With the increasing demand for soursop both locally and internationally, starting a soursop farming business in Nigeria can be a lucrative venture.
Soursop is a fruit that is known for its sweet and tangy taste and medicinal benefits and is used commercially for producing beverages, jams, and jellies, as well as desserts.
This comes in a fleshy, soft, and milky white colour. The juice appears almost like a yoghurt drink, with an acidic, sour taste, and the flesh can be eaten with bare hands, which is sometimes used in making smoothies, candies, fruit juice, desserts, among others.
Soursop starts flowering after three years and fruits the same year; it continues fruiting every other year in great numbers. Their peak period is between May and June, but they fruit all year round. When soursop is matured for harvest, the spines set themselves far apart, and the shiny green colour becomes dull or yellowish-green.
Sursop comes primarily from the southern part of the country. Some middle-belt states like Plateau and Benue also support the soursop plantation in Nigeria. You can carry out soursop farming in a warm, humid tropical region.
As a lucrative cash crop, one can find profits and high yields when investing in soursop. The tree grows rapidly and begins to bear fruit in 3–5 years. While well-watered trees have attained 4.5–5.5 m in 6-7 years and are mostly available year-round in tropical climates.
Capital
You will need a farm land and soursop seedlings to start. According to findings, a seedling cost about N3,500 in the market. If you don’t have the needed land, you may need to buy it. So, if you are planning to plant soursop on an acre of land, you may need about N1.5million. So, on the acre of land, you may need to plant up to 85 seedlings there, which will cost about N297,500 or N300,000, depending on the price of the seedlings.
Returns On Investment(RoI)
Soursop farming can give the best return on investment, as the tree can yield between 60 and 70 fruits in a year. Soursop sells for about N500 per fruit in the market. This means that it is a commercial success, and with beverages, desserts, jams and jellies being favourites amongst companies, it shows there is a market for it.
Profit
Depending on how you market and who you are selling to, a big soursop costs N500 in the market. And you harvest 50 soupsop from a tree, when you multiply that, it gives you N25,000. A situation whereby you have up to 85 trees, that will amount to N2million and above.
Marketing And Sales
The business is lucrative, depending on how you market it. Identify potential market channels for your Soursop products. Develop relationships with wholesalers, retailers, juice manufacturers, or export companies. Participate in local markets, trade fairs, or agricultural exhibitions to showcase your products.
Tip
Harvest the soursop fruit while it is still firm and yellow-green. Do not allow the fruit to soften on the tree. Instead, store firm fruit in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days until it becomes soft to the touch.