According to statistics, approximately 8.5 million metric tonnes of dates are consumed globally each year and countries in the Middle East and North Africa the largest producers and suppliers.
Dates is a flowering plant species of the palm family, Arecaceae, and is cultivated for its edible sweet fruit.
In Nigeria, yields are grown mainly in Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Adamawa and Taraba states.
Although dates are found mainly in the Northern region of the country, starting a dates farming business in any part of Nigeria could be a lucrative business.
Procedure For Dates Farming
Land: The choice of land should be a sandy-loam soil rich in organic matter. The soil should be ploughed to loosen it up.
Planting: Planting dates requires proper knowledge. Any mistake made could be very risky to the yield. You should note that date palms are either male or female palms. Both are needed for the plant to bear fruit. It would take years before the gender of the trees should be known. Therefore, it is better to purchase seedlings in the form of cuttings from existing palms to get the appropriate gender.
In the early part of the year, the male date palms would produce sheaths of pollen. The pollen should be collected and spread over the female flowers once the female flowers start blooming.
Although date trees do not require excess water, the date palms would have to be watered during the developing stage for two years. This would help the date plants to yield plenty of fruits.
Harvesting And Preservation: For the traditional date palms, development and harvest time could take 6 to 7 years while hybrid seedlings take up to 4 to 5 years.
The best method to preserve dates is by storing them in a well-ventilated store. Under such conditions, they could last for more than a year.
Profitability
In Jigawa State, for instance,the net farm income analyses revealed a positive average net farm income of N20, 000-N40, 000 per bunch per year in a season depending upon the variety. Return per naira invested of N150, 000 were obtained from a single tree. A plantation of 1ha which comprises 100 female palms of selected promising variety revealed an income of N8 million per year in a season.
