Ojaokomo Timi

Maize, also known as Corn, with botanical name Zea Mays is a cereal grain that has become a staple food in most parts of the world. Maize has grown to become one of the most used crops in Nigeria, in fact Nigeria produces an excess of 6 million metric tons of maize and rank among the world’s top producers. The best month to plant maize Just like most crops, the time to plant Maize varies based on the rain pattern of the area that you are in. Climate change and global warming has made it harder for us to estimate when the rains will start. No matter the area that you are living however, studying the rain patterns of past years will help you to know when it is time to start planting. It is important to note when it rains consecutively for 2-3 days because that would be a good time to plant. Where to sell maize and what maize is used for. In Nigeria, you can find your market online especially if you are tech savvy. Taking advantage of the internet age would help a lot in marketing your products. Examples of online markets include agricmania.com, konga.com and jumia.com. Physical markets have not lost their place too. You can sell your products at large and popular agriculture market areas like Oje in Ibadan, Mile 12 in Lagos, Zaki Biam Yam market in Benue, among many others in the country. You can also sell your produce to manufacturing companies, food production companies like Nestle, Fast food restaurants and large retail stores. You can always also sell directly to your consumers. Maize is used as human food in many forms like sweet corn, roasted corn, cornmeal or ground dried maize, popcorn, and cornflakes. It can also be converted to Cornstarch, cooking oil, and sometimes as grain alcohol. However the usage of Maize is mostly in feeding livestock, as forage or grain. How much is needed to plant maize on a hectare of land To fully cultivate a hectare of land you will need 15 – 20 kg of maize seeds. Putting all factors like cost of land, irrigation, seed bought, labor, fertilizer and after harvest cost into consideration, it could cost about 3,500,00 – 4,000,000 Naira. Expected return After 4-5 months, you are expected to get your yield of about 2.5 – 3 tons of maize. At the end of the planting year is it expected that you make a profit if 3,000,000 Naira if you take good care of your crops and don’t lose them to pest and diseases. Problem you can face when finding buyer Many farmers today do not take advantage of the internet, this has made sales slow. Also the price of maize fluctuates a lot, which makes it difficult for farmers to agree with their customers on the price for the produce. Also, because of the insurgences in the north, it is difficult for produce to be transported from there to other parts of the country. How to expand. To expand your business, you need to make use of all available resources that you feel you are underutilizing. You could also diversify and make use of existing land more effectively instead of buying a new farm.