I visited a Watermelon Farm || Look What I Found

Greetings
Friends and friends of farmers. My name is Precious Uzomah and I'm here to share my experience when I visited a friend's watermelon farm.

^{The farm land}
Watermelon is a popular fruit which is grown in different ways all around the world and enjoyed by people young or old. My friend told about his farm but I didn't know where it was. He has been a farmer for years and have cultivated crops which locally does not grow or do well in this part of the country (Uyo, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria.)

With his technique and experience on seeds and planting, he has succeeded in planting several crops such as, cucumber, tomatoes, pepper, yam, groundnut and others seeds that are known to grown mostly in north part of the country.

^{Method of cultivation}

He is using the drip irrigation method to constantly water his crops which:

Saves time: It saves the farmer the time to water his crops at all times especially during the harmattan period.
Saves energy: This method saves him the stress of coming to the farm day and night to water it,and also saves manual labor.
Saves power: This method does not use electricity like the sprinkler irrigation system.

Although some of the seeds he planted died due to improper storage of the seeds, he is wetting and ploughing the soil, preparing them for planting of the new, well treated seeds. Showing his passion for planting

^{The farm}

Why Watermelon?

You might be wondering why he chose to cultivate watermelon during this period of harmattan. With a good soil, temperature, water, techniques and proper care, watermelon is one of those crops that can grow all year round in tropical areas.

In Nigeria, Watermelon is of the most credible cash-crops along with tomatoes, yam,cucumber,etc. and it is simple to cultivate as long as there are these three factors; temperature, moisture and rich soil.

^{This is me by the farm}

The land of Akwa Ibom is rich in nutrients and its people are known for cultivating cassava, making garri (also known as cassava flakes,) fufu and palm oil. Therefore, introducing these other crops to the economy or market rather relying on the Northerners, would make the state grow and increasing its gross profit.

^{The view of the watermelon farm to regular farmlands}

During this period, cassava farms have been harvested the first time and farmers waiting for the first or second rain of the year to start cultivation. The view of the two farms lands standing side by side shows a huge difference.
The watermelon farm looks much better and shows how much effort and care the owner has put in to grow his crops.

Conclusion

It was an amazing experience to have visited this Watermelon farm this morning. I learnt something great from the drip irrigation. One can start a business from a small piece of land with the right seeds and techniques.
Would you start or resume farming this year?

Camera Details: Redmi Note 9s

48mp quad camera

Main Camera

48mp wide
5mp ultra wide
2mp dept sensor
2mp macro sensor

Cc. @mattsanthonyit