Garri, which is made from cassava, is one of the most common foods consumed in Nigeria. Since garri makes up the dominant part of Nigerian’s diet, engaging in the business of processing this staple food for consumption is a great business opportunity. The purpose of this article is to provide detailed information on how to start garri processing in Nigeria. Read on to the end as we walk you through the process.
How to start garri processing business in Nigeria will be discussed below:
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Is Garri Processing a Lucrative Business in Nigeria?
Before we proceed to discuss the steps involved in starting garri processing in Nigeria, let’s answer the question, “Is garri processing a lucrative business in Nigeria?”.
First and foremost, there is a very large consumption market for garri in Nigeria since it’s a staple food, especially in the South-South and southeastern states. However, Nigerians in the northern and southwestern parts of the country consume garri as well, but in much lesser quantities compared to the south-south and southeastern states. The reason why the consumption of garri is not as high in the northern and southwestern states is because it is consumed mostly as a snack.
Although the consumption of garri is not evenly spread across Nigeria, the fact that garri makes up the dominant part of millions of Nigeria is a telltale sign that garri processing is a lucrative venture. As a garri processor, your potential customers include hotels, caterers, households, garri sellers, boarding schools, and much more.
As a garri processor, you can also have your goods exported to other countries where there is a demand for garri. With a sizeable portion of Nigerians being immigrants in countries in Africa, Europe, and the Americas, you can make good money exporting your processed garri to countries where there is a demand for it.
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How to Start Garri Processing Business in Nigeria
This section of the article discusses all that is required to successfully start a garri processing business in Nigeria.
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Step 1: Source for Capital
Sourcing for the capital to invest is the first step towards starting a garri processing business in Nigeria. The source of your start-up funds could be the money that you’ve saved, contributions from family and friends, loans from appropriate institutions or investor(s).
The capital you should find to start a garri processing business should be enough to cater for the planting stage down to the cost of processing the cassava and packaging the finished product. Your capital should also get you land you would plant on. You may choose to buy outright or lease the land, depending on your budget.
If you do not intend to go through the rigour of getting the cassava stems and planting them, you could opt to buy cassava tubers from large-scale cassava farmers in the country.
Depending on the location and the scope of the business, you may need about N500,000 to N800,000 or above to start a cassava processing business in Nigeria.
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Step 2: Choose a Suitable Land for Planting
If you opt to grow the cassava you will be using for your garri processing business, you will need to get the land on which you would plant your cassava stems.
The best type of soil suitable for propagating cassava is loamy soil. Therefore, keep that in mind when you go looking to buy or lease a piece of land to use to plant the cassava stems.
It is also important that the piece of land you get for propagating the cassava should be close to your garri processing facility. You wouldn’t want to spend a fortune transporting harvested cassava tubers to your processing facility.
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Step 3: Get Essential Tools Used for Garri Processing
There are several tools used during the garri processing process too. These include cassava grating machines, disc mills, granulator, hammer mills and graters. Other essential tools include washers, frying spoons, tripods, gas cookers, sieving machines, heat sealing machines, dryers, and so on.
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Plant the Cassava Stems
At this point, plant the cassava stems on the loam-rich soil of the land you bought or leased. Ensure the stems you plant are healthy.
Depending on the size of your farm, you may do the planting yourself (if you know how to) or hire farmhands to assist you with the planting process. If you are hiring farmhands to help with the planting process, ensure that they have experience in cultivating cassava.
Also, ensure to regularly weed the farm regularly and apply fertilizer to the soil as when due to ensure that you have a bountiful harvest.
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Harvest Cassava Tubers/Buy Cassava Tubers
At maturity (which is usually 9 to 12 months after planting), harvest the cassava.
If you didn’t plant the cassava, it is at this stage that you buy the mature cassava from large-scale farmers in the country. You would commonly find such large-scale cassava farmers in Benue, Kogi, Imo, Nasarawa, and Abia States. Also, most states in the northern parts of the country and parts of Cross River State, such as Ikom, Ogoja, and Obudu, are where you can find these large-scale cassava farmers. To reduce transportation costs, buy cassava tubers from farmers close to you.
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Process the Garri
After harvesting the mature cassava tubers, follow the following steps to process the garri:
- Peel the cassava tubers
- Wash the peeled cassava tubers
- Grind the cassava tubers into flour
- Squeeze and dry the cassava flour
- Fry the cassava flour
N/B: There are available equipment for each of the above-listed steps. Having the relevant equipment will make the work easier and faster.
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Package the Garri
Packaging the finished product, i.e., garri, is the last stage of the garri processing process. However, before the garri is sealed, it must have been left in open and monitored air sacks to avoid dampness and lumping.
Plain sacks are mostly used as the packaging for garri in Nigeria, however, you could go a step further to make your product stand out.