What is fast maturity period?
Maturity period in farming refers to the total period between planting and harvesting or birth and slaughter weight in poultry and livestock. A fast maturity period means that crops or animals are able to mature in under 4 months after planting, birth, or hatching. Most fast-maturing crops and animals are in high demand in Africa. A fast maturity period enables farmers to grow them more than once a year.
Why should you choose a farm with a fast maturity period?
A crop or animal with a fast maturity period matures in under 4 months. Therefore it is possible to farm such crops or animals three times a year. However, for crop farming, the soil needs to regain lost nutrients after a growing season. Therefore, these crops can be rotated with other fast-maturing crops of a different family. This aids in breaking the cycle of pests and diseases.
Fast maturing crops or animals give farmers a fast return on investment if all the proper management measures are followed. Farmers can achieve high profits after a minimum of 60 days of farming fast-maturing crops and animals. Farming these crops and animals represents efficient utilization of land.
How we determine our top Farms with a fast maturity period
We determine our top farms with a fast maturity period on the basis of the following factors;
The duration taken to reach maturity
Duration in the seedbed
Top 5 Farms with a Fast Maturity Period
Irish potatoes enjoy very high consumption rates in Africa. It is regarded as one of the most important staple foods on the continent together with maize, rice, and wheat. Farmers are able to meet the demand for Irish potatoes because of the crop’s fast maturity period.
Irish potatoes take between 70 days to 100 days to mature. The maturity period largely depends on the variety you choose to plant. A variety like Shangi takes 80 to 90 days to mature while Tigoni and Kenya Chaguo take 90 days.
Learn more about Irish potato farming opportunities in Africa.
Watermelons are available on African markets throughout the year. One reason why this is so is that watermelons only need between 60 days to 120 days to reach maturity. The maturity period is determined by the variety. Sugar Baby watermelon is the fastest maturing variety with a maturity period of 60 days. Other varieties like Sukari F1, Sunday Special, and Crimson Sweet take 90 days.
With these short maturity periods, it is possible to practice crop rotation between watermelons’ two planting seasons. Crop rotation enables the soil to reclaim nutrients and also breaks the cycle for watermelon pests and diseases.
Learn more about watermelon farming opportunities in Africa.
Cabbages are one of Africa’s most dependable vegetables alongside kales. Cabbages are fast-maturing vegetables, only requiring 60 to 110 days to reach maturity. Before cabbages are planted in the field, they are developed in seedbeds for one month.
The maturity period of cabbages depends on the variety. Some varieties take longer than others. Gloria F1 takes 80 to 85 days, Sunny F1 takes 70 to 75 days, while Pruktor F1 takes 80 to 90 days.
Learn more about cabbage farming opportunities in Africa.
Mushrooms
Technically, mushrooms are not plants but fungi. Our classification of mushrooms as crops is based on the fact that they can be grown in an almost similar way as crops.
Mushroom farming is one of the least explored farming ventures in Africa despite its enormous potential. It is among the top fastest maturing crops that you can grow. Mushrooms only take two months to reach maturity and be ready for harvest. With such a short maturity period, mushroom farmers can have up to 5 mushroom production schedules in a year with a few breaks in between.
Cornish Cross is a broiler chicken breed that was specifically developed for meat purposes. It grows very fast, achieving up to 2.5 kg to 3 kg in 2 months only. To put this into perspective, other chicken breeds take an average of 4 to 5 months to reach slaughter weight.
Farmers purchase Cornish Cross chicks that are one day old from chicken breeders. The biggest expense in rearing these broilers is usually on feeds. To be able to rhea market weight at 2 months, this breed is fed on high rations of nutritious chicken feeds.
Learn more about broiler chicken farming opportunities in Africa.
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