We have been into agro business for close to ten years. Though our area of specialization is animal husbandry. We have a poultry farm made up of laying birds and broiler chickens. In the early inception of the business, feed price was friendly. A bag of poulet feed cost 2600 in Nigeria, while a carton of poulet which contains about fifty chicks cost about 10,000 in nigeria currency. As time goes h n by, the economy in Nigeria keeps being harsh until this time.
Currently, cost of living in Nigeria is unnecessarily high, inflation of goods and services, and the agro industry is not left out. a bag of feed for laying birds cost about 20,000. Chicken drugs, and vaccines at the high side as well. As the cost of production keeps getting higher, production output also skyrocketed in price, and diminishing return started setting in terms of sales. Customers would source other alternative source of protein— replacing egg with other sources of protein like meat, fish and some nuts. While families who cannot afford, eliminated it entirely. Hardship right? As the business is dwindling, what should we do? Quit? Not an option! Because quitters never win So we decided to diversify, to engage in other forms or sectors of agriculture. —crop cultivation/production.
As beginners, we started with the simple, affordable and less capital intensive crop which is cassava production. We started preparing the land for cultivation. After which we tilled the land into ridges, planted the stems. We fulfilled all the necessary requirements needed to ensure high yield and good performance . First, we ensure we got a good specie of cassava stem— one that is known for producing high yield, friendly to our weather and can withstand certain pests and diseases prevalent in our area. We also cleared off unwanted plants around it through weeding, and applied organic manure. All these happened about a year ago and here they are! Grown and ready for harvest. Looking back and reflecting on the work gives me so much joy. This really explains the saying ‘when the going gets tough, the tough gets going’. Am very happy to have accomplished these. Even though we have not completely retired from egg production, we look forward to coming back to it better, stronger and more prepared. Very soon the harvest day will come, i hope you all would share in the harvest.
