Rice farming - Your best choice to make money

Rice is one of the most popular crops in the world. Moreover, this plant is a source of almost the most popular food all over the world (mostly thanks to the Asian countries, which produce about 90% of world’s rice). Products made of rice are full of carbohydrates, which means that they are a great source of energy.

Also, planting rice is a smart land use, as any hectare of field used for it will give you on average around 10 tons of rice.

Furthermore, it is relatively easy to start rice farming on your own. All you need to have are correctly selected conditions and some basic farming knowledge. If you want to start your own farming business in Nigeria, here are a couple of helpful tips for the beginning of your journey.

Install the Jiji app to find the best resources for your business for the best price!

As any other business, rice farming requires careful planning and clear understanding of what you need before the start. Here are the main points you need to figure out before starting your own rice farm:

1. Land

Choosing the right place for your rice farming business is a very important step. Rice needs certain conditions to grow, the main one is that the soil should be properly irrigated. That’s why most of the farmers use swamps to grow this crop.

But you can make any piece of land properly wet by installing an irrigation system – yet it consumes quite a lot of money and you still will need an open access to water.

2. Seeds

Choosing healthy seeds for your start really matters too, as it can greatly increase the amount of rice you will harvest.

The best course of action would be to plant a couple of different kinds of rice on a piece of your land and see which will grow there best of all. This method takes a certain amount of time, but it can cost you up to 20% of improvement in terms of the yield quality.

3. Soil nutrients and herbicides

In some cases, you will need additional substances for your rice to grow better. You should consult with specialists before applying any of them, mostly such methods are used when your land doesn’t have enough nutrients (fertilizers) or when there are too many weeds (herbicides).

Choose natural remedies to ensure that your product is safe for consumption.

4. Harvest and storage

Rice is ready for harvesting after 3-4 months, but there are parts of the year when it is too dangerous to plant it because of vermin. This means you will be able to harvest the product on your land about 2 times a year.

Depending on the amount of land you’ve got, you will need to pay either for human workforce or for a harvesting machine.

You will also probably need a hulling mill to clean the rice seeds from all the hull.

You should also find a safe place to store your rice, as pests, rodents and thieves will definitely want a piece of your product.

5. Investment and profit

As in any business, you will need some money to start. You should consult with professional about the precise amount you’ll need depending on the size of the business you want to start. If you don’t have enough money, you can find investors – there are quite a lot of people that will be willing to give you cash for this type of business, as it will certainly be profitable.

Assuming you’ve invested ₦3,000,000, after a year (2 harvests) you will be able to make about 20% of profit (around ₦4,600,000, assuming that the price of the bag of rice is around ₦11,000). And after each year, this number will only grow! So, don’t hesitate to start your own business right away!