Poultry Business is a Multi-Billion Dollar Industry.

Empowerment Series "Start and Grow you Poultry Business..... with Derek Tower.

That means Poultry farming is a profitable business idea with potentials not just to create employment but to meet the demands for food and source of income for Entrepreneurs. 

Some report shows that, commercial poultry farming has

Nigerians’ll starve to death by 2050, if… —Presidency

ABUJA— The Presidency,  yesterday, raised alarm that Nigerians would starve to death by 2050 if nothing was done to ensure an all year round farming.

It also said with the rate the country was going, the population would by 2050 rise to 509 million.

 According to the Federal Government, the present mode of farming will not sustain the increasing population in the country.

It noted that there was the urgent need for all major stakeholders to work towards improving mechanized farming and irrigation, to ensure an all year farming to avert the problem.

Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh

Speaking, yesterday, during the budget defence of 2016, Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said the country had the capacity to grow the grass required by the cattle to consume.

He said: “We have written to state governments to encourage them to develop dams and canals so that agriculture becomes an all year round activity and it is not confined to the rainy season alone.

“Besides, by 2050, Nigeria population will be very close to 500 million at the current rate of growth. This is just 34 years from now. If we carry on at the current rate of one crop per year, with very low mechanization, Nigerians run the risk of starving to death.

I chose self-employment and decided on farming- environmental biologist

Temitope Matthew Adewole,  graduate of crop protection and environmental biology from the University of Ibadan speaks on his farming business in this interview with OLUYINKA ALAWODE

Business

My business is all about commercial farming which is fully mechanised. I started the business -Simeon Farms in 2012. I plant cassava, maize and water melon,. Like many in my age group, I had choices: either to join the bandwagon of white-collar job seekers or become self-employed. I chose to be self-employed and decided on farming, which many young people detest. But while many of my friends were still in search of jobs, within a year of planting five hectares of cassava, inter-cropped with corn and water melon, I was able to raise money to rent a two-bedroom apartment in an housing estate in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital. I have also bought a  car for the purpose of overcoming my mobility challenges. I have also been able to assist my younger sister with payment of school fees.

Starting out

Raise in Tomato Prices due to Delayed Rains, Poor Irrigation, Fuel Scarcity

NIGERIA - Tomato fruit prices are skyrocketing across the country on account of delayed seasonal rains, inadequate off-season irrigation planning, a rising and ebbing fuel scarcity , and roads in disrepair.

Consumers  have thus turned to buying up stocks of  canned tomato puree, causing highier than expected sales in that segment. External economies are however benefiting most from this development, as most canned tomato products are imported.

Tomatoes constitute 18 percent of all vegetables consumed by the Nigerian populace, according to a research  by the Agricultural Economics department of the University of Ibadan.

Early in 2014, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, then governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), expressed concern about Nigeria’s N16 billion  annual import bill on tomato pastes. This, he said, was due to very high demand for tomatoes in the country, which unfortunately, the farmers could not provide because of poor storage methods. 

This year’s price increase has reached an unusual high of N30,000 for a 50kg basket of tomatoes at the Mile 12 market – a major farm produce hub in Lagos.