By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Plantain, a major group of banana varieties (genus Musa) are staple foods in many tropical areas and it is a great source of starch.
It is highly demanded in Nigeria because they are a rich source of fiber, vitamins A, C, and B-6, and the minerals magnesium and potassium.
For some months, the prices of plantain in Nigeria have increased. A bunch of plantain before now can be bought for N1,000 depending on the size but presently the price, ranges from N2,500 to N4,000, a market survey conducted by NatureNews correspondent in Port Harcourt showed.
This increase in price was one of the reasons that motivated Mr. Emmanuel Nwakwuo, a part-time farmer in Port Harcourt to embark on plantain farming.
In an interview with Nwakwuo, he said: ‘’If you look at the country now, foodstuffs are very expensive in the market and plantain is currently very expensive in the market. Because of this, I discovered that plantain plantation is a good agricultural business that one can embark on.
‘’I have 2 plots of land I haven’t been using. Though in the past years, I planted cassava and some other crops but the yield was not very good and there was a lot of issues disturbing the crops. When I discovered that plantain plantation is a profitable agricultural business I decided to open the land for agricultural business. I started this plantation in March and I planted 130 suckers of plantain along with banana suckers.
Speaking on how one can gain from the business, he said: ‘’I’m expecting profits because I bought each of the suckers 200 naira per sucker. I bought the banana sucker 700 naira each.
‘’In the market a bunch of plantain from the smallest size is about 2000 while bigger sizes can range from N3000 and N4000 respectively. If I harvest about 100 bunches out of the 130 I planted, I will be getting over N250,000 sales.
‘’ Also, after harvesting the plantain you will see that some of them are already having suckers. All these suckers are money and you can also make profit from the suckers after selling them.
‘’Plantain is a one-time crop (you don’t have to replant yearly), it multiplies itself as the African adage says “When a plantain dies, it replaces itself with its offspring.
‘’Once a plantain sucker is planted, it produces at least three more suckers around itself. If your plantain farm is well managed, you begin to earn from the sales of plantain fruit (bunches) and sucker between 9 to 12 months after planting.
Nwakwuo explained that Plantain farming is a one-time investment of which after establishing the suckers, farmers will not have to plant suckers again as a mature plantain tree will have at least 3 or 4 healthy suckers surrounding it.
Giving more reasons to embark on plantain farming, he added: ‘’Plantain hardly dies, even if there is a wild fire outbreak, your plantation will still bounce back as long as the plantain corms still remain in the soil.
‘’Plantain can withstand all harsh weather conditions, just like a desert plant, it has a corm that stores water and nutrient for use at a period of drought. As a plantain farmer, you realize money by selling plantain fruits and by selling plantain suckers.
‘’A mature plantain tree has 3 to 4 suckers surrounding it, after harvesting the fruits and cut down the tree, 2 or 3 suckers will be removed and sold as seedlings for new farmers, 1 sucker will be left alone to regenerate the production cycle.’’
Further speaking on challenges encountered while setting up the farm, Nwakwuo said that weeds and sourcing for good suckers were major challenges.
‘’If you do constant weeding in the farm and apply manure on it they will do well. Since March I have weeded the farm for 3 times. You also need to get poultry drops as manure. I’m happy that all my suckers are doing well.’’