Faced with unpredictable weather conditions, many Nigerians are turning to greenhouse farming technology to increase food production and supplement their income. DANIEL ESSIET reports.
To boost food production, farmers have been in search of crops cultivation technologies that would help them control the climate for their plants 24 hours a day.
This will allow their plants grow strong, healthy and big. One of these is under net houses. Net houses are framed or inflated structures covered with transparent or translucent material large enough to grow crops under partial or full controlled environmental conditions to get optimum growth and productivity. Net house farming, also known as greenhouses is fast gaining popularity among farmers because it enables them grow exotic vegetables, flowers and fruits throughout the year and help to improve the depleting water table. This means farmers can grow crops anytime of the year and make the most use of land. The technology gives plants exactly what they need – the perfect climate, the right amount of light, the right amount of nutrition, exact amounts of water and carbon dioxide and proper ventilation.
According to experts, the yield under greenhouse cultivation can be achieved to the level of 5-8 times as compared to the open crop cultivation which is two times.
Also, it is possible to harvest a single crop round year with minimum additional inputs and higher income can be generated.
Vegetables and flowers grown under greenhouses have given high returns and top quality produced. The potential of floriculture under protected cultivation is huge for global markets.
One of the companies that have adopted greenhouse farming is Vegefresh Company Limited, an indigenous producer of tomato paste. This is to help the company achieve the goals of its National Integrated Tomato Development Programme which has commenced in Ogun and other states of the federation.
The company farms and processes tomatoes. The addition of green houses enables it to produce tomatoes all year round.
Its Chairman, Mr. Samuel Johnson Samuel said the company acquired greenhouses to enable it produce tomato year round and provide raw materials for its tomato processing plants.
Under the net houses, the plants are protected from wind, precipitation, excess radiation and temperature. The other benefits are that crops of good quality and higher yield can be grown, water requirement is very less, while the low labour-intensive method helps in controlling pests and diseases.
Indeed, Samuel is excited about his tomato project having seen the potential of a year-long harvest to service his tomato processing business. Though acquiring it costs some few millions, the facilities provide atmosphere for growth that is unaffected by outside changes.
Due to very little sunlight access, humidity of the fertiliser is maintained, external insects and organisms that harm a plant don’t enter it and plant growth is even due to same climatic condition.
To date, greenhouse farming has proved popular with big farmers and investors, who find it suitable for labour-intensive food production. The facility providers believe greenhouses represent potential growth market for a variety of economical, environmentally technical and ecological reasons and they are taking advantage of this to grow their businesses.
An example is Dizengoff West Africa Nigeria, a member of the United Kingdom Balton CP Group and few of the organisations that have introduced greenhouse farming system into the market.
For the company, if Nigeria has to emerge as an economic power, agricultural productivity should equal those countries, which are currently rated as economic powers of the world.
To this end, the sector needs a new and effective technology which can improve continuously the productivity, profitability, sustainability of the farming system. One such technology is the greenhouse technology.
Consequently, the company is training farmers and entrepreneurs on the use of its greenhouse technology for fresh vegetable production.
The training focused on the production and post-harvest management of vegetables such as tomatoes, pepper and cucumber using the greenhouse technology.
Its Marketing Communications Manager, Humphrey Otalor said the company has over 300 greenhouses across Nigeria.
His words: “Over the past one year, we have engaged well over 200 greenhouse owners through a systemic training, which are both in theory and practical with the aim of helping farmers grow fresh vegetables in season and out of season, as well as helping them understand the different soil topography. With our greenhouses, farmers are able to grow their income levels, by growing fresh vegetable all year round: such are tomatoes, pepper, cucumber and sweet-melon. Also, some use our greenhouse for research purposes.”
Dizengoff greenhouse technology otherwise called ‘Dizengoff Farmers Kit’ is aimed at providing farmers with an all year round technique to produce and increase the yields of greenhouse crops such as tomatoes, pepper, cucumber and sweet-melon as well as provide steady incomes for the farmers. It also involves transfer of knowledge to the farmers to improve the quality of their produce, reduce field losses and ensure higher profits.
Presently, a number of farmers who have adopted the Dizengoff Farmer’s Kit are already enjoying high productivity from the system and most of them believe that with the increased demand of such crops in the market, the Kit, which is now widely being adopted, will help meet the rising demand.
In terms of affordability, Otalor said the greenhouses are affordable and they are also talking to some banks, to provide loans for interested farmers on a single digit interest rate. While the technology has been associated with wealthy individuals, this is changing, thanks to many initiatives to produce low cost greenhouse to support small scale farms in urban and rural areas venturing into tomato and pepper growing.
One of the farmers driving this change is Adewale Okunoye. He is an agric engineer by training. He is developing low- cost greenhouses. Okunoye, Chief Executive, Asher Ventures and Specialities, has successfully cultivated a variety of crops at his greenhouse set up at Ajah,Lagos.
Though cheap compared to others, Okunoye has been able to achieve the objective of cultivating vegetables under a locally made greenhouse which still offer controlled conditions for the growth of different varieties of vegetables. Before he went into farming, he was into building/construction project management.
His greenhouse, made up of low materials can be used to grow tomato, sweet peppers,orange, cucumber and vegetables. Apart from these, it can be used to cultivate varieties of flowers.
Agricultural experts said cultivating fruits, flowers and vegetables in the greenhouse year-round requires maintaining a favourable temperature inside the greenhouse for the plants. He is happy he is able to achieve this.
People aware of advantages of greenhouses have been approaching him to set up greenhouses at their farms and fields.
Okunoye went into greenhouse constructing after quitting a career in building construction. Along the line, he thought of tomato cultivation. But he realised tomato farming is better done through greenhouse. With a greenhouse, he can extend tomato growing season to three crop cycles.
Although greenhouses were available outside the country when he was starting, they were too large and too expensive for rural farmers. He thought of a way out. His words: “I got the idea of using local materials partially from my trip to East Africa in my quest to acquire the capacity to deploy the greenhouse cultivation technology. I took extensive and expensive tours around tomato greenhouse operations and from what I saw, with my background as an engineer, and my experience in construction, I came to the conclusion that I could try something similar in Nigeria.”
After failed trials, Okunoye has produced a perfectly functional type. With all hardwares, it costs just N700,000. To produce for someone, he promised to do it for N800,000. The area of the greenhouse is 200m2. He opted for improvised greenhouses with lower maintenance costs that uses water more efficiently and one that can be easily moved to cut on setup costs.
His dream is to produce a greenhouse for 400,000 naira.
To Okunoye, greenhouse farming has opened a new chapter in his life. He is able to provide food for his family and educate his children. His passion and use of cheap materials is what has driven him to attain success so far.
