From maize to beef processing and poultry farming, September was stuffed with agricultural investment offers on various platforms, which in the least had a profit margin of 14 percent. Maize farming in Nassarawa state had the highest return with 22 percent per unit of N60, 000 investment.
But October is poised for much more, presenting an opportunity more than double of September’s. Sponsorship opportunities for snail farming, yam trading, poultry, ginger, soybeans farming and a vegetable greenhouse cluster project will be open on Farm Konnect, Farmcrowdy and ThriveAgric.
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Working in partnership with Touchstone Snails Technology Limited, Lanarca, Cyprus, Farmconnect has developed an expansive snail facility tagged Igbeja Snail Village. The first phase of the project will house 100 units of snail breeding facility and will produce a minimum of 2,600 metric tons of snails per annum, with a return on investment above 50 percent yearly.
“We believe that the project should not just be about farming, we should also add glamour to our work, so we will put a touch of tourism and world-class hospitality,” Azeez Oluwole, the founder Farm Konnect said.
“It is open to investors as per phase. All snails produced are for the export market. There is also a future consideration towards local processing for slime, meat, and caviar.”
On Crowdyvest, an arm of FarmCrowdy, yam trading will be open for sponsorship in Lagos but the rate of return is yet to be disclosed. Also, poultry farming will be open in Oyo; a stage three ginger farming opportunity will be available in Kaduna, while Moringa farming will be open in Jigawa. All of them have a gestation period of 6 months.
But from Businessday monitoring, Ginger is likely to yield the highest return. When Farmcrowdy placed stage-one ginger farming on offer in the same in March, it promised 27 percent return for a price per unit of N60, 000. The farm cycle covered insurance, tractor operations for land clearing and preparation, ploughing, harrowing, distribution of certified seeds and seed treatments to farmers. It also included monitoring and cultivation by technical field specialist.
Meanwhile, Nigeria was the second-largest producer of ginger as of 2016, according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation. Ginger is used for multiple purposes such as herb for medicine, preservative, spice, tea and coffee.
On ThriveAgric, 895 units of soybeans offer Kebbi and Niger are left from September and will likely roll into October. The offer has 20 percent returns, duration of nine months and price per unit of N47, 600.
Farm Konnect is another project to watch into. The firm is currently setting up vegetable farms using greenhouse technology and plans to produce leafy and fruit vegetables with output in excess of 130,000 metric tons yearly.
The first phase of the project includes the use of low-tech greenhouses for the production of fruit vegetables, such as tomatoes, habanero and bell peppers among others. In the cluster, individuals can own as many greenhouses as can be afforded. Interestingly, owners of the greenhouse do not need to be on-farm, the facilities will be completely managed by FarmKonnect on behalf of the owners.
