"PAssion, Courage and Determination" - A Nigerian Farmer's ingredients for success
Edo State, Nigeria
Mr. Andrew Ukhuegbe is a cocoa farmer from Edo State in Nigeria. After working as a driver for a government agency for nearly 20 years, he retired in 1996 and began growing cocoa the following year. His father had been a cocoa farmer, and Mr. Ukhuegbe had learned from his father as he was growing up. In 2001, he purchased a 1.5 hectare cocoa farm along with 3 hectares of uncultivated farm land. He planted the uncultivated land with improved seedlings from the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria’s seed garden in Ifon, Ondo State and began to gradually replant the older farm. Then in 2003, he purchased another cocoa farm of approximately 2 hectares.
Speaking about his farming practices at that time, Mr. Ukhuegbe says:
I was just doing the farming as I thought it was supposed to be done; nobody was ready to help anybody. All they were concerned about was the money they realized from sales, i.e. how much they were making from the farms. Meanwhile, the farm was being infested with black pod, mistletoe, and mosses. Pruning was not considered an important activity; we were not keeping adequate records of farming operations. Then I was spending over 356,000 naira [approximately US$2,359] on the farms on labor alone (harvesting, clearing, etc.) and 18,000 naira [approximately US$119] on chemicals. At the end of the year, I was harvesting about 32 bags of cocoa from all the farms which fetched me about 568,320 naira [approximately US$3,767] only.
He then continues by describing the impact of the Farmer Field School (FFS) training:
I was introduced into FFS in 2006, and the school started fully in 2007. You know, I did not waste time. I was applying all the things we were learning in the school on my farm and behold [laughing], there was a great improvement. I pursued my farming with passion, courage and determination. In the first year of adopting FFS practices, I harvested 51 bags of cocoa from the farms which gave about 1,320,900 naira [approximately US$8,756]. I continued with the practices, and in 2009, I got 21 bags from only one farm and from all the farms I got 73 bags of cocoa which gave me about 4,095,722 naira [approximately US$27,151]. This is after the costs of labor and chemicals were deducted. When I checked my records, because we were taught how to keep records at FFS, I saw that I spent 136,000 naira [approximately US$901] on labor and 6,800 naira [approximately US$45] on chemicals – even though I did not finish the chemicals I bought last year.
Oh STCP-Nigeria, I thank you! I have been able to fence my old house with a gate and dug a borehole. In 2009, I built a block of two flats, dug a borehole for the two flats, and bought myself a Hilux pickup van. That’s not all. I bought a 7 KVA generator and expanded my wife’s business. My lifestyle has really improved; my children are living better than before, and I know since sales are still ongoing, more money is still coming.
After our training in planting, replanting and diversification techniques last year by the man from STCP-Ghana, Richard Asare, I have started raising a small nursery at my backyard for my use. I’ve been able to assist other farmers by showing them how to prune their farms. I even help others to prune, initially, they get angry, but when they see the results they come back to thank me. I sincerely want to thank STCP –Nigeria, who has exposed me to FFS, which has helped to improve my lifestyle, farm production and cocoa quality. I really feel happy to be an FFS facilitator.
WCF thanks IITA/STCP Nigeria for contributing this story.