Description
Nigerian agriculture is characterized by considerable regional and crop diversity. Analysis of this sector, particularly the food sub-sector, is fraught with serious data problems. However, the available statistics provide a broad overview of development in agriculture upon which we can make some broad generalizations about its role in economic development and structural change in Nigeria.
In the 1960s, the agricultural sector was the most important in terms of contributions to domestic production, employment and foreign exchange earnings. The situation remained almost the same three decades later with the exception that it is no longer the principal foreign exchange earner, a role now being played by oil.
The sector remained stagnant during the oil boom decade of the 1970s, and this accounted largely for the declining share of its contributions. The trend in the share of agriculture in the GDP shows a substantial variation and long-term decline from 60% in the early 1960s through 48.8% in the 1970s and 22.2% in the 1980s. Unstable and often inappropriate economic policies (of pricing, trade and exchange rate), the relative neglect of the sector and the negative impact of oil boom were also important factors responsible for the decline in its contributions.
On its diversity, Nigerian agriculture features tree and food crops, forestry, livestock and fisheries. In 1993 at 1984 constant factor cost, crops (the major source of food) accounted for about 30% of the Gross Domestic Products (GDP), livestock about 5%, forestry and wildlife about 1.3% and fisheries accounted 1.2%.
One of the food crops grown in Nigeria is Maize. Maize (Zea mays L.), or corn as it is called in USA, has a multitude of uses and ranks second to wheat among the world’s cereal crops in terms of total production. Also, because of its worldwide distribution and lower prices relative to other cereals, maize has a wider range of uses than any other cereal.
Maize can be processed into different products for various end uses at the traditional level and on an industrial scale. While a large proportion of products utilized in developing countries are obtained via traditional processing, industrial processing meets the bulk of the demand in developed countries.
Nigeria has an annual maize production in excess of 10.3 million metric tons and is ranked as one of the top twenty largest producers in the world.
This report examines the financial viability of establishing a corn flakes processing plant in Nigeria using corn flour as the raw material.
Corn flakes are food made by combining corn with sugar, vitamins and minerals to make them as nutritious as possible. For producing the fancy flakes specially designed flaker will be used. At present, corn flakes are popularly known as breakfast food in the world at large and generally taken with milk. Maize is the major raw material used for the manufacture of corn flakes.
The production capacity of the proposed plant is three hundred kilograms (300 kg) per hour of corn flakes and would operate double shifts of eight (8) hours each per day for three hundred (300) working day producing three thousand, eight hundred and forty (3,840 kg) kilograms of corn flakes at eighty percent (80%) of the installed capacity per day.
The plant would use corn flour as the raw materials. Corn meal / flour is a meal (coarse flour) made from dried maize (corn). It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour.
It is used in biscuit and bread production. It can be fortified with Soya meal resulting in a high protein, high-energy food. Maize flour is now used regularly in many households and eateries.
An input output ratio of 1:1 was assumed for corn flour to corn flakes. Though the product (corn flakes) can be packaged in different sizes, for the purpose of this business, the product would be packaged in three hundred and fifty grams (350 g) corrugated casing then ten (10) pieces in a carton. Inside the corrugated cases would be nylon packaging for handling the products.
The plant would come with a one thousand (1,000) MT capacity steel cone base bottom silo, for the storage and preservation of the raw material. The silo would come with a cleaning and transport system that would clean and transport the raw material to the processing plant.
