Momax3 Moringa farming is the best way to go if you are aiming at Moringa seed production or crushing of seed for oil. If your plan is herbal aspect then your aim should be on leave production. In that case you can go for Mole Moringa or PKM1. Although Moringa oil is also good for herbal production but the cost of production will be high which will invariable affect the price of the end product.
Moringa Leaves yield a lot of tons because Moringa grows very fast per area over a short time. But Moringa leaf and powder seems to be over saturated. Goat can grow exclusively on Moringa so you can plan on raising livestock in your Moringa farm if you are not considering seeds.
The market for Moringa oil is growing every day very soon the oil is going to replace the poisonous substance used by cosmetics industry in producing cream. Moringa oil goes for as high as #8,000-#20,000 per liter depending on the season.
In Ghana 50ml goes for $36 (#11,000) in international market. Moringa Connect is one of the biggest Moringa farm in Ghana and Africa, they have about 2 million trees from various farmers.
Some people plant Moringa primarily for land demarcation or preservation, the next reason is for leave benefit. It is high time as Nigerians we see the economic benefits in Moringa farming and join countries like India and Ghana to make millions out from Moringa. We are blessed with fertile land that supports Moringa farming so let’s take advantage of this.
Momax3 Moringa
Local Moringa seeds are good and can produce 5kg of seeds within a year after some years. But mamox3 starts fruiting in the fourth month and harvest is done in 6 months time.
Momax3 variety originates from India. The MOMAX3 Moringa seeds is a registered variety of Advanced Biofuel Center India
It is not to be directly seeded, nursery operation needs to be carried out.
Advantages of Momax Moringa Farming
- Maintenance is easier It produces higher revenue
- A better and faster turn over
- Momax3 Moringa trees if well maintained will yield up to 1000 pod about 16-19 seeds averagely per pod which is above 5kg per tree in a year.
- The leaves still remains fresh just as was harvested after 2 days.
Land Preparation
Clear the land, remove stumps and plough. Sandy loam is a better soil for planting momax3 Moringa. For spacing and seed planting depth read my post on moringa farming.
Planting of Momax3 Moringa
You can plant directly into the main field or on a nursery bed then transplant them to the main field after 2 weeks of planting. Apart 80% of the seed will germinate, you can replace the non germinated seeds.
Fertilizer Application
Mamox3 Moringa grows faster than the normal local variety and need more nutrients,; water and fertilizer. If there is shortage of water and nutrients the leaves will appear light green in colour instead of deep green.
Although you can grow momax3 moringa with inorganic fertilizer but growing them organically is preferable. If you grow them with inorganic fertilizer it will be difficult to use the seeds produced for organic production. Organic commands premium price in the international market. It is the only way to take advantage over the Indians who are high competitors. They sell their inorganic Moringa seeds very cheap because of the economic scale. Organic seeds are higher in price about 40-80% above inorganic.
Inorganic fertilizer requires truce ability that is you have to provide the source of your seeds and demonstrate if it is organic or not before you can get organic certification.
Fertilizer should be applied after germination. If it is inorganic, round the fertilizer around each plant, NPK 15:15:15 or 20:10:10.
Weeding/Irrigation
Weed momax3 moringa farm early, don’t allow grasses compete for the plants food. Carry out weeding twice or thrice a year.
Irrigate the farm after every 10 days especially when there are no rains. During raining season if it rains consistently there won’t be any need to water them. Too much of water is a problem to momax3 Moringa because it can make the flowers to abort.
The root of Momax3 Moringa tree has tubers attached deep into the soil and may likely survive dry season without irrigation. But for uptimum growth water them using discretion.
Pruning in Momax3 Moringa Farm
Remove the centre of the plant to allow more lateral branching. Pruning is to be performed according to instruction
Prune from the top of the tree to limit the height. Do not prune after 3 months to allow the setting in of flower. Constant trimming will result in more branching, shorter height and more pods. Momax3 is self branching the more the branches, the more seeds it will produce.
Harvesting
Moringa harvest time is between January and December but it can fruit anytime of the year considering the time of planting. Harvest is twice a year.
Yield in Momax3 Moringa Farming
A tree of momax3 moringa will yield 0.5kg for the first year then 5kg or more after 2 years. So for the first year it will be about 2 tones per hectare. Also for the first year the pod to be produced per tree will be between 300-500 pods.
Marketing
Marketing of Moringa products especially seeds and oil is not a challenge. If you have Moringa seeds in bulk dealers will come and buy them off. Middlemen also go about scouting for the seeds to buy. They buy both in small and large quantities and transport them to Kano where they sell to Chinese and Indians for export.
Current Price of Moringa
The current price of Moringa in the local market is between #1,800-#2,000.
Profits in Momax Moringa
Costs of Setting Up Momax3 Moringa in a Hectare of land.
- Land clearing: it is not fixed, it depends on the amount the charge per plot, acre or hectare in your locality.
- Irrigation: you can dig borehole or well depending on the size of the farm.
- Fencing: you can use wire, blocks or jatropha plants to construct it. But fencing with jatropha will cost less. You have to plant jatropha on time if that is what you are using for fencing because it takes time to grow. So plant them before you plant Moringa to avoid invasion by intruders example cattle.
- Momax seeds for a hectare including the cost of transportation is #450,000 for 1kg. This 1kg can take two hectares of 5 acres. The least order for momax3 Moringa seed is 1kg which is about 3200 seeds. An acre will take 640 seeds at 2.5mx2.5m spacing.Germination rate is 80-90%. A hectare will take 1660 trees
- Let’s assume Land clearing for an hectare is#200,00
- De-stumping #20,000
- Ploughing ##25,000
- Planting and labor #100,00
- Let’s say the cost of planting one hectare is #1,000,000
- 5kg x 1660 trees =8300kg
- And 1kg of seeds is sold for #2,000
- Assuming you sell at #1500
- 1500×8300=#12,450,000
- You will gain more if you sell at #2,000 for 1kg
Other Moringa Varieties
PKM1 Moringa: is a very good variety for those whose interests are on Moringa leaves and powder production.
Mole is another variety, its projection is said to be about 5 times higher than that of PKM1
Moringa Oil Uses
- Moringa seeds are crushed and extracted into Moringa oil for biodiesel or cosmetics.
- For cosmetics it can be applied directly to the skin.
- For cream and soap making
- Moringa oil helps in weight loss
- It has been confirmed that Moringa oil when added to any cooking oil makes it rancid proof. Moringa biodiesel is one of the best non feed stock oils.
Conclusion
Momax3 moringa is one of the best for now in terms of seed production. So far few farmers have already cultivated them in Nigeria. We have one of the farms in Kaduna, Kogi.
