Secrets behind successful vegetable farming

Any farmer who wants to have a flourishing vegetable farm with good quality produce must be ready to do careful planning and go through the rigours of good management practices or forget the ambition, vegetable farmers said. Vegetables, the farmers maintain, can be a regular and reliable source of income for both the farmers and […]

Any farmer who wants to have a flourishing vegetable farm with good quality produce must be ready to do careful planning and go through the rigours of good management practices or forget the ambition, vegetable farmers said.
Vegetables, the farmers maintain, can be a regular and reliable source of income for both the farmers and sellers of the produce, but the farmers, who are the first line actors, must be fully equipped with the requisite skills to achieve that goal.
Findings show that there is hardly any household in this country where vegetables are not consumed on a regular basis and for a farmer to meet the choice of buyers, the produce must be of standard quality and very attractive in the first place before other factors can be considered.
Vegetable farmers who spoke to Daily Trust highlighted several routine practices to be followed in order to ensure good quality produce that will be readily acceptable to consumers.
One of the farmers, Mr. Simon Audu, said: “Any time I come to the farm and see my vegetables flourishing, I become very happy because that’s my target. If your vegetables are not attractive, you can’t easily get buyers, and when people finally buy, it will be at a very poor price not worth the investment. So, the secret to successful vegetable farming is to religiously follow all the required practices from the planning stage, through cultivation to the time of harvest.”
Mr. Audu, who is into tomato, cucumber, cabbage, ‘ugwu’ and other vegetables production at Jeun village in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, said the farmer must first of all choose a very good location near a natural water source if he/she doesn’t have a borehole, and then acquire quality inputs such as seeds of high yielding capacity, disease and drought resistant varieties, and good fertilizers.
“It doesn’t stop at that. The next thing to do to propel the business to greater heights is to carry out proper crop management practices. You must demarcate your farm into plots allotted to each type of vegetable you want to plant. Till the soil as required where applicable.
“Plant your seeds according to instructions and apply fertilizers as recommended. Manage the weeds very well. Use pre or post emergence herbicides or manual weeding appropriately depending on choice and available resources. Apply appropriate pesticides to keep off piercing insects, among others that could either reduce the quality of your produce or render them valueless,” the farmer advised.
He stressed that a farmer must be ready to monitor all activities in the farm, even when he uses farm workers, he must be available regularly to ensure the right things are done at the right time.
Mr. Audu also noted that proper irrigation is required especially in the dry season to keep the plants growing well and productive, adding that the crops must be rotated on the demarcated plots at every new planting season to prevent disease outbreak.
Another vegetable farmer, Mrs. Emem Edet, who farms ‘ugwu’, waterleaf, scent leaf and bitter leaf, among others agreed with Mr. Audu, saying, there is no room for laziness or carelessness if you want to succeed in vegetable farming. The rules must be strictly followed all the times.
“You must plant on the right soil in a good location. Plant good quality seeds and apply organic or chemical fertilizers if necessary. Watch out for any sign of poor performance or disease/pest attack and take necessary action. You must harvest your crops properly as well to avoid damage to the plants and the produce.
“When confused, talk to experienced colleagues or extension agents, but beware of quacks that can mislead you and possibly plunge you into unnecessary debts,” she said.
All the farmers who responded maintained that if government assists them with soft loans to acquire locally fabricated greenhouses for vegetable farming, they will be at a vantage position to churn out better, high quality produce because it will be done under a controlled environment with protection against pest attack.