Agricultural development can be equated to the process of expanding the capacity of the farm people and resources within the Agricultural sector in such a way that the sector will be able to play an effective role in accelerating the national output through supplying their total economy with food and fibres appreciably faster than the population growth adds new mouths to feed.
Establishment of Fish feeds production factory is seen as one those endeavours that can contribute substantially to Agricultural development by providing job opportunities, qualitative food (protein) and income for the populace.
Fish feeds constitute more than 70% of the input in fish farming. It is therefore an important input. Every effort must be made to encourage investment in fish feeds production.
The project is seen as one of the opportunities for fish farmers to diversify and at the same time reduce the cost of feeding their fishes as the establishment of fish feeds factory will bring down feeding costs as against buying ready-made ones from shops.
Technical information
Fish Feeds Production involves procurement of ingredients such as maize, groundnut cake, starch, palm oil, fish meal. The ingredients are milled to the powdery form and mixed together in a recommended proportion with water to make it marshy. They are later fed into the pelleting machine for the purpose of getting them into pellets. The pellets are later taken to the dryer for the purpose of drying. Effective equipment and production processing will guaranty the floatness of the pellets in the pond. The more pellets can float on ponds, the better. To establish the project, you need to get a good site, procure and install the machine including the utility items. This is followed by procurement of raw materials and project take-off. Serious minded investors can assisted to successfully set up the project.
Cost implication
N
Pre-Investments: 100,000
Accommodation (Rental) : 500,000
Plant & Machinery : 3,000,000
Utilities/Working Capital : 2,000,000___
Total N5, 600,000
Profitability
The plant has the capacity of producing 200 tonnes of Fish Feeds per annum. Net profit of N300, 000 can be made on every tonne of feed produced. This translates to net income of N60 million per annum. This is another feasible and genuine means of livelihood for Nigerians. Author’s Contact: 08023058045, [email protected]
OLUMAKINDE ONI
