Gov Obi Shares N70m to Farmers

The Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, distributed cheques worth 70 million Naira (about 449,000 dollars) to 153 Fadama users groups in 77 Fadama Community Associations in the state.

Speaking at an event which held at the ADP complex in Awka, the governor said that the donation was to reiterate the commitment of his administration to supporting farmers in the state towards achieving sustainable food production in order to reduce hunger and poverty in the state.
He said that his administration would ensure that the agricultural sector was totally transformed, as food was basic for continued sustenance of life.

Wouldn't you join the farmers?

De Edge Farms

You Wish to Travel-Out?: Easy for Farmers!

If you are interested in alternative ways of living and want to meet interesting people then wwoofing or hosting is for you.

You can easily travel as a volunteer or welcome travellers as a host. Make the right choice today and change your environment and life style.

As a farmer, you have got the edge. Fina details at
www.wwoof.net

De Edge Farms

Top 15 Livestock Farming Ideas

1. Cattle farming

Cattle farming is a business that appeals to people who
the needed vacant land and resources to make it work.
Now as long as milk, meat, leather products, etc are in
demand, cattle will remain a profitable business. For
those who are interested in this cattle business, it is
important you know that there are several avenues to
make money from this business. You can either choose
to breed bulls or cattle for their beef or go into full
scale diary farming (milk products). In fact, you can
also make money by selling their dungs to organic
fertilizer production companies.

2. Goat farming

Goat farming is no longer a new business. Rearing goat
is a very lucrative and profitable business because
goats have a low mortality rate as they are resistant to
diseases, weather, and they are omnivorous.

3. Sheep farming

Sheep breeding business can be very lucrative and a
profitable venture more especially if you raise a good
number of them. However, for an entrepreneur to
succeed in such a venture, patience is required as well
as understanding the cycles of your business.

4. Poultry farming

Poultry farming is a viable business anytime any day
and the good thing about poultry is that its demand is
rising; since people are now reducing their intake of
red meat due to health issues. There are several
aspects of poultry you can venture into such Chicken
farming, Turkey, Guinea fowl, Quail, etc.

5. Pet Birds Farming

Another livestock farming business you can consider is
pet birds farming. In this case, you will be breeding
birds for pet purposes and other domestic use, not for
consumption. Example of pet birds include Parrot,
Doves, Pigeons, Peafowls ( Peacocks and Peahens ), etc.

6. Fish farming

Fish farming can be divided into two basic categories;
which are fresh water fish farming and salt . The
demand for fish can never be met and about 70% of
fishes consumed in Nigeria are still being imported;
thus making fish farming a profitable venture.

7. Snail Farming

Another lucrative livestock farming business you can
venture into is snail farming. As the migration from
red meat consumption to white meat increases, the
demand for snail will increase as well because snail is
a good source of protein. With just a little capital and
small garden space, you can kick start this business.

8. Pig Farming

Running a piggery is another profitable venture with
less competition. Most people shy away from rearing
pigs because of religious beliefs and the capital +
labour investment it requires.

9. Worm farming

Worm farming is the easiest way of turning fruit and
vegetable scraps into a great potting soil or soil
amendment for your house plants or garden. In fact,
this is a business that most people are not even aware
of. Do you know that worms have an important role to
play in maintaining soil fertility? Well, know it today
that there is a market for worms. Worm farming is
specifically vital and useful for people who will like to
compost their food scraps but do not have vacant for
backyard compost bin.

10. Grass cutter farming

11. Shrimp farming

12. Lobster farming

13. Crab farming

14. Guinea pig farming

Breeding guinea pig is very lucrative and rewarding
because they are very prolific. First of all, mating them
is very simple. Rearing them is as well easy and at the
end of the day, you will smile as you watch these little
creatures grow and develop. Just ensure that you will
be capable of providing good homes for the babies.

15. Rabbit Farming

Rabbit rearing is a business that requires less space
and the farming can be done anywhere; from a
standard farm, backyard, on terrace or even at home.
The capital investment for this venture is very small
and the profit potential is huge.

De Edge Farms

Goat Farming in Nigeria: The Opportunities

Nigeria, with a population of about 165 million is grossly underprovided with essential food component,
protein. For example, data from the FOS, CBN, and FAO
indicates that from cattle, less than 2kg of beef is
available to an average Nigerian per year and just
mere 4kg of eggs per annum is available to each
Nigerian.

In fact, milk production has been nose diving or at best
has remained constant since 1994.This scenario is
compounded more so when the volume of egg supply
is very low, being 10.56g per person per day as
compared with the usual recommendation that an egg
should be consumed by an adult per day. This
recommendation would imply a crate of 30 eggs per
month.

This story also holds for other meat products including,
goat. To ameliorate this problem of low-level of protein
intake, there is the need for concerted effort, among
the various stakeholders to bring about the massive
production of protein based food items at competitive
costs so that they would be affordable to the general
masses. Aside from the other necessary economic
reforms, massive investment goat farming is one way of
resolving the problem.
Goat is a multi functional animal and has a significant
role in the economy and nutrition of landless, small
and marginal farmers in the whole country. Goat
rearing is practiced by a large section of population in
rural areas.

Goats can easily survive in even adverse and harsh
environment in low fertility lands, where no crops can
be grown.

In agricultural societies in Nigeria, goats are kept as a
source of additional income and as an insurance
against disaster. Goats are also used in ceremonial
feastings and for the payment of social dues.
In addition to this, goat has religious and ritualistic
importance in many societies.

The advantages of goat rearing are:
• Goat Farming requires low initial Investment.
• There are less Housing requirements and
Managerial Problems with goats, due to their small
body size and docile nature.
• Goats are very friendly animals and enjoy being
with the people.
• Goats are prolific breeders and achieve sexual
maturity at the age of 10-12 months. Gestation period
in goats is short and at the age of 16-17 months it
starts giving milk. Twinning is very common and
triplets and quadruplets are rare.
• In drought prone areas, risk of goat farming is very
much less as compared to other livestock species.
• Unlike large animals in commercial farm
conditions, both male and female goats have equal
value.
• Goats are ideal for mixed species grazing. The
animal can thrive well on wide variety of thorny
bushes, weeds, crop residues, agricultural by-products
unsuitable for human consumption.
• Under proper management, goats can improve and
maintain grazing land and reduce bush encroachment
(biological control) without causing harm to the
environment.
• No religious taboo against goat slaughter and meat
consumption prevalent in the country.
• Slaughter and dressing operation and meat disposal
can be carried without much environmental problems.
• The goat meat is more lean (low cholesterol) and
relatively good for people who prefer low energy diet
especially in summer and sometimes goat meat
(chevron) is preferred over mutton because of its
"chew ability".
• Goat milk is easy to digest than cow milk because of
small fat globules and is naturally homogenized. Goat
milk is said to play a role in improving appetite and
digestive efficiency. Goat milk is non allergic as
compared to cow milk and it has anti-fungal and anti
bacterial properties and can be used for treating
diseases of fungal origin.
• Goats are 2.5 times more economical than sheep on
free range grazing under semi arid conditions.
• Goat creates employment to the rural poor besides
effectively utilizing unpaid family labor. There is ample
scope for establishing cottage industries based on goat
meat and milk products and value addition to skin and
fiber.
• Goat is termed as walking refrigerator for the
storage of milk and can be milked number of times in a
day.

As is illustrated above, the product of this unit will
enjoy very good market. Hence on the commercial
ground, by taking into account the various aspects of
Animal Husband industry, marketing of these products
will never be a problem for the next several years to
come; moreover, there is a good growing demand for
these products.

The marketable products of goat farming include the
fattened kids, manure, and culled animals. Marketing
avenues for the above products are slaughter houses
and individual meat consuming customers and
agriculture farms. Therefore availability of either
slaughtering facilities or traders who will purchase live
animals should be ensured to convert the fatteners into
wholesome meat and meat products. Further, demand
for manure from nearby agriculture farms must also be
ensured.

De Edge Farms

Bird Flu Again?

Bird Flu is an infection caused by avian influenza virus. This occurs naturally among birds. Wild birds worldwide carry the virus in their intestine but usually do not get sick from them.

The bird flu is very contagious among bird and can make some domestic birds very sick and death can occur.

Bird flu was first reported in Nigeria in early February 2006 in Sambawa Farms, Kaduna State.

Treat all birds with care. Cook properly before ingestion.

De Edge Farms