GROWING COCOA FARM WITH STEEM IN NIGERIA

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What amount of time and cash would need to be contributed to get a cocoa farm operational and what are the on-going production costs?

Starting a cocoa farm includes:

• Acquiring the land for cocoa development - this is a cost that will fluctuate generally around the globe and inside a nation. The land must be picked in order to give the best soil and atmosphere for the cocoa trees.

• Building up the estate - the costs required here incorporate clearing the land, planting shade and cocoa trees, pruning, weeding, manure and pesticide applications and developing the required framework, for example, streets, water system trench, nursery and preparing offices.

• Keeping up the ranch - these costs include pruning, weeding, manure and pesticide applications, reaping and post gather preparing.

The biggest cost component in both setting up and keeping up a plantation is the labour. Farm sizes change and along these lines work costs shift, with numerous smallholders working the land themselves instead of contracting workers. So the costs for a substantial etate will be higher than for a smallholder. A review of the case studies on labour usage for the maintenance of cocoa suggested that the mean labour usage, assuming a labourer works 230 days per year, in plantation conditions is 3.37 hectares per man per year. The figure for the initial establishment of the plantation would be a lower number of hectares per man per year.

Money related accomplishment in setting up a cocoa farm requires a fast profit for the underlying speculation and expanding respects decrease the unit costs.

The time taken for setting up the plantation likewise should be mulled over. The land ought to be cleared and shade trees developed before planting the cocoa seedlings; this could take a year. Cocoa trees take 3-5 years to yield a product, with hybrid varieties providing crops earlier. Be that as it may, cocoa trees ought to be gainful for around 25 years.

Production costs differ widely between producing countries and therefore the price at which it becomes unprofitable to grow cocoa will be different for different countries.

Please find below some examples:

Commitment of different farm tasks and contributions to cocoa production costs in Nigeria at current costs

Labour
Weeding 3,970 STEEM
Capsid control 330 STEEM
Black pod control 3,970 STEEM
Other operations 10,140 STEEM

Capital inputs
Insecticides (Capsids) 3,020 STEEM
Fungicide (Black Pod) 5,800 STEEM
Fuel mixture 570 STEEM
Fertilizer 13,600 STEEM
Cutlasses 600 STEEM

Depreciation
Mistblower 710 STEEM
Knapsack sprayer 477 STEEM