Beans are one of the most consumed staple meals in the world alongside rice, cassava, and more, because it is rich in multiple vitamins, minerals, and fibre, making it the ideal healthy meal for any household in Africa. It is widely consumed by over 20 million Nigerians and is exported to over 20 countries around the world where it is very high in demand.
One thing that makes the beans farming business in Nigeria very lucrative is the fact that asides it been used as a staple in homes, it can be further processed into various edible forms like Akara (beans cake), Ewa Agoyin, Beans Porridge, and much more. This further processed use makes it a lucrative venture as most beans farmers get to sell out a lot of their products upon harvest.
But despite the high demand for beans in Nigeria and various other countries, Nigeria still imports a large volume of her beans, leaving a wide opportunity for savvy entrepreneurs to take advantage of to build a large, successful, and recognizable beans farming business in Nigeria:
The beans farming business is the commercial cultivation of beans for local consumption and international trade.
Beans are primarily used as a source of food and can be cooked with or without plantains, yams, and other meals. It is consumed all over the world and is highly demanded in almost every country.
Beans flour is a processed form of beans in powdered form, which is sold in sachets and can be used to quickly prepare meals like akara (baked beans), porridge, and much more.
Beans can also be packaged as can food and used for a number of other different purposes.
These kidney-shaped beans are one of the most common types of beans consumed in homes. They are dark red or white in colour, are proteinous, have heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and iron, and can be included in a variety of meals.
These beans are black in colour and can be mild, slightly sweet, and creamy when cooked. They can be included in soups, salads, and much more.
The pinto beans are one of the best looking-beans. They are named pinto because of their appearance, as they have a maroon-speckled exterior. The Pinto beans are required to be soaked for hours, usually overnight, before being cooked.
The navy beans is also known as the haricot, pearl haricot bean, boston bean, white pea bean and pea bean. It is one of the most commercially consumed beans around the world, and can be very tasty when cooked.
The first step is to get the right farmland to grow your beans on. Be careful to ensure you buy or lease a farmland in areas that do not experience excessive rainfall, as beans do not do well with excess water.
To purchase or lease the farmland, you can do this in almost any part of Nigeria, as beans can grow almost everywhere, as long as its basic soil and atmospheric requirements of moderate water and weather can be met.
You can then go on to clear the farmland, plough the soil, and loosen the earth in preparation for planting.
Next, you should choose what variety of beans you intend to plant. If you’re growing beans for export, you may consider what’s most popular in the international market, and as such, you may be prompted to grow navy beans. But if your market is primarily Nigeria and some parts of Africa, brown kidney beans is the most common that should logically be grown.
Beans mostly don’t require fertilizer because they do well in most soils, and as such, you can quickly move on to planting your bean seeds, which should be done in a depth of at least 2 to 5 cm into the soil for sprouting to occur within 6 days.
You should occasionally weed the soil to produce healthy seedlings and make use of pesticides if the crops appear to be infested by pests.
It is best to harvest beans in dry weather, as a lot of water can be harmful to the crop. The harvest can be done after a period of 60 to 100 days by carefully snapping the bean or removing it from the vine.
After the harvest has been done, depending on the type of growth and stage of growth, it will take between 60 to 100 days after replanting before another harvest can happen.
The last phase of the entire process is to successfully sell your harvested beans crop to your target market. You should look out for buyers who prefer to sign a long-term recurrent supply contract so that you know that for every time your crops are planted, the harvest already has an end buyer, thereby guaranteeing you of your margins.
You can also market your beans in local marketplaces and to international buyers through platforms like Alibaba, and much more.
Beans farming in Nigeria can be a Lucrative and profitable venture, due partly to its vast market demands and largely on your own ability to build a wide supply chain network. If you’re looking for a part agribusiness to venture into, beans farming in Nigeria is a great agribusiness to explore.