TOMATO FARMING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA

❤ TOMATO FARMING

💚 PRACTICAL APPROACH ON HOW TO START TOMATO FARMING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA

🎤 FACILITATOR/DISCUSSANT

🗣 MR ASUNI ADESHOLA

Tomato is one of the most important cooking ingredient in the country. 90% of our food is never complete without tomato.

We use it in cooking stews, soups, salads, portages, and virtually every food imaginable in the land. It goes with everything so much that none of our traditional food ever rejected tomato

BENEFITS OF TOMATO FARMING

HEALTH:

This Wonderful fruit berry is an excellent source of good amount of vitamin C and beta carotene..

Tomato deep redness means it is a very good source of antioxidant agents…

It is a powerful source of vitamin E and enhance the health and sharpness of the eyes…

You can never go wrong with tomato as far as nutrition and health is concerned….

PROFITS:

The Market is always there for tomatoes in Nigeria why not???

A product that is consumed by close to 200 million people…

No amount you produce that will ever going to be enough….

In 2012,Nigeria imported 65809 metric tonnes of processed tomato that is worth over #11.7Billion…

That was in addition to the massive tonnes produced locally in the north…

Tomatoes alone can take out over #100 Billion annually from Nigerians…

What exactly are Nigerians doing that a whooping amount of #11.7 Billion has to go to other countries economy for a product that does very well in almost every Nigerian soil???

This is a question we need to ask ourselves as we prepare for this year farming season…

If you have #3million and you invest it in tomato farming this season,you will double that investment within 9months….

HOW TO GROW TOMATO

STEP 1:(PICK THE BEST SPECIES)
The improved yield species is the best choice for farmers..

Do not pick the local species.

In this case I will recommend the “ROMA VARIETY”.The Roma variety tomato is known for its size and redness, it is a plum tomato very popular in Nigeria Markets

This species can be used both for canning and production of tomato paste….

It is also commonly found in supermarkets in some countries like united states of America

Roma tomatoes are also known as Italian tomatoes….

It is also called Italian plum tomatoes…

What makes Roma species very unique is its long shell life,it’s hard back and low water content which enables it to last longer after harvest a paint rubber of the seed cost about #4500

STEP 2:
This can be done around March/April when the rain is just beginning in most part of the country

You can use your backyard for the nursery or any other piece of land that is suitable for it…Tomatoes does very well in most soil types in Nigeria but better in a black loose loamy soil…
Prepare the ground by clearing the grasses and rubble loosen the soil with hand trowel and hoes….
Remove the seed from the tomatoes and spread it on the prepared soil…
You can cover it with dry grasses to prevent the lose of moisture from the soil and prevent birds,ants,and fowls,from eating off the tomato seeds….
Within 5-7 days you see it germinating

Wait till about another 5 before you remove the dry grasses to allow proper growth

Leave it for another one month before transplanting…..

STEP 3:(TRANSPLANT TO THE GARDEN/FARM)
The Final journey will be moving it into the permanent farm where they would grow to maturity and production. Transplant is best done with hands for better result
Open the soil with piece of small wood,insert the seedling into the hole and cover it with loose soil..
Tomato plant is very tender and fragile

It is best transplanted the same day you uprooted it from the nursery to avoid dehydration fatigue….
After the first weed,it will be time to apply fertilizer to help replenish the soil nutrients taken by the weeds..

To grow successfully tomatoes needs nitrogen,phosphorous,pottasium,potash,calcium,and magnesium along with other trace minerals…

It’s always best to have your soil tested to check for nutrients levels

This is done by soil scientist…(contact us on this)

Use fertilizer that supply these vital nutrients N.P.K ratio fertilizer can be very for tomatoes……

STEP 5:(HARVEST YOUR TOMATOES)
Tomatoes are harvested in matches

The moment you start harvesting,you will continue on weekly basis till the end of the season,usually it will keep producing till the dry season when the plant will die off due to the scorching heat…

The first harvest starts within 3 months after planting that means if you plan by April you should be expecting your first harvest by june/July from then it will continue till Nov/Dec

STEP 6: MARKET YOUR TOMATOES
It is very important to prepare your marketing strategy well ahead of harvesting..

Look for who or where to supply the product..

This is because tomato is a perishable product unless you have built a storage system…

Mile 12 in Lagos state Nigeria is a major market for fresh tomatoes and other vegetables..

It is purely dominated by the Notherners(Hausas) who majors in the farming business and have consistently been harvesting cash as a result…

But why is it so???

90% of vegetables consumed in Lagos state and the south west are brought from the North…

It is only a few Agricultural products that are produced in the south west,south south and the south east….

Lagos alone has over 20.000 000 million people consuming tomatoes almost on daily basis…

So you can see the potential in the farming business….

There is need for smart Entrepreneurs to see the opportunity for big business and big money in this sector..

We have gotten to the point where we need young savvy entrepreneurs to break into this sector and start producing and delivering quality hygiene tomatoes at very affordable prices . You can sell your products to big markets,buyers and retail sellers of the product,you can also sell to processing companies like erisco foods,Dangote tomato paste etc….
The mass market remains the key to success in Agribusiness and I would rather sell 1000 basket a day for #2000 each than sell just 100 basket a day for #5000 per basket…
The money is in the mass market and we need to start seeing it that way i.e Produce more but sell less amount and make more money

If you start preparation now for this venture you will harvest cash all season….

Thank you all for reading

Do you wish to venture into Agricultural business????

Do you wish to start your own cassava,maize,tomato,yam,cocoyam and other farming business in Nigeria???

You can get a plot allocation through leasing arrangement from us and get somebody from us to help you monitor your farm at an affordable price while you constantly visit to supervise your farm….

For further enquiries please call the national project director of TREASURED ENTREPRENEURS ASSOCIATION on 📞08068756331
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