How to Start Fish Farming in Nigeria

There are so many information on the internet on "How to Start Fish Farming in Nigeria" but few are detailed enough to really assist aspiring fish farmer to get started. I will be endeavor to make this article as detailed as possible and hope that other experienced fish farmer will add to it as we try to answer people's questions through commenting. 

One of the most popular farming in Nigeria is fish farming and for good reasons. Gone are the days when the only means of getting fish is by catching it in the local rivers and ponds through trial and errors. Today, the modern farm practice has made it possible to grow fish in the farms and control the input.

Matured catfish

If you are thinking of business to start now, I recommend you start CatFish Farming in Nigeria. If you are an existing farmer and you are looking for expanding your farm capacity, I'd encourage you add fish farming to your farm. Fish farming (especially catfish) is most compatible with poultry farming as you can use the poultry drops to make the feeds for your fish.

Benefits of Fish Farming

1. Fishery products is by far the most popular animal products in the market, constituting more than 60% of meat products in the Nigerian market.

2. Fish is one of the highest source of protein. Fish is a low-fat high quality protein that is filled with omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins such as D and B2 (riboflavin). Fish is also very rich in calcium and phosphorus and is equally a great source of minerals, such as iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium.

3. Fish sells faster than any other animal products in the market and is relatively cheaper than meats, making it the number one choice when it comes to affordability.

4. Fish grows very fast as practices in fish farming makes it possible for farmers to increase the fastness of their fish growth by giving them certain feeds, ensuring that you harvest and sell within short period of time.

5. Fish is the biggest source of Omega-3 fatty acids which is extremely beneficial to human heart; Omega-3 helps to keep our heart and brain very healthy. Since bodies don't produce Omega-3 fatty acids, the only source through which we can get it is by what we eat, that is where fish comes to the rescue.

6. Fish farming is very profitable. With proper planning and good management, N3 million investment in fish farming could easily result to N4 million of pure profit within six months.

7. Fish farm does not cause any environmental hazard. Unlike poultry farming, you can setup fish farm anywhere, including residential areas. If you have a specious compound, you can easily setup a small fish farm within your backyard without any regulatory precaution. 

Risks and Challenges in Fish Farming

1. Fish is very sensitive to manage and a slight mistake could result to degenerated growth of your fish or even death which may cause massive revenue loss. 

2. Setting up fish farm is capital intensive, much more than that of poultry and snail farm. Setting up fish farm requires more careful planning and much capital input. A relatively small fish farm may take up to N500,000 to setup, while bigger ones takes millions of naira.

3. Due to the cost of production, fish produced from the farm is priced higher than those caught from the rivers and ponds by fishermen. Therefore, if there are good quantity of fisherman's fish in the market, you may find it difficult to sell as people would prefer the cheaper ones.

4. There is no byproduct in fishery unlike poultry where even the drop can be harvested and sold to other farmers and make extra profit. In fishery, all you get is the flesh. 

Types of Fish You Can Farm

Haven seen the benefits as well as the risks involved in fish farming, let's now proceed to decide which specie of fish we want to farm. Below are some of the most popular fish species that is suitable for Aquaculture.

1. Cat Fish - Even though Catfish is not the most popular fish in Nigeria, this fish species is by far the most cultivated in Nigeria. One thing good about catfish is that it is one of the easiest fish species to cultivate. So, people naturally flow to the direction of fish specie they found to be the easiest to cultivate. 

2. Tilapia - Second most popular fish in Nigeria's aquaculture industry, Tilapia is a fish species that lives in fresh shallow water. Tilapia is very easy to cultivate and very popular in Nigerian market, it reproduces very rapidly and grows fast too. 

3. Mackerel (Titus) -  This is by far the most popular fish in Nigerian market but so sad it's not farmed. All Mackerel Fish are "wild caught" but some farmer in Nigeria are considering the possibility of creating artificial salty water that will be similar to sea water where mackerel can only survive. Can this deep blue sea fish specie be cultivated artificially? Only time will tell but for now, you have to focus your attention to Catfish and Tilapia. 

What You Need to Get Started

1. Secure a Land - Any location is good since fish doesn't cause any environmental disturbance. Look for land where you can get it cheap and buy. Depending on the capacity you wants to operate on, half plot of land is just good enough for average fish farm. 

However, you may go for something bigger like full plot or two if you can afford it probably for convenience sake. If you already have a compound with leftover space you thing can accommodate two or three ponds, you may use it.

2. Construct Ponds - You need to engage the service of expert pond construction engineer or you go to another fish farm to get the specification and construction requirements. The plumbing work must be properly done to ensure proper drainage.

Example of local fish ponds in Nigeria

3. Dig a Borehole - Adequate water supply is the lifeblood of fish farm and lack of it may result to disaster because water need to be changed on regular interval. Naturally available sources of water such as borehole and river water is the most suitable. Rain water and tap water from chemically treated source is not recommended for fish cultivation. 

4. Overhead Tank - This is the water reservoir from which water is supplied to your ponds. This tank has to be connected to your ponds through plumbing system to make it convenient for water to flow into your ponds when needed. 

5. Juvenile Fish - Get your juvenile from another farm that specializes in supplying it. You need to go for the high yield specie of catfish or tilapia and make sure you are getting it from a healthy farm.

6. Get Training - Not the kind of training you get from one day seminars; you need to get attached to a fish farm for proper apprenticeship. For you to properly learn this trade, you need at least two months training on this. 

Remember that your investment is at stake, trial and error is not good in business except you have unlimited funds to experiment with. 

Feasibility Study for a Standard Fish Farm

I found the analysis below from Kings Way Agro Services and decided to add it as sample case study you can follow. 

"This feasibility study prepared for a catfish farm capacity of 10,000 and fingerlings of high breed catfish where to be stocked. The expenses from pond construction to marketing is considered. The farm is to have 10 concrete ponds of flow through system and each pond is to contains 1,000 stocked catfish.

Cost of constructing each pond is as follows.

Each pond is 3m x 2.5m by 1.4m, each pond consumes 210 blocks and each bag of cement for 30 blocks. Hence 210 x 10 = 2,100 blocks. 2,100/30 = 70 bags of cement needed. 2000 x 70 = 140,000 naira.

4trips of sand used =7,000x4 = N28,000 

2trips of gravel = 32,000x 2 = N64,00 

Cost of labour = N150,00 

Cost of plumbing (inlet and outlet facility) = N100,000.

Cost of bore hole = N150,000.

Cost of treatment = N50,000.

Cost of high breed fingerlings 30x10,000 = N300,000.

Cost of feeding from day one to maturity stage is 200 bags of foreign feed = N1,000,000.

After the average weight of the fish was 1.7kg. And it was sold at 800 naira each. The output was 800x9800 fishes, due to 200 mortality. 800 x 9800 = N7,840,000.

Input is N3.25'million. The profit is N4.59 million after six months of culture." Following this cost analysis, you can easily invest N3 million and expect a massive turnover of N4 million with six months it will take for you to harvest and sell.

There is no doubt that fish farming is very lucrative and profitable in Nigeria. You need to get it right by drawing complete business plan and following it to the later. You need to apply good management skills and follow the acceptable standard. If you do all these, you are sure to make good profit from your fish farming business in Nigeria.

A-DO-IT-YOURSELF GUIDE ON SNAIL FARMING BUSINESS

 WHAT IS HELICULTURE? Heliculture ( Scientific Snail farming) is simply domesticating snails at home, making them feel as if they're in their natural habitat (home). Heliculture Is a very lucrative venture that is yet to be appreciated in the Agro industry, because very few are aware of its profit potential. However, the very smart few in the business discovered this, and are making a fortune from it, including us atLegit Wealth Farms.

People see snails here and there, Some people take it as meat, but quite a number don't know how to go about rearing them. This is made worse because snails, which belong to the family of animal called MOLLUSCA, is an hermaphrodite- It has both the female and male sexual organs; so one cannot really distinguish between the male and female specie of it. Snail, also  is high in protein (12-16%) and irons (45-50 mg/kg), low in fat, and contains almost all the amino acids needed by humans.

However, the Smart few in the snail farming business over time keeps the farming methodology very secret to themselves. But the plain truth is that snail farming is as easy as ABC. The only thing the snails may constantly demand from you is your attention and care. They hardly fall sick. You don't have to buy their food and you may not have to spend much to build a Pen (House) for them. The beauty of it all is that the snails reproduce rapidly; they are capable of producing hundreds of eggs, which hatch into snails. It is now possible to produce 1,000,000 snails worth more than N5 million twice a year. This is made possible because of the availability of very highly prolific ACHATINA ACHATINA species of snails, which lay 200-400 in one batch 2-3 times a year. There's the urgent need for Nigerians to have a radical shift from total dependence on government for job to self-employment. One of such attractive area for self-employment is snail rearing. It is a great money-spinning business that can provide a substantial source of protein to complement Nigerian carbohydrate meals. Sadly Nigerians inclination to go into business in the fields where thousands have already made their fortune has led to the ulter neglect of such lucrative area of snail farming in Nigeria or export at international market.

<> INCOME EARNING OPPORTUNITY 
   From our own experience, they include, among others: 

·                     The demand for snail is higher than the supplies as such the market potential of snail is inexhaustible, locally and internationally.

·                      This technology has been approved to be most lucrative farming venture presently, as it requires far less capital investment, while much profit is being generated in a considerable short period. It has lower risk compared to other livestock farming.

·                     Snail farming in Nigeria is a virgin in the kingdom of livestock as a result the earlier investors   without doubt have bright prospects in exploring this venture.

·                      Virtually every part of snail is of vital use in Food, Pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing and fishing industries.

·                      Snail is an export commodity, which has value next to gold in overseas countries. It is a foreign exchange income earner of our days. Our climate is one of the best in snail breeding.

·                       Snail farming in Nigeria requires small capital and the running cost is very low, hence their feeds are very local

·                      Snail business indeed is a GEM in the livestock business. Therefore take advantage of the opportunity of being among the forerunners in this unbeatable venture.

·                      You can conveniently earn income a thousand fold higher than your present earning. You can keep your present job and do this on part time since it doesn't require much time.

·                      This is a real export market that earns foreign revenue without you running from pillar to post.

·                       This is not fiction but factual. Not imaginary but a reality. You too will share your view with others.

·                     No stress, no time consuming, no odour, no noise and no irritation. 

·                     Snail farming is a practicable and viable venture yet unexplored in Nigeria. If it has worked elsewhere, it will work in Nigeria. 

<>THE SNAIL MARKET 

There is a ready market for snail, locally and internationally. If you rear snail in commercial quantity, Hotels, fast food restaurants such as Genesis fast food, The promise, your neighbours, Mr. Biggs, Tantalizers, etc will be your regular customers;. They will only need your assurance of regular supply per week. There is also good market for snail meat in the international market if only you can do a good packaging. You can make millions of naira from this vast and inexhaustible market. Snail farmers are making huge profit as the global demand for the delicacy increases. In Nigeria the prices of raw, matured snails goes for N250 to N600 Depending on the size. However, the annual demand for snail in Nigeria is about 7.5million kg annually. The international trade in snails is flourishing in Europe, France, China, and North America. The United States  imports more than $5million worth of snails annually from all over the world, including Nigeria. France also requires about 15000 metric tons of the delicacy annually. 
You now see that this is an opportunity for you to get rich. You don’t have to go in search of Job when you can conveniently make millions of naira right at your backyard with little capital and on part-time bases. 

The snails reproduce rapidly. They are capable of producing more than 300 eggs, which hatch into snails. It is now possible to produce 1,000,000 snails worth more than N20 million twice a year. This is made possible because of the availability of very highly prolific ACHATINA ACHATINA species of snails, which lay 200-400 in one batch 2-3 times a year. 
Snail meat has been consumed by humans worldwide since prehistoric times. It is high in protein (12-16%) and irons (45-50 mg/kg), low in fat, and contains almost all the amino acids needed by humans. A recent study has shown that the glandular substances in edible snail meat could be of value in fighting a variety of ailments, including whooping cough. Snails can also be helpful to Asthmatic patients.

How to Start a Dairy Farming Business

Are you interested in starting a dairy farming business? Do you want to venture into livestock farming? Are you a retiree and you are looking for the best business to start with your retirement funds? Then i advice you read on.

You don’t necessarily need to have love for animals especially cows before recognizing their money-making capabilities. Most people are aware of the business of rearing cows for meat but they tend to forget that you can begin a dairy farm business.

In this case, you will be breeding cows for their milk and make quite a lot of money from milking cows and selling them off to big dairy companies, or even sell the product off as your own products if you can afford to buy the processing equipment. If you are interested in learning the pros and cons of how to go about starting a successful dairy farm business, then read on.

How to Start a Dairy Farming Business – Sample Business Plan Template

1. You need experience in this business

Bear in mind that you will be dealing cows in this business and it is quite risky as the cows can get aggressive without warning. So you need to be experienced in handling cows and understanding their mood. In order to acquire such knowledge and experience in the business, it is advisable that you work for a dairy farmer before you consider starting your own farm.

Many dairy farmers were brought up on dairy farming while some others inherited it from their parents and branched out on their own. If you were not born into it but rather you just want to give the business a trial, you will need to get your hands dirty and work on a farm before starting yours.

This is because the only way you will know if you truly enjoy dairy farming is from personally engaging yourself in it and secondly, the experience you gain while working as an employee in a dairy farm will help you in building your own business.

2. Start with the best breeds

To start on a positive note, you should begin with 45 to 50 of the best cow breeds you can purchase. You can also reduce debt by renting land and buying used equipment; you can think of upgrading your business technology later. Never begin with poor producing cows because if you begin with poor-producing cows, you will always be struggling to rebuild your herd and you might never be able to catch up.

3. Keep cost as low as possible

As a beginner, you have to try your possible best to keep cost at its lowest minimum. For example, you can make use of family labor. Talk to the people around you to help you work the farm, if you can. This is because the fewer people on the payroll at first, the better. Try and keep costs as low as possible.

4. Connect with other dairy farmers

Of course you know that you are not the only dairy farming business owner in the area. If you are, then you have to go it all alone. but if you are not, then you have to connect with other farmers. Locate other dairy farmer with whom you can swap tips, share ideas, share equipment and grazing pastures.

5. Acquire more knowledge about dairy farming and the industry at large

In business, knowledge is power and the application of knowledge is tremendous power. As a dairy farming entrepreneur, your cup must never be full. You must continually keep learning how to improve your business efficiency, technological improvements and industry development.

You can also consider acquiring a little formal education on the business. Look for a university with agriculture department because most universities with agriculture departments have dairy specialists on their faculties. You can learn a lot from their research works.

• 11 Challenges of Starting a Dairy Farming Business

1. It is capital intensive
2. It is labor or management intensive
3. Outbreak of diseases
4. You need intensive and extensive knowledge of the business
5. The problem of quality of the milk produced
6. It is difficult to start a dairy business in an urban area or city because of the high cost of land.
7. The maturity period for the cows to start producing milk takes time thus leading to tight profit margin
8. Marketing your milk or diary products is quite a challenge because your products are likely produced in the rural areas and the dairy processing companies are located in the urban areas.
9. Maintaining high production efficiency
10. Difficulty in increasing scale of operation
11. Weather or climatic conditions

How to Raise Rabbits for Profit – A Beginner’s Guide

How do you start a rabbit farming business? Are you interested in starting a rabbit farming business but you don’t know how to go about it? Do you need a sample rabbit farming business plan template? Then i advice you read on.

Rabbit farming business can be very lucrative for an entrepreneur who has a talent or a passion for animal husbandry and live stock farming. It is not an expensive venture. Starting a rabbit farming business does not need much money like every other business do, rather it requires that the entrepreneur have a knowledge about animal husbandry and how best to raise animals.

You can start it in your backyard, with just two male rabbits and six females, a wire cage and information from a farming manual. Aside the knowledge, it is also important that you are passionate about animals. If not, then get someone who loves spending time with animals.

The Potentials and Profitability of Rabbit Farming

• Rabbits are prolific in nature
• Rabbits meat is highly in demand as it is medically recommended over red meat.
• Rabbits have low mortality rate.
• Rabbits are not aggressive and require minimal handling

Without wasting your time, below is a candid advice on how to start a rabbit farming business.

How to Start a Rabbit Farming Business – Sample Business Plan Template

1. Consider the availability of breeding materials

If you are thinking of investing in this business, it is necessary you know how to acquire your materials at a very minimum cost. These materials includes ”the rabbits, breeding cages, feeds, concentrates, etc because all these are what are considered as the raw materials there are required for the business.

2. Get the basic knowledge about rabbit care

This is very important to avoid unnecessary loss due to diseases and high mortality. Get to know everything you can about rabbits, from their common diseases and ailments to their gestation period, feeding pattern, etc. You can get this information by doing a search online or visiting your local library and reading up about rabbits.

3. Get a rabbit farming business plan

This is very important especially if you are going to breed rabbits on a commercial scale. You need to factor in every possible details including your financial overhead cost and profit potential.

4. Decide on where to house your rabbits

It is necessary that a rabbit house be spacious enough, so as to give chance for the young ones and also the growth and expansion of the business. Rabbits can be kept in hutches or in cages. The rabbit cage should be constructed in such a manner that the rabbits will be protected from rainfall and direct sunlight.

5. Feeding the rabbits

Rabbits feed on either compounded feed or grasses like elephant grass, potato, shrubs, leaves and herbs. They must be given food at least twice a day. Clean drinking water must made available for them 24 hours a day. These containers should be cleaned regular basis for the sake of the health of the rabbits . It is advisable to study their exact daily consumption of compounded feed in order to avoid wasting the feed.

• Production

Rabbits are prolific in nature and they do multiply rapidly. Rabbits begin breeding from 4 t0 5 months of age. The gestation period for female rabbit (the doe) is 31 days and they normally give birth to 6 -10 kits (baby rabbit) at once. Rabbits are capable of reproducing seven times in a year. For reproduction to take place, the buck and the doe should be kept in one place to mate. After that, you have to separate them. One female rabbit is capable of producing up to 50 kits in a year.

6. Factor in your overall expenses

Starting and running a rabbit breeding business is not all that expensive but, you still need to do everything possible and everything within your power to minimize cost in such a way that it will not affect your profits in the business. try mapping out plans to maximize your profit.

7. Marketing your rabbits

Start by creating awareness among individuals beginning with your families, friends and colleagues, restaurants, hotels, eateries etc. Tell them about the nutritional value of rabbits as well as the economic importance. However, it is advisable that you carry out more research on your own even before you invest a dime in setting up your rabbit farm. You must know the market strategies and the level of demand; as this will help you avoid unnecessary loss and regrets.

Lastly, before you consider starting and running a rabbit farming business on your own, you should assess and ascertain whether franchising will be worth while. If you can get a franchise, then why start from scratch.

Agriculture Business ideas

What are the best agricultural business ideas for villages? What are the best agro-allied business opportunities for big towns and mega cities? What business can one start in the agriculture industry and succeed? This article will put these questions to rest.

The trending challenge and impact of rural-urban migration have continued to generate great debates since the last three decades. Urban employment problems are a result of the phenomenal growth in urbanization and the inability of these urban centers to be able to utilize or absorb the urban labor that was created through the process of urbanization.

Approximately 50% of Nigerians are urban dwellers. At least 24 cities have populations of more than 100,000 Those moving from rural to urban areas constitute certain classes, categories and strata of the society that are basically plagued with certain social and economic problems in which poverty ranks highest and most fundamental.

So without wasting your time, this article will highlight in details, some lucrative business ideas and opportunities you can engage in in towns or villages rather than remaining unemployed.

Top 20+ Best Low Cost Agriculture Business Ideas for Villages

1. Urban Agriculture or Crop Cultivation

Urban agriculture is the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in, or around, a village, town or city. Urban agriculture in addition can also involve animal husbandry, aquaculture, agro-forestry and horticulture. Urban agriculture contributes to food security and food safety in two ways: First it increases the amount of food available to people living in cities and secondly, it allows fresh vegetables and fruits and meat products to be made available to urban consumers. Urban and peri-urban agriculture are generally seen as sustainable agriculture.

2. Rabbit Rearing

There is no law prohibiting the keeping of rabbits in Towns and Cities. A backyard can serve as a good source of additional income, food and employment; thus reducing poverty, hunger and idleness. Rabbit do not compete with humans for food, as kitchen leftovers, cut grasses and formulated or compounded feed can sustain them. Rabbit keeping does not require much capital for investment and maintenance. As little space is needed, most rabbits could be kept in the backyard or in the abandoned sheds.

3. Start Selling Fresh Fruits

Without any doubt, this is a business that should be checked out. With a little professionalism and good public appearance or hygiene, you can make money in this business because a lot of people who live in most of our highbrow area, like to eat fresh fruits especially if it is neat. Some people even prefer it served chilled.

So if you have blenders and an extractor, then you are bound to make a lot of money. A lot of people are tired of all these artificial juices in the market and I bet, they will pay and still thank you for giving them the natural source of vitamins which is needed in this age of fast foods and artificial flavors.

4. Foodstuff Retailing or Grocery Service

In today’s busy and sophisticated world, convenience has become a real business opportunity. Foodstuff like rice, beans yams plantain, potatoes, onions, pepper, oil etc. These items can bought in bulk, cleaned and packaged in specific portions and sold direct to end users. Many people who are unable to find time to shop will be relieved to know that they can just make a phone call and the groceries are delivered. Get a list of people you know who may patronize you. If you can get them to pay up-front, then you are better up with cash flow.

5. Fish Farming

Over the years, quite a few people have made fortunes from fish farming, as the population is swelling and protein needs are far outstripping the available supply. Food is always a winner in any country or environment if done well. Fish farming is a sure bet business if you put the right structures in place. More and more people are turning to fish for its low cholesterol protein.

All you need to do is to get a space, buy or construct tanks, buy finger links for between N10 to N20 and feed them for 4 to 6 months, then sell from between N500 to N1,500 depending on weight and size. The breed of fish to train is your choice to make. You can choose to specialize on Catfish, Tilapia, etc.

6. Herbs, Flowers Framing and Gardening

Walking through a grocery store, a herb store, a health food store and even in gardening sections of home centers, you will find herbs in their dry forms to be used by consumers. Using the right equipment in your home garage or shed or by building a green house, you can start and raise both herbs and plants to resell to larger outlets and to the consumer as well.

Plants are the basis for all landscapes, homes, gardens and even for brightening offices. You will pay pennies for packets of seeds and make way more when selling starter plants. The more space you have, the better you are going to do. If you really have the space in your landscape and outdoor garden, creating gardens where you will grow plants and drying them out will add so much to your inventory and you can make great amounts of money selling dried flowers to retailers, wholesalers and even to flower shops themselves.

7. Livestock Feed Production

The production process is not so difficult. The ingredients required are mainly, maize, soya beans, fish bone, sorghum, groundnut, blood meal, wheat, rice shaft, additives etc. All these can be sourced from the market, any animal consult outlet, or any agricultural product shop around.

8. Setup a Small Poultry Farm

Technology has enabled many to operate profitable poultry, yet make it free of odor that a neighbor next door will not know you operate a poultry farm. This is a business you can start from one room, car park or from that abandoned property near you with 50 to 500 birds, which cost between N100,000 to N500,000 depending on the cash at hand.

9. Mushroom Farming

Mushrooms are natural phenomenon that can give you much money. The untapped potential of these fungi is so much that if you invest on the venture, your room can no longer be your bank. Mushrooms are rich in vitamins, protein and minerals; they are favored over meat or even fish by some people, considering the nutritional value and superior health implications. There are two main broad categories of mushrooms; the edible and the non-edible (which is poisonous).

The deliberate mushroom cultivation is therefore essential to eliminate the imminent threat of mistakenly gathering the dangerous type. The start-up requirement are mushroom shed or house, sawdust, Polythene bags, Spawns/mushrooms seeds, Urea/nitrogen fertilizer, Lime, water, ceiling machine, weighing scale, extra hands, Refrigerator.

10. Frozen Chicken Production

Many Nigerians have come to depend on imported frozen chicken for quite a while now and this is in detriment of local poultry industry and the subsequent health implication because of the long voyage from Europe or wherever, the imported product are usually preserved with chemicals, some of which are said to be injurious to health.

A lot of people prefer not to go through the stress of slaughtering and preparing live birds because frozen chicken can easily be stored and used at will, thereby saving time; and many people think it is cheap too. Start-up requirement are space, knives, tables, basins, heat source, stove heater, soap, hand towel, extra hands, freezer and generator .You need to go directly to the chicken farms to source for your live birds cheaply You can also position yourself to supply small hotels, restaurants and eateries.

11. Grass cutter Farming

Grass cutter is the second largest rodent in Nigeria and it is endemic to Africa. It breeds successfully in captivity and is capable of reproducing twice a year with litter size varying from two to six. They are primarily vegetarian and can be raised to maturity entirely on fresh grasses. They prefer plants with high moisture content and soluble carbohydrate. Field studies reveal that they do not burrow so they may be caged or reared in a fenced pen on the ground.

Grass cutter is worth considering for use in husbandry in the humid forest where poor grazing and harsh environment limits the performance of conventional livestock. Ranching of grass cutter as a backyard mini livestock would therefore improve the lot of the peasant farmers, provide an alternative source of animal protein, create job opportunities for urban dwellers.

12. Buy Charcoal from the rural areas and resell in the cities

Do you know that you can make 100% profit if you buy your charcoal from the farm or production site and sell to the retailers; a bag of charcoal (32 to 35kg bag) is being sold for N450 to N550 from the farm, while the retailers sell to the final consumer at N1000 to N1,5000 per bag. All you need to do is to buy the charcoal from the farmers and bring it down to the major cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt and resell to the retailers.

But it is advisable to find out if they have an association in your vicinity, joining the association will allow you to operate with peace of mind. Alternatively you can sell to exporters as a large market exists in EU, USA and ASIA with prices ranging from $170 to $300 per ton (FOB Nigerian Port), depending on mode of packaging. The charcoal industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and a money spinner for interested investors.

13. Snail Farming

Snail meat has been severally affirmed as a most safe and nutritious delicacy. In these days of increased coronary implications and other health implications, snail producers are certain to hit it big because many people are shunning away from beef or red meat. It is also pleasing to note that snail production venture could be kick-started with a little initial capital.

The best period to commence snail farming is the rainy season, you can start about 50 to 60 snails to have a good knowledge of how snail breeding works. Make sure you go for a fully matured and big nails as they are sold in bunches of 20 pieces and the prices ranges from N1,800 and N3,000 per bunch. It is better to buy the big ones so that you can expect them to hatch after about 35 days on location. About N10,000 should get a new entrant started in the business.

14. Coconut Juice Production

From fresh chunks of meat to milk, creams, and powders, the flavor of coconut is a distinctive addition to hundreds of sweet and savory recipes. If properly packaged roasted and sliced to pieces with sugar, you can sell for between N20 to N100 depending on the quantity and the level of packaging.

You can make good money buy selling in wholesale to retail outlets and supermarket, but make sure your product is well branded, with your company’s name and contact. With a good marketing plan, you are sure to make a lot of money with this business.

15. Production of Weed Killer

Another major problem confronting every farmer in Africa, especially in Nigeria, is the problem of getting rid all the unwanted crops (weeds) from the farm, which successfully compete with crops and exhaust the soil nutrients. The cost of weeding takes between 50 –60% of the total cost of farming but the good new here is that, there is a formulation of chemicals which is crop and environment friendly.

Herbicides market is a virgin in Nigeria- meaning that if an investor produces 20-30 tonnes daily, he will still sell all. No single investor can meet the herbicide demand in Northern Nigeria alone, not to talk of other zones.

16. BeeKeeping and Honey Production

Honey is manufactured in one of the world’s most efficient factories, the Beehive. Bees may travel as far as 55,000 miles and visit more than two million flowers to gather enough nectar to make just a pound of honey. A litre of pure honey now goes for between N1000 to N2000.

You can sell your Honey to high net-worth individual, busy executives who prefer to take pure honey than sugar, I know some honey dealers who are ready to give out their honey at a ridiculously low prices, all you need to do is to package it for the local or international market.

17. Roasted and Toasted Plantain (Dodo and Boli)

Only few Nigerian have realized the money-spinning prowess of this delicious delicacy, and if properly packaged, with a good marketing strategy put in place, you are sure to make a lot of money. It is popular among the working class as a quick mid-day meal.

18. Plantain Chips Production

After removing skin, unripe fruit can be sliced (1 or 2 mm thick) and fried in boiling oil, to produce chips. Plantain Chips’ if they are made of green plantains that taste starchy like potato chips. Just make sure you put your label, the more you produce, the more money you make, because majority of Nigerian love plantain chips.

19. Custard Manufacturing

In Africa, almost every ethnic group makes a different variety of food out of corn. In Nigerian cities, people are used to what is called Ogi, Akamu (pap); this is cornstarch. When the Europeans came, they came with what they called Custard. But it was later found out that the only difference is the coloring and flavor that was added to the corn. It is very easy to produce custards. You can package it in sachets. It is very easy to market also, particularly in big towns and cities where people are used to modern life.

20. Local drinks or Dry Gin Production

A lot of villagers has come to the city and still love to take local drinks, if well packaged, and accessible, you can start making money by selling to some beer palour, while Ogogoro can be supplied to some companies that uses this product as one of their raw materials

21. Basket and Broom Production

Baskets are used for packaging agricultural product such as Okra, bitter kola, tomatoes, pepper, onions, oranges etc. Since baskets are produced in various sizes, they help the farmers to grade his brands of product for easy pricing.. Our concern here is how to convert palm front and leaves to finished product for economic and commercial gains.

22. Export Agricultural product from the rural area

Agricultural Export trading guarantees good returns on Capital on almost monthly basis. Exporting Wood charcoal, Palm kernel shell, Cow horns, Gallstones, Bitter Kola, Cashew, Ginger, Gum Arabic Chilli pepper, bitter kola, coconut, okro, yam, etc and earn good returns on investment. It might interest you to know that the gap between you and the millions of naira or dollar waiting for you in this business is nothing but the “basic understanding of an export business process.”

Understanding the fundamentals of an export business process especially as it concerns securing a genuine export order or contract with a well secured method of payment is the basic requirement in this business, and then you are on your way to making unimaginable loads of money.

You can also become an export broker which is one of the easiest and most rewarding ways any prospecting exporter can raise money to go into full time export business. Starting from a little or no capital, an export broker could earn large “finders fee” with absolutely unlimited income.

23. Source for agro raw materials for urban manufacturing companies

Despite the apparent growth in the number of indigenous players in the industry, there still remains the fact that no company has set up a basic active raw material manufacturing plant in Nigeria. Most of the raw materials being used by the industry in our urban centers are sourced from the rural areas, you too can be part of this opportunity by locating a manufacturing companies and start supplying them with raw materials based on their specification and quality. Approach the personnel in charge to provide you with appropriate information on how to be their supplier.

24. Help the Nigeria rural farmers who deal in foodstuffs to export it to the foreign Countries

Our foodstuffs are very cheap in the rural areas, you can bring this food stuff to the cites and tap into the local and the international market. Foodstuffs like Smoked fish, Garri, Beans Flour, Melon seed (Egusi Ground), Ogbono, Cassava Flour, Bitterleaf, Dried Ugu leaf, Pepper,Tomato paste, Hibiscus flower and Ukazi leaf. Others are, Hot Chilli Pepper, Ground nut , Kolanut, Potato, Ginger, Kilishi, Soybean Groundnut, Okra, Cassava, Yam, Bitter Kola, Ofada rice, Catfish, Shrimps, Pounded Yam Flour.

You can bring some of these food items to the markets in the urban centers, you can also sell to some food stuff exporters who are looking forwards to buy at ridiculously low prices.

25. Start connecting rural farmers with exporters using the internet

Can you browse the internet very well , can you chat online? If yes, then I want to congratulate you because you can connect the agro farmers in the rural areas with Nigeria exporters and earn a commission. A lot of exporters find it very difficult to get their desired agro product at the right quality and quantity, you can do this for them and name your price.

You can also join some online trade portals, secure a contract, sell the contract and charge an appropriate commission. A lot of Nigeria including my humble self earns commission by connecting the rural farmers to local exporters and I also help Nigeria secure good contract.

26. Help the rural farmers to load Agro- Exportable Product From The Hinterland and Villages to Towns

A lot of our readers have already tap into this opportunity by providing supportive services to Nigeria exporters. You can help source for agro product for Nigerian exporters and earn finders fee. You can travel to Jigawa, kano Kaduna, Plateau states, go to their commodity markets and meets any of the sellers of these commodities, tell them that you need a large quantity.

At least 30 tons which is a trailer load. Your commission is between N5,000 to N20,000 per ton depending on you negotiating power, since you are loading a Trailer which is 30 Tons, multiply your commission by 30, which can be N150,000 to N600,0000 finder fee.

It is very important to know the product profile because exporters will always ask you to submit samples and the product specification. They will come to the market to pick the product from the market and pay you the commission because you are adding value to the export value chain and a lot of exporters will be ready to work with you.

In conclusion, i don’t want you to miss this opportunity to get started on your dreams! Take the first step towards making money and living the life you want. Pick an idea now, execute your plan, and earn some money with any of these urban agro business opportunities; and i will see you at the top.