A Proposal on Entrepreneurial Alertness and Sustainable Growth of Garri Processing Enterprises in Benue
Objectives of study
The overall objective of this study is to assess the economics of “garri” production in Ekiti State, Nigeria. To achieve this overall objective, the study considered the following specific objectives,
- To examine the socio economic characteristics of “garri” producers in Ekiti State.
- To determine costs, returns and profit by categories of “garri” producers in the study area.
- To identify the factors influencing gari production in thestudy area.
- To examine the resource-use efficiency for “garri” producing enterprises in the state.
- To identify the problems militating against “garri” production in the study area.
Literature Review
Cassava Production in Nigeria
Cassava (Manihot spp) is one of the major Root crops in Nigeria. Cassava produces bulky storage roots with a heavy concentration of carbohydrate of about 80% (Coursey, 1973). It is about the only crop whose production cuts across all ecological zones (Ersado, et al., 2004). Cassava was introduced in Nigeria by returnee slaves from America. It performs so well in the country that Nigeria has become the world largest producer having overtaken Brazil and Thailand (FAO, 2006). Since 1990, Food and Agriculture Organization has consistently affirmed that Nigeria has been witnessing a steady increase in the level of cassava production both locally and internationally (FAO, 2008). Boma (2004) emphasized that government should come up with favorable policies that will encourage Nigerians to go into cassava production and assist in overall pricing of the product so as to make it worth the labour put into its production.
Importance of Cassava
Cassava, just like yam, is a root and tuber crop. It has underground roots which can be consumed by man and livestock animals after processing. It has other advantages over yam, in that it can grow in relatively poor soil and in low rainfall area. The root is also rich in carbohydrates. It is propagated by stem cuttings which are planted from March to September (Sasore, 2005). In spite of the fact that there are about 8000 plant species of cassava of which about 300 have been domesticated for use in food by man, we in the tropics decided to adopt the most toxic of cassava as our staple food crop due to tradition. Because of our tradition of eating starchy roots and tubers of various kinds, it has been necessary to eat even the toxic ones, particularly during the hungry season (Bruijn, 1973). Gari is the most popular of the cassava products and the sequential processing takes place from one to seven days (Sanni, 1994).
The importance of cassava in the food basket of many families in Africa has significantly increased due to several factors. Some of these factors include declining purchasing power, poor yield of other crops due to depletion of soil nutrients (FAO, 2006). Cassava appears to be the major staple food that matches population growth. It has untapped genetic potentials which can be exploited through adoption of new improved processing technologies. Cassava with potential supplements can substitute for coarse grains in livestock feeds and partly meet the rapidly rising demand for feed grains in developing countries (Sanni, 1994). Cassava has market potentials in pharmaceutical wood, textile and paper industries. It has been reported that cassava root meal can replace maize completely in the diet of pullets, cockerels and pigs (Nestle, 1973).
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The researcher will use quantitative research design because it enables the researcher to extract the information from primary data sources. It also helped to describe, examine and conduct a statistical analysis to test the opinion and develop the conclusion of the research (Beryman & Bell, 2003).
Sampling Techniques
The multi-stage sampling procedure will be used because of the heterogeneous nature of the study area. Data mainly from primary sources will be collected from Four Local Government Areas which will be purposively selected out of the sixteen Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Benue state. In the second stage, five towns/villages will be randomly selected without replacement from each LGA. The final stage will involve random sampling of five producers from each village /town making total of 100 commercial gari producing enterprises. The use of primary data will be employed for this study. Data will be collected through the use of interview schedule consisting of open and close–ended questions, which elicited required data from the target respondents. Data collected from the processors include quantity of gari produced (kg), quantity of cassava tubers (kg), quantity of fuel for transportation (litres), man-hours of labour for peeling and frying, price, cost and revenue involved in gari production and constraints to gari . Data will be also collected on the socio– economic variables such as years of schooling, farming experience, age, household size and number of extension contact.
REFERENCES
- Agbamu J.U and Waziri R.P(2006):Marketing of Cassava By-product, Gari, in Delta State and the Implication for Agricultural Development. Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference of Farm Management Association of Nigeria pp.205-211.
- Chukwuji C.O., O. E. Inoni and P. C. Ike (2007): Determinants of technical efficiency in gari processing in Delta State Nigeria. Journal of Central European Agriculture. Vol. 8 No. 3 pp327-336
- Ekwe K.C and C.C Ekwe (2005): Gari Processing and Marketing Enterprises as Sustainable Livelihoods among Rural Households in South Eastern, Nigeria. Proceedings of the 19th annual conference of Farm management Association of Nigeria,held at Delta State University, Asaba Campus, 18-20 October, pp.139- 144.
- Food and Agriculture Organisation (2004a): Online Statistical Database. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Web Site http://www.fao.org/
- Food and Agriculture Organisation (2004b): “A Cassava Industrial Revolution in Nigeria”
- FAO Corporate Document Repository. http://www.fao.org
- International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, (2005): “Integrated Cassava Project” by
- IITA in collaboration with Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMA&RD), and the Federal Government of Nigeria. [email protected].
- International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (2006):”Integrated Cassava Project”.
- iita- [email protected].
