’26 years in strawberry farming has taught me success’

Dauda Bitrus Choji has been growing strawberries since 1999. He started with a very small plot, which he described as “0.001 acre,” at a time when strawberry was very unpopular among farmers in his community. Daily Trust’s coverage of the production on the Plateau over the years brought its potential to the limelight, which attracted […]

Dauda Bitrus Choji has been growing strawberries since 1999. He started with a very small plot, which he described as “0.001 acre,” at a time when strawberry was very unpopular among farmers in his community.

Daily Trust’s coverage of the production on the Plateau over the years brought its potential to the limelight, which attracted national attention among consumers.

Today, Mr. Choji is a household name in his Chaha community, home to many strawberry farmers—many of whom he raised and trained in the farming technique.

Twenty-six years later, Dauda now has one of the biggest strawberry farms on the Plateau with the potential to harvest more than 2 tons (over 2,000 kg) per week at the peak of production.

Harvest is usually done three times a week, beginning from late October through March.

The farmer now grows the exotic fruit on about three hectares equipped with modern drip irrigation systems powered by several solar boreholes that supply clean water to the farm.

He also has more than 50 workers picking, maintaining, and providing security around the farm.

Last week, Daily Trust caught up with the farmer in Chaha, where he shared his experience about the journey so far and what he thinks other farmers can learn.

“When I started then, the size of my farm was 0.001 acre, and the total harvest was like 20 kg. Now you can see the size has grown to more than 2.5 hectares,” he said.

 

On marketing challenges

Over the years, strawberry farmers have been complaining about poor access to markets for their produce. However, after many years of experience, Mr. Choji said it was the farmers’ fault.

“When we have this issue of market, it is not the fault of the market, but our fault because we did not put in place the mechanism necessary for marketing. We were concentrating on how to get the production right, and we forgot marketing,” he explained.

“At a point in time, we tried to do the marketing ourselves, but it was too stressful. Taking care of the farm and taking the strawberry to Abuja, for example, was too difficult for us. So, we had to give up on marketing and allow other people to do it for us while we concentrate on the farm.”

With that experience, Mr. Choji grew his farm from the 1.5 hectares he cultivated last year to over 2.5 hectares this year, and the farmer told Daily Trust that he will continue to expand further in the coming years.

Last season, he picked 500 kg per harvest, which he conducted three times per week, bringing the total weekly harvest to 1.5 tons.

Under the current expansion, he forecasts harvest to be around 3 tons (3,000 kg) every week.

 

Cost, prices, and lessons

With high production cost and low prices, which farmers across the country are grappling with lately, Mr. Choji, however, said strawberry prices have been good but added that the farmers are pushing for a review as the cost of production escalates.

“The price is good, but we insist that due to the cost of labour, the price has to be reviewed,” he said.

He maintained that despite the cost of production, the situation with strawberry is better compared to other vegetables. The reason he gave has to do with the longer period of continuous harvest.

Nevertheless, he admitted that maintaining a strawberry farm required patience, diligence, and total attention.

The farmer said despite their many years of experience, they still lack the knowledge of growing it from seed. Currently, they grow it from the vines, which they maintain after harvest to transplant for the next production cycle.

Although Mr. Choji is a civil servant, he spends every free moment he has on the farm providing guidance to his workers. During weekends, he is always on the farm to monitor every development.

His farm is also attracting foreign visitors. During the Miss Tourism Africa contest, which was hosted in Jos, the Plateau State Capital, contestants from different countries visited the farm and were excited to pick and eat strawberries.

Dauda told Daily Trust he has gotten an off-taker for his produce, but will also welcome more, solving his marketing puzzle.

After many years of follow-up stories, strawberry production is growing stronger in the Chaha community.

“Almost all the boys that I have trained have farms that are almost competing with mine. I am happy that they watched the way I did things, and they adopted the same method, and they are succeeding. I am so happy,” he said.

For those who want to start a strawberry farm, the farmer advises that knowledge, patience, and attention are very important.

“If you don’t have the time, expertise, and a good source of water, you cannot have a successful production. That is why I sank a lot of boreholes here and powered them with the solar systems and said bye-bye to fuel. I was told these systems can last for a minimum of 20 years.

“Apart from my office hours, every other time I have, I spend it on the farm,” he concluded.