Strawberry: A seasonal fruit in high demand

In Nigeria, demands for the seasonal fruit is increasing and its farming is simple, according to Muhammad Jamilu, a strawberry farmer and trader in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.Jamilu, who said he had been farming and trading in  strawberry and other fruits for 13 years now, explained the stages of planting, harvesting […]

In Nigeria, demands for the seasonal fruit is increasing and its farming is simple, according to Muhammad Jamilu, a strawberry farmer and trader in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Jamilu, who said he had been farming and trading in  strawberry and other fruits for 13 years now, explained the stages of planting, harvesting and marketing of the produce.
Jamilu said: “The first stage is for a farmer to start from the nursery bed where you prepare and plant your seed around the month of August so that the seed will grow branches that would be used as runners for transplant.
“There are two methods of planting strawberry seed. The first is the one that involves planting the runners in the nursery, which is the branch of the strawberry plant. The second is the direct seed plantation where you plant the seed directly in the farm and wait for three weeks for it to germinate. In this method, the farmer must wait for up to four months to allow the strawberry grow at nursery and produce the runners for the transplant in the farm. In the direct method, sometimes, the plants grow strawberry fruit before transplanting. But currently many farmers prefer the runner’s method.
“While making the nursery, the next thing is to mix the sand with manure and plant your runners at the selected area to sow the seed. I plant my runners in a designated polythene bags and arrange them where I can water the nursery with ease. I water the nursery three times a week. And whenever I sow one runner, some may reproduce more branches depending on how I prepare them. The nursery takes at least three weeks to  mature before the transplant.”
Jamilu said the second stage is the transplant after the farmer must have prepared the farm. He said after mixing the sand with manure, the farmer will make ridges in a way that water will always be at the edge of it.
He said the process of transplanting of strawberry requires the farmer to dig holes based on the sizes of the plants dislodged from the nursery and arrange them in a sequential order by providing a gap of about one and half feet from each other.
“After the transplanting, the next thing, he said, is the maintenance of the farm by ensuring that grasses are not allowed to grow. The third stage is for the farmer to apply the chemical fertiliser. You need to apply little of NPK 15-15 at the edge of the plant. When the strawberry starts producing fruits, you apply ashes at the edges of the plant; the idea is to protect the fruits from insects and also add sweetness to the strawberry as well as helps in producing big size fruits.
“You can also see that I used polythene bags to cover the edges of the plants; that is to protect the fruits from mud, water and also to prevent the fruits from dirt because if mud or water touches the fruits it may spoil it or affect the growth of the fruits.
“You know, strawberry is purely a dry season crop except for the green farming system, and that is why I told you that we make ridges in a surface irrigation style where you can release your water through the surface and not by spreading because both the plant and the fruits don’t want water to touch them. The plants need to soak the water from the channels across the ridges. The crop can take at least three months after the transplant before harvest.
“After that, we go to the stage of harvesting which is the simplest stage in strawberry production. It is just like plugging tomatoes. Harvesting strawberry is a continuous process because it produces fruits continuously for a long time. The more you harvest it, the more it produces more fruits depending on how you manage the farm and also the size of the farm. I harvest the fruits three times a week. If you harvest the fruits, another set will grow and it will continue until rains start falling that is when it will stop producing fruits.”
Jamilu said strawberry perishes easily, especially when left unused after harvesting.
He advised that farmers should not harvest their strawberry when they do not have a ready market for it. “Whenever strawberry is ripe, you need to contact your customers immediately to know if they are ready to buy, then you can harvest and supply instantly because you don’t allow it to spend more than 24 hours after harvesting. You need to quickly supply it to your customers and the end users or else the fruit would perish.”
Jamilu said strawberry is a marketable fruit in Nigeria as there are customers from Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and so many other states.
“We sell a kilo of strawberry for N1, 000 but when the fruit is scarce, we sell at N1, 500. There are instances when the market depreciates and we sell at N700.”
“Strawberry is a profitable venture. I bought a piece of land for the extension of my farm and another one for me to build a house. If I can get assistance from government in terms of subsidised fertiliser, insecticides, improved seeds and seedlings, bank loan with single digit interest rate and necessary equipment for mechanised farming, I can produce thousands of tonnes of strawberry and provide jobs for hundreds of youths.
“We are calling on government, at all levels, and the private sector to invest in the farming and marketing of strawberry. The system is all encompassing in terms of economic development; it can employ a lot of people. Right now, I have employed eight young men working in my farm. Although there are other crops I venture into, I believe strawberry farming and marketing would reduce unemployment and also boost the economy of our country.”
A trader at Nitel ruits market in Jos who also sells strawberry, Ibrahim Abdullahi, told our reporter that he has so far spent 13 years selling variety of fruits and vegetables.
He said: “Strawberry business is a profitable venture and the fruit has good market these days. It is a seasonal fruit but its market is moving smoothly. Customers come from different parts of the country to buy it from us or from the farmers directly.”
On the challenges of marketing strawberry, Abdullahi said: “The challenges we are facing in marketing strawberry in Jos largely has to do with the sudden change of weather. Right now we are experiencing heat and that usually affects the fruit. If you don’t sell it in time, it may spoil as a result of heat. The second problem is the predicaments of some traders who are hawking the fruits in wheel barrows in some markets within the city of Jos. You know the fruits don’t like too much heat and if it reaches two days that way it could get rotten.
“Despite all these challenges I have mentioned, strawberry is one among the most marketable and profitable fruits I sell, because the demand of the fruit is higher than its production,” Abdullahi said.