Description

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is a cultivated tropical cereal grass. It is generally, although not universally, considered to have first been domesticated in North Africa, possibly in the Nile or Ethiopian regions as recently as 1000 BC1. The cultivation of sorghum played a crucial role in the spread of the Bantu (black) group of people across sub-Saharan Africa.

Today, sorghum is cultivated across the world in the warmer climatic areas. It is quantitatively the world’s fifth largest most important cereal grain, after wheat, maize, rice and barley. In Africa, sorghum is still largely a subsistence food crop, but as report will show it is increasingly forming the foundation of successful food and beverage industries in Nigeria.

Nigeria is the second largest producer of sorghum, with the majority of domestic production used for household consumption/fodder. Sorghum is produced in virtually all the states in Nigeria, though some states produce more than others.

Some of states that sorghum in large quantity in Nigeria includes Plateau, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Gombe, Bauchi, Zamfara, Benue, Kogi, Nassarawa and Taraba. The raw materials are also readily available.

Sorghum flour as the name depicts is gotten from sorghum grain which is the grain from a sorghum plant scientifically referred to as Sorghum bicolor. The colour variety of sorghum range from dark brown to red to white with several benefits and flavours associated with each. Statistics shows that Nigeria is the highest producer of sorghum in West Africa and presently ranked as third in the world.

Sorghum is a highly valuable cereal that is mainly produced in the northern belt of Nigeria. Sorghum can be used as a substitute flour in place of other staples and cereal flour. The product is sorghum flour and is to be prepared and eaten as ‘‘swallow’’ which is similar to Semovita, Semolina, Grinded Rice (Tuwo) etcetera.

It contains high protein (9%) compared to other crops like maize, rice and its flour is used in preparation of several staple foods locally and universally. The cereal is processed into flour and fortified with vitamin premix to make up for processing loss. The product is good for both old and young. Also, it can be consumed without ethnic, cultural or religious hindrances.

This report examines the financial viability of establishing a sorghum flour processing plant in Nigeria.
The production capacity of the proposed plant is three (3) tons per day and would operate a shift of eight (8) hours each at 80% of installed capacity for three hundred (300) working day producing about one hundred and twenty (120) tons of sorghum flour bi-monthly with an input: output ratio of 1:0.8.