By Gabriel Ewepu, Abuja

As the unemployment rates continue to soar high amidst the current hardship across the country, which has also led to an increased level of criminal activities, an agribusiness firm, EA Daniels Farm, Monday, urged young people to be self-reliant with cucumber production in 35 days.

In a chat with Vanguard, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, EA Daniels Farm, Daniel Ijeh, explained that the cucumber value chain is left untapped and many youths are not aware of the lucrative business potential it holds, which could give them financial freedom and also make them positively contribute to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, of the economy.

Ijeh also explained how his company ventured into cumber production, which identified the void and gap in the cucumber value chain, and therefore, decided to venture into it, which it is highly profitable based on the right approach and seed used for the cultivation in line with best agronomic practices.

Meanwhile, he said as the demand is very high in the market so also does patronage gives the farmer good profit.

He said: “In my entrepreneurship course with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, United States of America, USA, I learned about ‘void’ and ‘gap’ in a community. Cucumber happened to be a void and gap that needed to be filled in the town where I live.

“After researching, I decided to embark on the production of cucumbers in the town where I live. I filled the void and we are now supplying bigger cities.

“Dry season, from January to March, our yield is usually 75 to 80 tonnes per hectare. In other months, our yield is 110 to 160 tonnes per hectare.

“The variety we grow matures within 35 days after planting, and this leads to a high yield that is good for expected profit.

“We planted about 15,000 cucumber plants on the 26th of February, 2024, and we harvested about 1,100 bags from the farm. The average price per bag is N13,200, which is the farm gate price, and so we have made N14.520 million.

“Meanwhile, we spent about N2.8 million to raise the crop to till the time of harvest, and now our net profit is around N11.720 million.

“The patronage is good and profit can go up to 700 per cent and never below 100 per cent.

He further explained that, “One needs 10,000 seeds per acre. But because of mortality, additional 3,500-4,000 seeds will be needed for replacement.”

On the basics of land preparation to the time of harvest of the cucumber, according to him (Ijeh), “The knowledge areas are marketing, nutrition management, disease management, insect control, weed management, water management, crop mastery, optimization of environmental factors, knowledge of the soil and people management.

“Just as mentioned above plus cultural practices such as staking, trellising, and training the plant upwards. Use of plastic mulch and drip irrigation are yield enhancement measures.”

However, he said the huge potential in the cucumber value chain demands the government’s intervention to boost it to the level of Nigeria exporting cucumber.

“We lost N700,000 two years ago to fake fertilizers. The supplier up till now has not refunded the money. If the government can protect farmers from those that manufacture and distribute fake and substandard fertilizers, I think it would be a great step toward fighting for food insecurity.

“Insecurity is the highest threat to food production in Nigeria. Without government, no one can put an end to insecurity. They are needed in this area”, he added.

Meanwhile, he urged interested youth to come on to the farm for training on cucumber production, “In no distant time we will be doing a practical master training programme that would also be online as well.”