10 Tips for Starting Dry Season Maize Farming.

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Dry season maize farming refers to the cultivation of maize during the dry season. This includes sowing corn seeds, maintaining the maize field, and harvesting maize cobs during the dry season. In the southern region of Nigeria, dry season maize farming takes place between October and March. Northern Nigeria practices dry season maize planting between September and April.

Since few farmers plant maize in Nigeria during the dry season, dry season maize farming can be profitable. The number of farmers planting maize in Nigeria during the dry season is relatively low due to a lack of rainfall and water source.

Get started with these tips:

1. Planning

For you to engage in dry-season maize farming in Nigeria, it is important to plan. Planning involves the writing of a business plan and feasibility study. You also need to sort out issues related to financing and availability of capital.

2. Choice of Farmland Site  

You need to get a good farmland for your dry season maize farming. Your soil should be rich in nutrients and not waterlogged. The farmland site should also have good and accessible roads so that your maize produce can be easily transported to the market.

3. Type of Maize Seeds to Plant  

The type of maize seeds to plant is one of the factors to look out for when engaging in dry season maize farming. Some maize varieties can tolerate drought better than others. Hybrid maize varieties are also more resistant to pests and illnesses than open pollinated maize varieties and have higher yields than them.

4. Land Preparation  

Land preparation involves the removal of trees, stumps, and weeds on the farmland. It also involves the ploughing, harrowing, and ridging of the farmland. For dry season maize farming, the soil should be plough several times so that it will be loose. This is because loose soil drains well and this can positively impact your maize crop. Use animals for these tasks for small farms, and tractors for larger farms.

5. Irrigation System  

For dry season maize farming, there are different types of irrigation systems that a farmer can use. Irrigation is needed for dry season maize farming in Nigeria. Examples of irrigation systems include: Drip Irrigation System, Rain Gun Irrigation System, Spray Tube Irrigation System, Thip Irrigation System, Drip Flood Irrigation System etc.

6. Labour Requirement  

You need to sort out labour issues to succeed as a dry-season maize farmer in Nigeria. When sourcing for labourers, engaging the services of 18 years and above farm hands is important. At the end of the season or at an agreed time, pay your labourers the stipulated price for their work.

7. Planting  

Planting of maize in the dry season should be done in September – April. Please note that the time for dry season maize farming in southern Nigeria is different from that of northern Nigeria.

8. Fertilizers  

You should do a soil analysis to reveal the nutrients profile of your soil before engaging in dry season maize farming in Nigeria. There are several types of fertilizer that can be used for dry season maize farming. They are:

  • NPK 15:15:15
  • Urea
  • Potassium Nitrate
  • Calcium Nitrate

9. Pests and Diseases’ Management  

Insects and flies are quite prevalent in the dry season in Nigeria. To engage in dry season maize farming in Nigeria, you need to manage pests and diseases efficiently.

The following can be used to manage pests and diseases in dry season maize cultivation in Nigeria:

  • Fungicides
  • Insecticides
  • Nematicides
  • Bactericides
  • Acaricides etc.

10. Harvest and Marketing  

Harvest maize when they are mature. Grains are usually more expensive when harvested and sold at the tail end of the dry season or the beginning of the rainy season.

In the dry season, the cultivation of maize is quite profitable. It is therefore important to pay attention to these tips for a good yield.

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Frank Altman

Director; Finance, Audit’s Risk Committee Chairman

Pioneer of secondary markets for community development and $3.5B+ in managed funding.

Frank Altman is the founder and first CEO of the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF), USA, where he pioneered secondary markets for economic development loans. Under his leadership, CRF funded over $3.5 billion in loans across 50 U.S. states. He was instrumental in designing the federal New Markets Tax Credit and is an advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Altman is an Ashoka Senior Fellow and the author of A New Capitalism: Creating A Just Economy That Works For All. He brings global expertise in risk management and capital structures to Babban Gona.

Michael Jainzik

Independent Non-Executive Director

Michael Jainzik works as an independent consultant and brings his extensive expertise in the areas of agricultural finance, international investments, risk management and corporate governance. He is currently based in Rome, Italy.
 
From 2001 to 2011, Michael worked as an investment professional at KfW Development Bank, focusing on international debt financing and equity investments in investment funds and banking institutions, mainly in the areas of agricultural finance and microfinance. From 2011 to 2015 he worked as Director of KfW’s office in Windhoek. In this role, he helped manage and develop KfW’s EUR 250 million portfolio in Namibia. From 2015 to 2017, he took on the position of Head of Corporate Development at Access Microfinance Holding, where he was responsible for structuring and leading a merger process between Access Holding and another company.
 
Prior to joining Babban Gona, Michael served as a non-executive director in Access Bank Azerbaijan (2006-2011, Chairman), Belarusian Bank for Small Business (2008-2011), Rural Impulse Fund II Luxemburg (2010-2011) and AB Bank Zambia (2011-2016).
 
Michael studied economics and management at the Universities of Lüneburg and Witten/Herdecke (Germany) and at ETEA – Universidad Loyola in Córdoba (Spain) and holds a Master’s degree in economics and management.

Alhaji Bello Maccido

Non-Executive Director

Over 32 years of executive leadership in corporate and investment banking.

Alhaji Bello Maccido is a distinguished leader in the Nigerian financial services sector. He currently serves as the Chairman of FBN Merchant Bank Ltd. and has previously held board positions at FBN Holdings Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, and Legacy Pension Manager Limited.

He holds the traditional title of “Wakilin Sokoto” and is a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

Alhaji Maccido’s educational background includes an LL.B from Ahmadu Bello University and an MBA from Wayne State University. He is a Barrister at Law (BL) of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and an alumnus of executive programs at Harvard Business School and IMD Lausanne.

Muhammad Sanusi, CON

Chairman of the Board

His Highness Muhammad Sanusi was appointed the 10th Governor and Chairman of the Board, Central Bank of Nigeria on 3 June 2009. He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and also has a first-class degree in Sharia and Islamic Studies from the African International University, Khartoum, Sudan.
 
From working as a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, where he taught Economics, he joined the banking industry in 1985, and by January 2009 had risen to General Manager and Group Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria PLC, Nigeria’s oldest and biggest bank. Mallam Sanusi has been conferred with a National Award of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and has also been awarded the “Global Central Bank Governor for 2010” by The Banker Magazine, a publication of the Financial Times.
 
He was also voted Central Bank Governor of the Year for Sub-Saharan Africa 2009 (an award he won again in 2010) by Emerging Markets, a publication of Euromoney Institutional Investors. In 2011, Mr. Sanusi was named Forbes Africa Person of the Year for 2011. He was also listed by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Kola Masha (Managing Director) Prior to Babban Gona, Kola was a Managing Director and CEO of a major subsidiary in the Notore.

Lola Masha

Co-Founder’s Director

Dr. Lola Masha is a seasoned technology leader with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of mobility, technology, and agriculture. She currently serves as a Partner at Antler, a global early-stage venture capital firm. Previously, she was the Regional General Manager for North, East, and West Africa at Bolt, overseeing strategic operations in a high-growth mobility sector.

Her career includes leadership roles as Director of Trust and Safety at OLX Group (overseeing 30+ markets) and Country Manager for OLX Nigeria. She was also one of the earliest employees at Google Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Masha holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.Sc. from the University of Virginia.

Bukola Masha

Managing Director

First leader of a for-profit social enterprise to win the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.

Prior to co-founding Babban Gona, Kola was CEO of a subsidiary in the Notore Group, where he led a commercial strategy to sell one million tons of fertilizer and raised $130 million in equity.

He has held leadership roles at GE and Abiomed and served as a Senior Advisor to the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture.

Under his leadership, Babban Gona became the first for-profit social enterprise to win the prestigious Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, recognizing the organization’s innovative approach to transforming smallholder farming in Nigeria.

He holds an MBA with Honors from Harvard and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.

Kola Masha

 

Prior to Babban Gona, Kola was a Managing Director and CEO of a major subsidiary in the Notore Group, one of Nigeria’s leading agricultural conglomerates, where he raised US$24 Million to develop an integrated agricultural trading, production and processing business.

Furthermore, he led the development and execution of Notore’s commercial strategy across West and Central Africa, preparing the company to sell one million tons of fertilizer and establish a modern seed business.

He led the effort to raise $130 million in equity and the restructuring of $360 Million in debt. Kola brings significant leadership experience in venture capital, corporate finance, business development, marketing and operations, across four continents with multiple global companies, including GE, Notore and Abiomed. In addition, Kola brings extensive public sector experience as Senior Advisor to the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture.

In recognition for his leadership in driving positive change on the African Continent, he has received several global awards including the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship, a leading leadership institute led by General Collin Powell and appointed to the Board of the African Enterprise Challenge Fund, a $250 Million fund that awards grants and repayable grants to private sector companies to support innovative business ideas in agriculture, agribusiness, renewable energy, adaptation to climate change and access to information and financial services. Kola holds an MBA (Honors) from Harvard and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.