THE RAINS ARE HERE, CALLING ON FARMERS TO RETURN TO THE FARM. #2018 FARMING BEINGS NOW#

Agriculture in Nigeria is a major branch of the country's economy therefore farming is a major occupation in Nigeria.
Statistics as at 2010 had it that about 30% of the country's population were engaged in agriculture.

Research has it that farming starts immediately after the first rain in a New Year and this long expected rain fell today in most part of Nigeria, therefore, it is a wake up call for all farmers to return to their farmlands in preparation for a new farming season.

I'm from the Southern part of Nigeria, here mainly corn and cassava cultivation starts immediately after the first rainfall.

Therefore, I'll be sharing from experience some skills and tips on how to cultivate this crops successfully.

Corn:
This is popularly known as maize and it's propagated by seed.

Steps to cultivation:
a) Clear the farmland
b) Till the soil properly to soften and mix the soil before planting.
c) Apply manure to the soil before planting to avoid direct effect of the manure on the corn plant.
d) Create a hole of about 1 to 1.5 inches deep and 3 to 4 inches apart to avoid congestion.
e) Put about 4 to 5 seeds in each hole, if all germinates remove the excesses and allow about 2 or 3 to grow on each stand.
f) Weed regularly to avoid competition of nutrients with the corn plant.
g) Use pesticides if need be to avoid attack from pest which destroys the plant.
It takes about 100 days to reach its maturity.

Cassava

Cassava cultivation is similar to other tuber crops like yam and sweet potato. It is mostly propagated vegetatively (stem cutting).

Steps to cultivation.

1. Clear the piece of land
2. Till the soil.
3. Create hole of about 5 to 6 inches deep or make ridges if possible.
4. Cut the cassava stem to about 25 to 35cm in length.
5. In cases of the hole method, keep about 3 pieces of the stem in one hole and cover, in cases of ridges, bury each stem in the ridge with about 5 inches apart.
   6). Weed regularly
   7). Apply manure when necessary.
   8). Use pesticides to kill common pest which attacks the plant.
   It takes about 8months to reach maturity.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU AS YOU FARM THIS SEASON