INTRODUCTION
Cassava flour production deals with the series of activities involved in the processing of cassava tubers to high-quality simple unfermented cassava flour. The desire to reduce dependence on importation and conservation of foreign exchange has increased the Federal Government’s drive to source for local alternatives to partially or fully substitute imported goods. Wheat flour substitution becomes utmost priority especially with the price of wheat in the international market is becoming unbearable.
Research institutes such as International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) has for years researched on developing processed based technology to mechanize and produce high-quality cassava flour. This has led to the development and of the process technology for production of High-Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) suitable for partial substitution of wheat.
FIIRO has demonstrated that bread and confectioneries baked with 10% cassava flour inclusion in wheat flour compared favourably with those baked with 100% wheat flour.
PRODUCTION PROCESS
The basic unit operations in cassava flour production from fresh cassava roots are:
Sorting and Weighing: The tubers are sorted to select the wholesome roots for production. The tubers are then weighed.
Peeling: The weighed cassava roots are peeled manually to reduce high peeling loss associated with mechanical peelers due to irregular shape of cassava root.
Washing: Peeled root is washed with sufficient quantity of potable water to remove sand, dirt and other contaminants.
Grating: The root is grated to cassava mash.
Detoxification: The cassava mash is detoxified mechanically in a mash agitator for a period of time to eliminate the toxic hydrogen cyanide present in cassava.
Dewatering: The moisture content of the mash is reduced mechanically to about 50% to prepare for drying operation.
Granulation: The resultant cake from the dewatering process is disintegrated into fine granules using a hammer mill.
Drying: Granulation process is followed by drying operation to produce cassava flour of desired quality.
Milling: The flour obtained is milled to the desired particle size.
Sieving and Packaging: The flour is sieved and packaged appropriately.
RAW MATERIAL, SUPPLIES, AND UTILITIES
Fresh cassava root is the only raw material for the production of Cassava Flour. Cassava is grown in almost all the states in Nigeria and Nigeria has been rated the highest producer of cassava in the world. The major item of supplies requirement includes factory wears (overall, hand gloves, factory shoe, nose mask), cleansing agents, disinfectants, etc. Electricity, diesel (for generator and project truck), Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) for firing the flash dryer, and water are the major utility requirement.
MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT
The major equipment for the production of Cassava Starch are:
- Hammer Mill Grater,
- Starch Extractor,
- Sedimentation Tank,
- Hydraulic Press,
- Granulator,
- Flash Dryer,
- Packaging Machine and Weighing Machine.
These can be fabricated at FIIRO. The cost of the equipment with a capacity of 4 tonnes of Cassava Starch per day is N11, 570,410.00. This includes the cost of installation.
LABOUR REQUIREMENT
Both skilled and unskilled labour is required for this project. A total of about 42 workers are required for production, marketing and administration.
CAPITAL REQUIREMENT
As estimated by SENCE Agric Ltd, the estimated total initial investment is N36,500,000.00. This consists of the initial fixed capital N27,481,794.00 (including factory building, machinery and equipment, generator, project vehicle, office furniture and equipment and borehole), initial working capital N6,419,972.00 and pre-production expenses N2,598,234.00.
SPACE REQUIREMENT
Two plots of land are adequate for the project.
PRODUCTION PROGRAMME
| Production Days/Week | 6 | |
| Production Weeks/Annum | 50 | |
| Production Days/Annum | 300 | |
| Production Volume/Day | 4 Tonnes | |
| Production Volume/Annum | 1,200 Tonnes | |
| Input-Output Ratio | 5:1 |
PROFITABILITY N’’000
| Total Revenue | 81,824.40 | |
| Total Production Cost | 67,466.16 | |
| Gross Profit before Tax | 14,358.23 | |
| Tax @ 30% | 4,307.47 | |
| NET PROFIT | 10,050.76 | |
| Return on Investment (Year 1) | 27.54% | |
| Payback Period | 3.6 Years |
MARKETING
The market for cassava flour is greenish because only few companies are producing for a population of over 180M. Supply to bread baking companies, restaurant, snack producers, individuals and shops. Advertise on the net and offline advertising platform. Export the product to other countries for good pricing.
CONCLUSION
The ideal method of producing cassava flour is through industrial process. However, you can start small and grow them later. Manual production is very successful during dry season and harmattan because drying will be very fast and fermentation will not have a chance.
WHY YOU SHOULD START CASSAVA FLOUR PRODUCTION
- It can replace wheat more than any other flour.
- Cassava flour has a longer shelf life than wheat. It can last for a year while wheat can stay for only 3 months
- It is more preferred now than wheat because people are more aware of its health benefits.
- Cassava flour producers are few so the sector is yet to be dominated
- Equipment for processing them can be bought locally
- The raw material which is cassava root is readily available
- The demand is high due to our rising population
- It is cheap when compared to wheat. A 50kg bag of cassava flour goes for #10,000 while wheat is #11,500.
- Cassava flour production business is very profitable.
MARKETING
The market for cassava flour is highly lucrative because only few companies are producing for a population of over 250M. Cassava flour supplied to bread baking companies, restaurant, snack producers, individuals and shops. Advertise on the net and offline advertising platform. Export the product to other countries for good pricing.
CONCLUSION
The ideal method of producing cassava flour is through industrial process. However, you can start small and grow them later. Manual production is very successful during dry season and harmattan because drying will be very fast and fermentation will not have a chance.
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How can we help you? senceagric@senceworld.com
References
[i] Culled: Material made available by Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO)
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