How To Set Up A Plantain Plantation Business

Plantain farming is one of the simplest but also very rewarding ventures to start in Nigeria. It is no news that a lot of households use plantain in their daily meals, however, Business Day, last year reported that there was a 99,800 metric tons demand-supply gap for plantains in Nigeria alone. This means there is a huge opportunity for plantain farmers to fill this gap. The demand for plantain flour is also through the roof as the Same Business Day article reports.... Waec GCE Runz 

Plantain also has huge export potential, can be eaten raw when ripe, fried to make plantain chips, processed to make plantain flour, serves as industrial raw materials for the creation of sanitary pads, fabrics and also for the food and beverage industry for making baby foods, biscuits, bread, and cakes. With all these benefits and opportunities, here are the steps you can take to get into this relatively easy business of plantain farming:

Prepare your Land: Plantain does best in loamy soil which is prevalent in Edo, Delta, Cross River, Ekiti, and the Ogun States. These soils contain a good organic to inorganic ratio with organic materials like decaying plants and animals. Prepare the land by clearing the land off bushes, stones, trees, and stumps. Note that Plantains do well when they are protected from the sun, so it is better to plant them in clusters where they can protect each other from the sun or leave some of the trees to protect them from excessive sunlight and maintain humidity.

Get Plantain Suckers: Plantain Suckers are shot which develop from the bud of the mother plantain plant. They should have small, spear-shaped leaves and are about four feet high. Make sure you approach reputable farmers that can supply you with healthy plantain suckers that are free of diseases. The suckers should be planted two to five meters away from each other. Note that there are 3 types of plantain suckers. They are peeper sucker, maiden sucker, and sword sucker.

Peeper sucker; is a small sucker emerging from the soil;
Maiden sucker; is a large sucker with foliage leaves. It is a good planting material as it grows strong, produces great yields, and is resistant to pests and diseases. Sword sucker is a large sucker with lanceolate l It is the best conventional planting material. It grows strong and produces great yields and is resistant to pests and diseases.

Planting: Suckers are planted immediately after field Plant holes are prepared with a minimum size of about 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm. Care should be taken to separate the topsoil from the bottom soil. The sucker is placed in the hole and it is covered, first with the topsoil and then with the bottom soil. The recommended spacing is 3 m between the plantain rows and 2 m within the row (in other words. 3 m x 2 m). An alternative is 2.5 m x 2.5 m. If spaced 3 m x 2 m, 1 hectare should contain 1667 plants, but with a spacing of 2.5 m x 2.5 m, it should contain 1600 plants.

Weeding and Fertilization: Weeding is important as weeds compete with the plantains for the soil nutrient. Manual labor can be employed or chemicals like Herbicides can be used to control weeds. Also, if you are to apply fertilizers, make sure they have a good dose of potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen (PNK). The fertilizers should be placed in a circle four to eight feet from the trunk and should be applied once a month to stimulate growth.

Harvesting: In 8-10 months, the plantain fruit will be ready for harvesting. Plantains will always produce more fruits until the harvest season is over.

Marketability: As stated above, there is still a shortage of supply for the high demand of plantain. After harvest, it can be sold to households, plantain chips firms, or plantain flour makers. If you have the capital, you can process it into plantain flour and sell it for more profit. Additionally, do not rule out the possibility of trading in the international market.

Plantain planting is one of the most profitable businesses out there”.

Have you heard this before and would like to tap into this huge business?

Would you like to add plantain farming to your farm business?

Do you want to have a reliable source of income from plantain farming?

Or does your interest lie in investing and watching your passive income grow?

Then, do not miss out on this golden opportunity!
Plantain farming is an easy-to-start venture with mouth-watering benefits. Till date, it remains one of the most consumed product in Nigeria. And the good thing about this business is that though it does not require you to spend much on maintenance, you can earn non-stop all year round.

It is therefore not out of place to desire to acquire the necessary information
about plantain farming before venturing into this business.

Taking this course will;

Help you attain the requisite knowledge you need so you do not start blindly and end up incurring huge losses
Give you that all-important edge over your competitors
Help you increase the profit and, therefore, attract investors and more workforce for your business.
Our instructors are set to guide you so you can benefit maximally from all that
will be taught throughout the course.

The ‘Rich’ Plantain Farmer Training is aimed at repositioning established plantain
farms and establishing new ones with expert knowledge and practices.
The first part of the course will cover the best strategies in selecting the most
suitable sites for plantain cultivation, how to prepare the field as well as the
appropriate spacing to avoid overcrowding when they begin to mature.

The second part covers the best ways to choose suckers that have high
chances of survival and deciding a suitable time to plant.... Waec runs 

The last part of the course explains the detailed concepts of mulching, fertilizing
and control of weeds that can hinder growth and finally, how to harvest
plantain such that the suckers are preserved.

At the end of the course, you are expected to;

Be able to diagnose the problem behind low yield in your previous planting seasons
Be able to start your own Plantain farm on the go
Record a sharp increase in your yield so far you put what you have learned to use
Be able to take others on how to plant Plantain suckers, when to plant, how to fertilize, and other nuances of plantain farming.... Neco Gce Runs 2023

Course Outline

1. Site Selection
2. Field Preparation
3. Space Management
4. Planting Time and Season
5. Preparing the Suckers
6. Planting
7. Mulching
8. Fertilizing and Weeds Control
9. Harvesting
10. Post-harvest Management
11. Plantain Markets