Mrs. Atong James, a 38-year-old farmer residing in Jos North local government of Plateau State, has said that she makes brisk money from farming to take care of her family.
She said that at the moment, she is not just a farmer but also an employer of labor. She paid laborers who work on her farm between N1000 to N1,500 daily.
in 2006, Aton graduated from the College of Health Technology Zawan and now works as a nurse in Jos.
She owns a farm along the Lamingo area of Jos, the Plateau State capital. She said she had been farming for about 13 years now and making considerable earnings.
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“We usually go to the farm as early as 7 am and close between 4 pm and 5 pm. Even if it is planting season, we don’t usually stay too long in the farm, except we are planting Irish potatoes, which take time because we have to dig the soil to put seeds before applying manure.
“By and large, I thank God for people (young women) who work for me on the farm because they are always committed. And since that is my business now, I have to also be very committed to the work by getting involved and coordinating the activities very well.
“I empower my workers to the best of my ability. And by working for me they are also learning how to farm. Some of them have started their own farms. That is an achievement.
“So, those who work for my benefit in many ways. During harvest, I usually give them considerable produce to go home with, but some of them will ask for monetary value instead,” she said.
According to her, among the crops she cultivates, maize is easier because she does not usually spend too much money on cultivating it, unlike other crops like Irish potatoes, which seedlings are very expensive. She, however, said it eventually brings more income at the end of the day. After maize, she said, another easier/cheaper crop was onions, adding that she sometimes prioritizes since she does not get support from anywhere.
