Brief description on how to start groundnut farming in Nigeria.

you are interested in starting a groundnut farming business but don’t know how to go about it, or maybe even wants to gain more knowledge, the steps below will serve as a guide;

•    Try and find out as much as you can about the groundnut farming business, by searching online or even preferably asking other local farmers or working in a groundnut farm. This will give you an idea of what and what you should be expecting, and how to go about it starting from the planning to the carrying out of the project, harvesting and sales.

•    Then find a suitable location but you have to consider the soil type, its compositions and pH value, to ascertain if it is good for growing or cultivation of groundnuts. In this case, it requires well-drained and loose soil such as sandy clay soil or sandy loamy soil while the normal pH level requires should be within the ranges of 6.5- 7.0.

•    Prepare the land, and add manure or fertilizer to increase its fertility, remove weeds and grasses and till the land very well. Preparing the land makes the crop to grow well without having any unnecessary interference that will limit its growth and yield.

•    In Nigeria, the best time for planting groundnut is around May -June, so it is important to get the land ready before then and try to get a good groundnut seed because that will determine your yield. Also, make sure that the necessary resources from water to fertilizers are available to aid in the timely and effective growth of the groundnut seeds.

•    Just like any other crops, pest and diseases are one of the greatest enemies of groundnuts as they attack the crops within any slightest opportunity, therefore you should be on the lookout and procure the necessary pest control and diseases control chemicals or better using a natural way to control and manage it.

•    Harvesting of groundnuts is just a few months away from when it was cultivated; you don’t to stay long as it takes 4-5months to mature though it still depends on the variety of groundnuts planted.  Note that its availability in Nigeria is at its peak from September to October.