5 Best Crops to Plant This Rainy Season And Make Huge harvest

Pospi Otuson | Possibility Desk

Rainy season in Nigeria usually starts from April to the end of October. It is the season of heightened agricultural activities by farmers. This may be due to the absence of irrigation facilities for dry season farming in many parts of the country. 

This season, also called wet season, is always characterised by low temperature and therefore crops that suit this climate condition are widely cultivated.

Check out the best 5 crops you can plant  during the rainy season even in your compound and make huge harvest.

1. MAIZE

Maize is a valuable commodity that is geographically dispersed across Nigeria and suitable for most Nigerians. It is perhaps the most common staple food in developing countries, providing food for 900 million people earning less than N1000 per day.

The world-wide consumption of maize is more than 116 million tons, a testament to the fact that there is a high consumption of maize globally. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 50% of the population consumes maize while the entire African continent accounts for 30% of global Maize consumption.

As most of Maize in Nigeria is rain-fed, early maize is sown in the North by May/June and March/April in the South for Early maturing Seed variety while Late Maturing Maize variety is sown by July/August. Due to erratic rainfall caused by climate change, farmers are usually encouraged to plant at the onset of rain.

Maize matures very fast, within 3–4 months of planting, the crop is ready for harvest, depending on which stage you want to harvest your crop but then harvesting of early maize is done by May and late Maize is harvested by October.

In Nigeria, Maize farming does not require a handful of training and capital. Once a suitable land, irrigation channel, maize seed and storage barn are available, maize production can begin. 

As one of Africa’s dominant food crop, Maize can be consumed in varied forms such as maize flour for confectionaries, semo (for swallow with soup), as corn beef, feed mill (for animals feeding), as roasted corn, boiled or prepared as porridge. In all parts of Africa, green (fresh) maize is boiled or roasted on its cob and served as a snack.

2. CASSAVA

The best time to plant cassava in Nigeria according to general practice is in April, it can, however, be extended to October. Also, planting is done either early in the morning or late afternoons when the sun is cool to prevent excessive heat on the crops.

Cassava production in Nigeria is extremely simple. The plant is to be placed in trays filled with soil. This is where you stick the cuttings (stems) of the plant and within six months they will grow and turn into pretty big bushes. When the leaves on the bushes start to turn yellow, this means that the harvest is ripe. You can dig bulbs from the soil for eating or selling.

Cassava care is minimal, the plants only need to be watered from time to time. Cassava harvest can reach up to 50 tons per one hectare. The price of root crops in Europe is around 3 dollars per kilo. In addition to cassava tubers, cassava green leaves can be consumed as spices.

3. GROUNDNUT

Groundnut is a crop that has a very high demand because of its usefulness in our economy. Uses of groundnut: can be eating (as fried, roasted or boiled), groundnut oil, making groundnut cake, feed for livestock etc. Groundnut only takes about three (3) – four (4) months to mature.

Another good thing about groundnut is that it can be cultivated two (2) times in a farming season. Now, let us head to the step by step of groundnut production.

4. YAM

Yam is considered the most important food staple in West Africa where 70% of the total yams produced worldwide comes from. Every year, festivals and rituals are carried out in different parts of the region to mark the arrival of the new yam. Apart from these festivals and rituals, there is huge profit in yam farming business. Five hundred by five hundred meters size of farmland could yield you 50,000 tubers of yam which is valued at N10 million ($50,000) at one dollars per yam.

In West and Central Africa tubers are planted between February and April, depending on whether in humid forest or on the savanna, and are harvested 180 to 270 days later. Care is needed during harvesting to minimize damage to tubers that lead to rot and a decrease in market value.

5. RICE

Nigeria is the largest producer of rice in West Africa and the third in Africa after Egypt and Madagascar producing about 3 million metric tons on the average annually, falls short of meeting its local demand which is placed at about 5 million tons.

Rice can be grown anywhere, that is, rice can grow in all the geographical zones of Nigeria depending on the variety, the area of land used for rice cultivation is relatively minute about 2 million hectares when survey puts it that Nigeria has the potentials of cultivating about 5 million hectares.

Remember that the best time for rice planting is in mid-March to mid-April. The rice plants are ready for harvesting after three-four months of planting. Your rice is ready for harvesting when the plant changes its color from green to brown.