Dry season cucumber farming in Nigeria is one of the most profitable farming businesses anybody can participate in. Dry season cucumber farming is the cultivation of cucumber during the dry season.
To cultivate cucumbers in the dry season, the use of irrigation systems is a must. No farmer can engage in dry season cucumber farming in Nigeria without access to water. How can you access water in the dry season? You need to artificially source for water for your crops; this means that, you must use irrigation.
In the northern part of Nigeria, dry season cucumber farming is done on wetlands, some farmers also use flood irrigation to cultivate cucumbers in the north. Though, I must state that flood irrigation is not the most appropriate type of irrigation for dry season farming of cucumbers. Drip irrigation is far better and more productive.
In the southern part of Nigeria, dry season cucumber farmers use drip irrigation, spray tube irrigation and other forms of irrigation.
For farm inputs or set-up of a dry season cucumber farm in Nigeria, you can contact us through 08025141924 or sales@veggieconcept.ng.
Cost Analysis for Dry Season Cucumber Farming in Nigeria – One Hectare
Cost of Drip Irrigation | 625,000.00 |
Installation of Drip Irrigation System | - |
On Site Training of staff in precision farming | - |
Soil and Water Analysis | - |
₦625,000.00 | |
Fertilisers: | |
NPK (15 bags) | 90,000.00 |
Potassium Nitrate (5 bags) | 75,000.00 |
Calmag (3 bags) | 30,000.00 |
Potassium Humate | 5,000.00 |
200,000.00 | |
Pesticides: | |
Insecticides (15 bottles) | 30,000.00 |
Fungicides | 30,000.00 |
Nematicides | 10,000.00 |
70,000.00 |
PROFIT ANALYSIS FOR ONE HECTARE OF CUCUMBER FARMING VENTURE- SCENERIO 1 | ||
Revenue: | ||
1000 bags @ N6000 | 6,000,000.00 | |
Cost: | ||
Rent of one hectare of farmland | 25,000.00 | |
Fertiliser | 200,000.00 | |
Manure | 50,000.00 | |
Pesticides | 70,000.00 | |
Hybrid Seeds | 240,000.00 | |
Labour for 4 months | 240,000.00 | |
Knapsack Sprayer | 5,000.00 | |
Farm Tools | 10,000.00 | |
840,000.00 | ||
Profit | 5,160,000.00 | |
PROFIT ANALYSIS FOR ONE HECTARE OF CUCUMBER FARMING VENTURE - SCENERIO 2 | ||
Revenue: | ||
1000 bags @ N4000 | 4,400,000.00 | |
Cost: | ||
Rent of one hectare of farmland | 25,000.00 | |
Fertiliser | 200,000.00 | |
Manure | 50,000.00 | |
Pesticides | 70,000.00 | |
Hybrid Seeds | 240,000.00 | |
Labour for 4 months | 240,000.00 | |
Knapsack Sprayer | 5,000.00 | |
Farm Tools | 10,000.00 | |
840,000.00 | ||
Profit | 3,560,000.00 | |
PROFIT ANALYSIS FOR ONE HECTARE OF CUCUMBER FARMING VENTURE - SCENERIO 3 | ||
Revenue: | ||
1000 bags @ N2500 | 2,500,000.00 | |
Cost: | ||
Rent of one hectare of farmland | 25,000.00 | |
Fertiliser | 200,000.00 | |
Manure | 50,000.00 | |
Pesticides | 70,000.00 | |
Hybrid Seeds | 240,000.00 | |
Labour for 4 months | 240,000.00 | |
Knapsack Sprayer | 5,000.00 | |
Farm Tools | 10,000.00 | |
840,000.00 | ||
Profit | 1,660,000.00 | |
NOTES/ASSUMPTIONS
The profit analyses above were done using three scenarios (best case, mid case and worst case).
Drip Irrigation: The cost of drip irrigation system per hectare of cucumber is ₦625,000.
Fertilisers: ₦200,000 is expected to be spent on one hectare of cucumber. Only a soil test result can make you know the types and quantity of fertilizers to use.
Pesticides: The cost of pesticide is expected to be ₦70,000. You need to buy insecticides, fungicides, nematicides and acaricides.
Sales Revenue: The price of cucumbers in the market varies per season. We have the peak season and the low season. At some times of the year, the cost of a 40kg bag of cucumbers can rise to up to N8,000 while at some times of the year, a bag of cucumber can be sold for as low as N3,000. The prices have a cycle every year. It is assumed that about 1,000 40kg bags of cucumbers will be harvested from one hectare of cucumbers. It is possible for a farmer to even harvest more; it all depends on the agronomic practices implemented.
Manure: Manure is expected to cost about ₦50,000.
Hybrid Seeds: The price of hybrid cucumber seeds is expected to be ₦240,000.
Cost of Labour: The cost of labour for 4 months is taken to be ₦240,000.
Knapsack Sprayer: The cost of one knapsack sprayer is ₦5,000. The cost of one motorized knapsack sprayer is ₦150,000.
Farm Tools: Farm tools are expected to gulp ₦10,000.
Inputs needed for dry season cucumber farming in Nigeria
Suitable farmland: A farmer wanting to cultivate cucumbers in the dry season must get a suitable farmland. It is better if you can get a farmland with soil rich in nutrients. However, if your soil is poor, it can be improved with manures, microbial innoculants and fertilizers.
Soil and Water Analysis: Before planting any cucumber seeds on your farmland, it is advised that you conduct a soil and water test. A soil test can reveal the nutrient profile and the microbial composition of your soil. This can save you a lot of problems and ensure that you use the right types of fertilizer and pesticides for your farm.
Irrigation: This is one of the most important inputs in dry season farming. For cucumbers, I strongly advise you use drip irrigation. Drip irrigation conserves water and can also increase your yield significantly. With drip irrigation, you can irrigate several hectares of farmland in a simple plug and play manner. You should not buy cheap sub-standard drip irrigation systems, they do not work well, also they do not last long.
Hybrid seeds: I strongly advise you use hybrid cucumber seeds if you want to be successful in dry season cucumber farming in Nigeria. Hybrid cucumber seeds often produce much more yield than open pollinated seeds. The good hybrid cucumber seeds in Nigeria include Darina F1, Murano F1, Greengo F1 and Tokyo F1 etc.
Fertilizers: It is unfortunate that some fertilizers sold in Nigeria are sub-standard. A lot of farmers do not know this. You should ensure that you get quality fertilizers. This can make or mar your cucumber farming venture. Also, do not use only NPK fertilizers. There are other fertilizers that are very suitable for cucumber farming. These fertilizers include calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate, chelates, mono-ammonium phosphate, mono-potassium phosphate, humates and potassium sulfate etc.
Pesticides: Just like fertilizers, there are a lot of sub-standard pesticides in Nigeria. For you to be successful in dry season cucumber farming in Nigeria, you must use high quality fungicides, insecticides, nematicides and acaricides etc. You should also know the type of pesticide to use for a given disease or pest. Do not use pesticides careless in order to guard against resistance issue.
Strategies to use for dry season cucumber farming in Nigeria
To be successful in dry season cucumber farming in Nigeria, the following strategies can be implemented:
You should make sure that your soil is rich in nutrients before embarking on dry season farming. Have a rich soil and you have solved half of your problems. A rich soil can ensure that your plants grow very well in order to resist a lot of pests and diseases.
Chicken manure can be applied to your soil; you can also apply fertilizers, humates and microbial innoculants to your soil. You should do a soil test before amending or improving your soil. Mycorrhizal Fungi for example can increase the root mass of your plant by over 100%. Big roots means a better ability to assimilate more water and nutrients from the soil, this can lead to an increased yield.
You should stake your cucumber plants. Staked cucumber plants do not get infected with diseases like cucumber plants left to crawl on the soil. Staking also makes it easier to apply pesticides to the plants. It also makes harvesting easy.
Sub-standard pesticides should be avoided. Do not be tricked with their ridiculously low prices, insist on buying and using quality pesticides. These are a bit more expensive than the cheap and sub-standard ones.
Careless usage of fertilizers should not be encouraged. For example, excessive usage of urea fertilizer can increase and pest and disease pressure on your cucumber plants.
High phosphate fertilizers should be used more during the rooting stage of your cucumber plants, nitrogen rich fertilizers should be used during the vegetative stage and fertilizers high in calcium and potassium should be used more during flowering and fruiting stage. Chelates and micronutrients should also be used as advised by your agronomists.
Do not forsake biopesticides, bio-fertilizers and microbial innoculants. Beneficial microbes compete with the bad microbes in the soil and on your crops, they usually make it difficult for the harmful microbes to harm your crops. Some beneficial microbes can kill disease causing organisms in your soil and on your plants.
Beneficial microbes can also help in the release of locked nutrients in the soil. Phosphorus for example are notorious for being locked in the soil, some beneficial microbes can unlock this nutrient and make it available for plants.
Dry season cucumber farming in Nigeria can be very lucrative for anyone who can do it.
For farm inputs or set-up of a dry season cucumber farm in Nigeria, you can contact us through 08025141924 or sales@veggieconcept.ng.