Watermelon Profit Per Acre: How to Get Handsome Profits

Watermelon Profit per acre…

Experienced and newbie watermelon farmers worry about this all the time.

What are the numbers and do they add up?

“Is the profit guaranteed, or will I go home in tears after spending a fortune.”

They ponder about these all day long.

From my experience as a horticulturist…

Here is the answer.

“Watermelon farming is highly profitable.”

It is unbelievably profitable that when you tell some people about it, their response always is…

“You are a liar!”

However, this statement comes with a rider.

To get such unbelievable results….

You must know what you are doing.

Otherwise you’ll struggle to break even or make a profit.

I am sorry to say this, but is the entire truth.

That’s why I’ve written this timely post.

So that I can tell you all about watermelon profits per acre, and how to guarantee yourself amazing profits.

Interested?

Continue reading.

Have these Things and You Are Guaranteed Amazing Watermelon Profits Per Acre

1. The right skillset,
2. Proper yield expectations backed by data and science,
3. Amazing attitude as you are likely to face some unexpected events that can throw you off the radar,
4. Sufficient budget to successfully grow your watermelon right from the beginning of the season to the end,
5. A solid marketing plan.

Number 5 is the most important part of the cherry.

Do it well, and you’ll love growing watermelon to death.

To get started, let us discuss about…

Having The Right Skillset for Growing Watermelon

The good news about this is, “It is simple, and you can learn all about it in one afternoon.”

All you need to know is the life cycle of a watermelon plant, and how to manage it at every watermelon growing stage and you are already 50% successful.

The most difficult part of watermelon farming is:

• Managing people who will be working for you
• Making decisions during unexpected events e.g. Weather changes, disease outbreaks, and any other event.

This should not scare you, as long as you take precautionary measures to handle the unexpected events.

Concerning the issue of the life cycle of watermelon, I have written about it in a separate post.

Come back and follow the link for details.

Proper Yield Expectations Backed by Science and Data

This is another crucial part of watermelon farming that determines watermelon profits per acre.

So what is it all about?

One, is about the watermelon population per acre.

Every acre of land has a maximum population of watermelon plants it can hold comfortably without reduction of yield.

Therefore, when you know what’s the right plant population per acre, you can be able to know the;

1. Amount of seed you need,
2. Cost of the seed,
3. Amount of fertilizer per plant

According to research, one acre can comfortably hold 2,500 plants when spaced at 1-meter X 1.5 meters.

If you’d like to know more about the right watermelon yield per acre, follow this link.

Next is about the number of watermelon fruits a single plant is capable of giving.

If a plant is left unattended/unmanaged, it can produce over 10 small to medium size fruits.

This yield is OK if you are planning to use the fruit at home.

However, to get big marketable fruits, you’ll have to prune the watermelon fruit and allow each plant to have a maximum of 3 fruits.

At this fruit population, each will weigh 9-15 kilos depending on the watermelon variety.

Now that you have this data, you can be able to calculate the expected number of fruit per acre.

Which is 3 fruits/plant X 2,500 plants= 7,500 fruits.

If we factor in loses, and let the number be 6,000 fruits.

Assuming fruit each weighs 9 kilos, one acre will yield 54 tons.

Next is to assume that buyers will offer you Ksh 17/Kilo of watermelon.

If you do the math, it will be 54,000 kilos X 17 Ksh= Ksh 918,000 as gross sales.

Now to get to the actual watermelon profit per acre, you have to deduct your expenses from the gross sales.

Table showing expenses incurred during production of watermelon per acre.

(Please note expenses will vary from farmer to farmer and location to location)

Let us Talk about…

The Attitude You Need to Have as you Grow Watermelon

This job will involve working for long hours in the open field in the hot sun, chocking dust, and in the rain.

Sometimes things will not move at the pace you want, consequently you will feel frustrated.

There are times when the weather will turn unexpectedly.

For example, it starts raining when you are planting and you have to cease labor until the rain is over.

You end up losing time and cash as you have to pay the laborers their cash despite the rain.

Whenever this happens, remember one thing.

You are wonderfully and beautifully made by your creator.

And continue pressing towards the goal.

A Foolproof Watermelon Marketing Plan To Get the Best Watermelon Profit Per acre

This plan starts with the proper timing for growing watermelon.

“What do you mean by this?”

You may ask.

Well, proper timing involves producing when you expect to have a peak demand for watermelon.

It is also about producing when there’s little to no competition from other watermelon farmers.

So how do you produce in times of peak demand?

To avoid getting too much into details about this, yet I have written about it before, please check this post titled:

“What is the best season for growing watermelon?”

In the post, I talk about how to do research about the market needs, and how to work back so that you discover the exact month to grow watermelon.

That said, let us continue with the issue of marketing.

Once you know when to produce, you’ll have to consider who are my customers.

You can sell directly to buyers, or you can sell to brokers.

Selling directly to buyers works when you have small volumes.

However, when you have large volumes, you may have to rely on watermelon brokers.

So how do you find the best broker and how do you get a great price from him?

To find the right broker, you will have to go around the big markets in Kenya like Wakulima, Kongowea, Nakuru market, City market, Eldoret, Korogocho, Parklands County market etc. to meet the brokers.

Talk to them about their willingness to buy your produce and the price they will offer.

In most cases, most of them will be willing to come to your farm for a field inspection as the produce matures.

They will do this to determine the size of your fruit, and if they can make profit selling it.

To guarantee yourself a buyer have a high quality product that is:

Of the right size,

Free of disease,

And in sufficient production volumes.

Do this and I guarantee that watermelon venture would be the most profitable venture you ever undertook!

What are your thoughts about watermelon profit per acre?

Please share them in the comments section below