How to start a banana farming in Nigeria

How To Start Banana Farming Business in Nigeria

Through this guide, you will learn how to start a banana farming business in Nigeria, the environment condition for growing bananas, the type of soil required, and you will also learn how lucrative and important it is to own a plantain plantation.

With the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria agribusiness ideas can create a livelihood for you and banana farming is one of them.

You no longer need to moan about unemployment in the country or the lack of opportunities in the country.

You can start a highly profitable banana business in Nigeria and get a good return on your investment. However, you will need access to large land to enable you to take it to commercial standards.

People all over the country and outside the country consume bananas for one reason or the other; therefore there is a high demand for bananas in the country.

Unlike other agricultural practices whereby you need to continually plant crops; the banana farm business doesn’t need that. Once you have actually planted banana suckers on your farmland, you can keep harvesting bananas for the next 12 -15 years; provided you are always maintaining the banana plantation.

Pay attention: The Most Lucrative Agribusiness Ideas in Nigeria

How profitable is banana farming in Nigeria

With a good plan, you can start a banana farming business and it will become a profitable farming venture for you.

There is a high demand for bananas in the country by local markets and companies processing flour and chips. You can sell to any of them and make a good profit.

Cost of starting a banana farming in Nigeria

The business scale might require you to spend more. But with a capital of about ₦300,000, you should be able to start a banana plantation in 1 acre of farmland. This includes the clearing, the buying of the banana suckers. plus the planting.

If you have farmland this can make it less expensive. Farmers usually spend more if they have to lease or buy land and also spend money to clear and buy banana suckers for planting.

Authors pick: Businesses You Can Start With Little or No Capital

How to start a banana plantation in Nigeria

Bananas like several other agricultural crops have certain requirements that must be met to make you get a good return for your investment and labor. Therefore in this section, I will be showing you how to start a banana plantation.

Credit source: Pexels

1. Acquire land for the banana farm

Bananas plants thrive well in an average climate; in other words, they thrive in any area that is neither too hot or too cold. With this in mind, you should only acquire land for the banana farm in areas that is not too cold or too hot.

2. Get healthy banana suckers

Depending on the scale of the intended banana farm, you can either get sucker from mature or dying bananas from your farm or buy from another good banana farm. But make sure you get healthy banana suckers this will help you get a quality harvest always.

The best breed to go for is the ‘hybrid/agbagba’ species also called ‘giant elephant‘. This is a good species because it produces on time.

3. Plant the suckers

Once you have your sucker it is important to plant the suckers immediately in the farmland you have prepared for the banana farm. However, you need to ensure the following things are put into consideration when planting:

  1. Make sure you trim the corm or the roots at the bottom properly to facilitate good growths after planting;
  2. Give five meters gap between each banana plant;
  3. Keep the plants moist in the early days of planting them. However, don’t over-wet the soil since the leaves are not yet out to enable water evaporation.

4. Maintain the banana plantation

This is a very vital aspect you shouldn’t ignore. Banana plants are not strong therefore they need to be protected from winds. Also, you need to constantly clear the farmland to ensure your banana farm will be free from weed. This will also prevent it from a fire outbreak during the dry season.

Therefore to adequately maintain the banana farmland you need to do the following:

  1. Notice the direction of winds and plant trees to protect it from strong winds that can easily break the bananas.
  2. Throwing the dead banana leaves back into the plantation to sustain the needed manure for good growth.
  3. Don’t let many suckers to be attached with a plant as two are usually enough.
  4. Make sure you always weed the banana farmland to prevent weed in the farm and fire outbreak.

If you follow all the steps listed above you will be able to get your first banana harvest during the period of 13 – 15 months. Similarly, depending on the species you planted it can take a lesser month.

See also: Plantain Farming Business Idea in Nigeria

In summary

The banana plantation is a highly lucrative business to start if you really need a change in your financial status. You can also go into this business even if you have a job as it can become another source of income.

There is vast land in the country that are uninhabited. You don’t have any excuse why you shouldn’t start your banana plantation; so instead of sitting around waiting for a job, you can actually create one for yourself.

This business, once it is established, can pay you for the next 20 years provided you can manage the business well.

If you have a question or contribution you can drop them in the comment section.

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I am Anthony Stephen, an information blogger and the Chief Editor of InfotipsNG. My sole aim of creating this blog is to give Nigerians and other people all over the world well-researched information.

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