Ginger Farming Business Guide

COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS FOR GINGER FARMING/ACRE

S/No	Item Description	Quantity	Unity Cost/Ugx	Total
	Variable Costs
1	Land Hire/Acre/Season	1	250,000	250000
2	Land clearing/Removing tree stumps	1	150,000	150,000
3	Ploughing/Acre/Tractor	1	250,000	250,000
4	Harrowing & cleaning up. Manual	1	300,000	300,000
5	Ginger Rhizomes/Kg	800	4,000	3,200,000
6	Labour at planting. Manually/Men	30	10,000	300,000
7	Foliar Fertilizer – Combination	1	250,000	250,000
8	Coffee Husks / Bags	200	10,000	2,000,000
	Other inputs			0
9	Herbicides/litters	3	13,500	40,500
10	Insecticide/litters	4	40,000	160,000
13	Fungicides/ Mancozeb Powder/kg	50	14,000	700,000
14	Labor; Weeding and spraying/ Multiple times	1	2,400,000	2,400,000
15	Harvesting, 30 men	30	10,000	300,000
16	Supervision and administration	2	200,000	400,000
17	Earthing Up/Okutemera	2	300,000	600,000
18	Miscellaneous	1	200,000	200,000
	Total Establishment Cost			11,050,500
	Returns
	Bags (100kg each)	85	280,000	23,800,000
	Net Profit before Taxes			12,749,500

NOTE1;

1. VARIETY – CHINESE GINGER,
2. Land Area – Acre. For hectares consider (1 Hectare = 2.4Acres)
3. Spacing considered – 1ft × 1ft, Max plant population – 1200 plants
4. Seed must be over 12 months old, pest and disease free with a minimum of 3 eyes
5. Pregerminated seed guarantees germination success by over 90%
6. Ginger requires a period of 6-8 months to reach harvest maturity
7. The prices per bag fluctuating between Ugx. 200,000 and 400,000
8. Seed quality, Land Preparation+ Weed management influence yield by over 70%
9. Ginger is a heavy feeder and therefore needs a reliable source of nutrients

IMPORTANT DISEASES

	Signs	Causes	Treatment
Rhizome Roots	Localized Lesions on the rhizomes translating into wilts and drying of the crop	Fungal Disease   Spreads via -Infected seed or plant tissues especially un treated compost manures   -Pathogen may exist in the soil and effects accelerated by logging of water in the root zone	Carbendazim Fungicides.   Application Drenching the affected soils Regular foliar applications
Blights	Yellowing of leaves	Fungal Disease   Spreads Wind or water	Mancozeb powder – Prevents further spread.   Use metalaxyl to treat
Spots	Spots on leaves,	Fungal/Bacterial   Spreads via Air or water or pruning tools	Remove infected plant and carefully transfer them out of the garden   Apply copper-based fungicide Thiophanate methyl

Note; Weeds can lead to over 50% loss in yield if not managed properly and timely.

GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE GARDEN

LAND PREPARATION	AT PLANTING	2 MONTHS ON WARDS
Time Required: 1month minimum   Site selection – Brown Sandy loam soils are preferred.   Clear any vegetation (apply a herbicide) and remove tree stumps   Plough the soil preferably using a tractor for a deep tilth.   Allow the ploughed soils a minimum of 2 weeks prior to secondary ploughing   Primary ploughing should be done during the dry season to allow weeds to dry, destroy any nests of the pests.   Secondary ploughing should be done carefully to remove any debris, and give the soils a finer tilth	Plan to plant one month to the start of the rains since the plant needs sufficient levels of water   Plant the seed 4 to 6 inches deep with the eyes facing upwards or horizontal but not down ward and cover the hole to the brim to avoid water logging on top   Apply a minimum of 200-250 bags of coffee husks, per acre immediately after planting and allow the garden to set for a month   AVOID PLANTING IN THE RAINY SEASON. IT LEADS TO UN                              NECESSARY COMPACTION OF THE SOIL BY THE PLANTING TEAM.   AVOID COFFEE HUSKS THAT HAVE TURNED BLACK OR BURNED.	6 – 8 Weeks after planting remove weeds. (a dilute glyphosate would do a great job)   Spray the garden at 10 days interval from 2 to 6 months with, -Fungicides preferably mancozeb powder and or metalaxyl   -Insecticides, preferably systemic ones like acetamiprid.   In extreme cases of pest attack, use profenofos or Dimethoate (be informed that these products are banned in foods and should not be used more than once if used)   Fertilizer: Supergro + Vegmax + Micro elements (Micro food for root tubers from Bukoola Chemical industries)   Earthing Up 1 – Done at 2months. During this stage, also apply N.P.K granular fertilizer   Earthing up2 – Done at 3 – 4 months to cover the exposed rhizomes   After 6months, manage the pest and fungal infections only at intervals of 2 weeks until it is 8months hence harvest

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NOTE2

1. Avoid using the same insecticide or fungicide over and over again even if its very effective because this shall cause a buildup of resistance among the insect pest or pathogen respectively over time and the thus the insecticide becomes less effective.
2. Avoid under dosing or over dosing during mixing and application of fungicide. This shall lead to resistance of pathogen to the active ingredient overtime. Observe recommended rates as prescribed by the manufacturer and observe post-harvest intervals.
3. Avoid using strong insecticides or fungicide in the early months of production because you shall need them along the way as the garden grows after the insects or pathogens have built resistance and multiplied.
4. Remember to protect yourself and those you are working with on the farm by wearing protective gear on the whole body. Similarly, ensure that you dispose off used bottles and containers properly to avoid contamination of water bodies and the environment.
5. Incase of further consultation on this subject, check out our online platforms on facebook , youtube and Linkedin or reach our senior agronomist on whatsapp +256 704133983.