign for business.
If you have a fertile soil for beans farming that has been prepared organically, you won’t need fertilizer because of the soil quality. Most beans farmers apply artificial fertilizers moderately due to poor soil type. The ideal fertilizer for beans farming is the nitrogen type.
3. Planting & weeding
Normally, the month to plant beans is by March. This has always been a favorable planting season. But before you start, loose the soil and plough it. After that, you can then plant the seed. As earlier said, the fertility of the soil matters if you want to harvest beans in excess quantity. The only time you should apply fertilizer is if the fertility of the soil is low.
Here is how to plant the bean seeds: the beans should be planted with the eye downwards the soil. Give about 4 to 6 inch gap apart. Watering the soil is also important. This should be done regularly until the bean seeds begin sprouting out.
During the process of watering the plant, ensure the water don’t touch the leaves, this will avoid mould growth. We often advice to plant the beans close to an onions plant. Every four years, develop the practice of planting the seeds at exact spot more than once.
After planting, take care of your farm by weeding when necessary to watch out for pest and diseases and control them immediately to avoid spread. Weeding is important to produce healthy seedlings. While uprooting the weeds be careful to avoid contact with the roots of the bean plant.
4. Harvesting
Beans are usually ready for harvest 60 – 80 days after planting. Very important, it is best to harvest during a dry weather and avoid harvesting during a wet weather. To harvest, gently pull the beans from the vines or snap it off the vine ends.
There are 2 factors that influences harvesting beans and they are type of growth and the stage of growth.
For the stage of growth, you can harvest the beans at the snap, shell or dry stages.
The snap beans are harvested when the seeds are still quite still immature. A problem with harvesting at the snap stage is that this type of beans doesn’t develop the proper flavor and texture. Normally the easiest way to ascertain the suitability of the beans for harvest in this stage is by harvesting one or two pods to determine the quality before going into proper full scale harvest.
The best indicator of snap beans is the diameter of their pods. The ideal diameter is between 1/4 – 1/8 “. You can choose to allow your snap beans to develop into dry beans before you harvest.
The shell beans are harvested at a later time compared to the snap beans. Once the enclosed seeds become quite obvious, the beans can be harvested. The beans can be eaten fresh or dried.
The dry beans are harvested when the seeds have reached complete maturity.. The dry beans should be grown in plenty of space and ventilation. If during the harvest period, there’s a spell of rain, you can remove the plants from the ground and hang it upside down to allow drying to continue.
After that, the harvest goes to the process of threshing to remove the extraneous pod materials. It is important to avoid harvest early so you can get the right flavor and texture. On the other hand, if you harvest late, it becomes tough.
As you can see that beans business in Nigeria is a very profitable one and can yield you millions once the planting season is over.
