Investment Opportunity in Cassava Production and Garri Processing.

Cassava is a seasonal crop which is grown for profits and can be planted and harvested within 3 to 7 months.
Cassava has been endorsed as the major source of great boost to the economy. Tapping into the cassava farming business will take you where you wish to be within a few years, considering the large space of virgin land available for cash crop farming in Nigeria and West Africa and it doesn't take much to start it. All you need is determination and some start up capital.

There are lots of funding opportunities for people that wish to start up a cassava business as governments is becoming increasingly interested in agriculture and they are ready to lend a helping hand to everyone willing to go into partnership with the laid down policies in favour of agricultural related businesses.

Once you are set and determined to start planting cassava, the next thing is to source a large scale of farm land, enough to explore your target plantation. Every plantation needs basic planting technology and tactics. You must always remember to subscribe to different associations and government bodies which will help you grow your farming business

Market for cassava products.

There is high demand for cassava product in Nigeria and most West African countries. Cassava tuber is used in producing several popular foods and this alone makes it to be in constant high demand everywhere in Nigeria and most African countries. The following are some of the by-products of cassava.

Garri: Garri flour can be taken with either cold or warm water and it is a common food and snack in most Nigerian homes.

Bread flour: Another cassava product is the bread flour. Bread flour allows producers of bread and other pastries to bake quality bread cheaply and sell to target customers.

Akpu: Among the products of cassava is what they call Akpu (Fufu), this you will see in every restaurant or households in Nigeria or other parts of Africa like Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic and host of others. It is usually taken with soup as balanced diet. It is of high demand in most markets across Africa.

 Industrial starch: One can also get very good starch from processed cassava. Cassava starch can be used for industrial laundry by dry cleaning firms.

Nothing in cassava is a waste product. The peeled white tuber can be used for what some tribe call wheat flour. It is usually pounded and processed after it has been dried and fermented, and then it can be thoroughly stirred in hot water. The other part is the peel. It too is not wasted, as it can be given to livestock’s like Goats, sheep and pig.

For those planning to start up a cassava plantation business, it is also recommended to consider adding garri processing to it.


Production of Garri from Cassava.

 The production of garri from cassava is done in these simple steps

1          Peeling and washing cassava root or tuber.

2          Grating cassava roots into mash.

3          De-watering and fermenting mash into wet cake.

4          Sieving wet cake into grits and roasting grits into garri.

5          Bagging and storing the garri.

 The machines needed to start up a garri processing business include.

 
1. Grater:  This machine, which grinds the peeled and washed cassava into a pulp or mash, can process up to 4 tons of raw cassava in one day.
2. Presser:  This machine comes with a 30-ton hydraulic jack and does an easy job of squeezing all the water out of the mashed cassava.

3. Sieving machine:  This is the machine that separates the fibre/lumps before frying.

4. Fryers: There are basically two types of fryers - mechanical and metal trays.

5. Peeler: While the traditional method of hand-peeling cassava is still useful, the peeling machine reduces waste, saves time and labour, and does more work in a short time.

 Cassava production and garri processing business is a highly profitable venture with comparatively low start-up cost. You can start the business with as little as three million naira or even less.

 

By Onyinye Orabuike