Irrespective of your present job or trade, you can earn extra money through wholesales of Bitter Kola. Investing in Bitter Kola trade is an encouraging investment because of the many health benefits of Bitter Kola.
For its importance and huge demand, it has become a very expensive and lucrative product to address many health challenges. Moreover, embarking on Bitter Kola farming and selling can be lucrative business because it is highly sought after abroad.
For example, Bitter Kola is a must in many African festivities, while it is also used in the production of drinks (brewery), and in production of many drugs.
Four litres of Bitter Kola can go for N12,000 presently but by year end, its sales must have gone up to N25,000. This is one the best economic trees you can invest in and assured of return on investment.
The seedling can be sourced from the fruits market or from specialised farmers willing to give them out at a little cost. The prices vary between N1,800 to N2,000 for nursery bags plants; N2,000-N3,000 for a small sachet or nylon Bitter Kola pack, while a rubber paint goes for between N26,000-N30,000; even as 50kg bag goes for N190,000 -N300,000, depending on the market. From findings, the plant can grow up between 30-60 metres in height and be ready to yield fruits between 7 and 10 years.
Bitter Kola also known as Garcinia Kola (G Kola) is a species of flowering plant in the Clusiaceae or Guttiferae family. Bitter Kola demands a lot of patience from the farmer because it can take a minimum of 7-10 years before it can grow into fruit-yielding stage, even as it can take 56 days before the planted seed can shoot out from the ground.
Bitter Kola is very common Ondo, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Imo, Ogun, Edo State and some states.
Bitter Kola also known as Garcinia Kola (G Kola) is a species of flowering plant in the Clusiaceae or Guttiferae family. Bitter Kola demands a lot of patience from the farmer because it takes a minimum of 7-10 years before harvesting while 4-5 years with access to enhanced and modern farming.
There are shortages of farmers farming bitter kola compared to the highbred kola nut (yellow/red) which is ready for harvest between 3-4 years. A farmer would certainly be making a lot of fortune investing in this type of high-end lucrative farming as bitter Kola is widely sought after in the international market due to its various health benefits while it is also heavily consumed in the local market with cultural values attached to this plant.
Explaining from his many years of experiences, Mr Wale Adekanbi, a farmer and dealer in cash crops, advised against too much exposure of harvested seed to sunlight or to heat to avoid spoilage.
According to Adekanbi, storing the seed inside sandy soil and jute bags are the best local materials to preserve Bitter Kola seeds.
“Bitter Kola farming is unlike other cash crops as it can take five to seven years for it to grow and yield fruits. A person who is not patient will not be able to stand or wait for years whereas you could have made good money in planting of crops like corn, cassava, even yam. But I can assure you of good returns when the tree start bearing seeds. As a seller, you must learn how to preserve the seeds and you must know ready markets for it,” he pointed out.
