How to Practise Rice Farming in Nigeria

How to Practise Rice Farming in Nigeria
Image Credit: Deccan Chronicle

Statistics have revealed that rice is the food staple with the highest rate of consumption in West Africa. Since Nigeria is
unarguably a West African territory, a Nigerian farmer has thousands of
concrete reasons to invest in rice farming.

Rice is one of the fastest-selling food staples in Nigeria
and many other countries. Both the rich and the poor consume rice and this
constitutes the reasons why you don’t have to bother about the sale of your
rice after harvest. If you have thought it right to start practising rice
farming
in Nigeria, this article will guide you on how to go about with the
business.
Secure a Suitable Piece of Land

This happens to be one of the core requirements for rice
farming
simply because rice is a crop that grows well only in certain regions.
Traditionally and according to experts, rice grows better in swampy or
naturally-irrigated areas. Choosing a swampy soil is very beneficial because
you won’t need to spend heavily on irrigation.
Choose the Suitable Rice Seeds

Whether you believe it or not, the volume of rice production
you’re bound to harvest largely depends on the seeds cultivated. If you want a
robust volume of production, endeavour to choose the best option from the
variety of rice seeds. If you want to emerge as a productive rice farmer,
you’re encouraged to manually select the best rice seeds with the potential of
germinating quickly. Some local rice farmers usually end up with meagre rice
production just because they fail to decide on the suitable rice seeds to
select.
Plant the Chosen Seeds in Seedbeds

One way to quicken the rate of rice germination (and even
improve rice yields) is to set up seedbeds for your rice seeds. Also, another
good thing is to do soil solarization if you can afford it. Briefly speaking,
soil solarization is a practice that helps to prevent the effects of soil-borne
diseases which can hinder the growth of rice seeds. By way of practising soil
solarization, you can spread a transparent polythene layer across the
soil. Doing this will heat up the soil and prevent the effects of soil-borne
diseases.
Weed Control and Application of Herbicides

Weed control is needed and it may come after 60 days from
the period you transplanted the rice seeds. In the practice of weed control,
farmers use herbicides which help to terminate the growth of weeds. Before your
rice is due for harvest, weed control can be done twice. Also, many rice
farmers usually apply fertilizers after a 30-day period from the time of
transplant.