Economic Benefits Of Maize

Investment in maize cultivation can bring huge returns due to the rising demand for the cereal in local and international markets, IFE ADEDAPO writes The Nigerian market offers huge opportunities to potential investors in agri-business. Agriculture is the source of raw materials most of which are yet to be fully exploited. An entrepreneurial development expert, Mr. Isaac Udeh, says raw food materials which can be transformed into other products or exported can easily be sourced locally at affordable prices. In addition, he says the existence of a large market offers another advantage. According to him, agro-industry presents a large market which is currently underserved and what makes it a viable business venture is the fact that there are speculations that the country may experience food shortage in the near future. Other features that make an enterprise centred on maize lucrative, according to Udeh, is, “the cost of labour is very cheap in Nigeria, there is rapid development of physical and industrial infrastructure in terms of communication and transport and there is a well developed banking system.” He adds that the start-up capital and credit facilities can easily be sourced. Maize is processed into various forms depending on the country. Experts note that ground maize is made into porridge in Eastern and Southern Africa, while maize flour is made into porridge in West Africa. In many countries, they add, ground maize is prepared traditionally by frying or baking while in all parts of Africa, fresh corn is boiled or roasted on its cob and served as a snack. There’s high demand for maize Udeh says the potential of the crop is very high because it is an essential commodity needed by all classes of people. He says that competition for maize by animals and humans makes it an indispensable food commodity. At harvest time, he notes that the prices of maize commodities are very low and supply is in excess of demand. Statistics show that worldwide consumption of maize is more than 116 million tons, with Africa consuming 30 per cent and sub Saharan Africa 21 per cent. However, Lesotho has the largest consumption per capita with 174 kg per year. Moreover, Eastern and Southern Africa uses 85 per cent of its production as food, while Africa as a whole uses 95 per cent, compared to other world regions that use most of their maize as animal feed. Ninety per cent of white maize consumption is cultivated in Africa and Central America. Research has shown that yellow maize is preferred in most parts of South America and the Caribbean and it is a preferred animal feed in many regions because it gives a yellow colour to poultry, egg yolks and animal fat. Cultivation of maize Maize is among the most important crops in Nigeria but poor seed supply, inefficient marketing, and low investment in research are among the factors that have limited production, experts say. They add that investors in commercial cultivation of the crop have the opportunity to realise yields of 5.0-5.5 metric tons per hectare. According to statistics from IITA, the current production is about 8 million tonnes but research has shown that by using proper farming techniques, yields per hectare can be about 4.2 tonnes from the current 1.5 tonnes, suggesting that national production could hit 20 million tonnes. To tap nutritional value of the crop, the institute says over the years it has developed improved varieties to combat malnutrition and diseases caused by micro-nutrient deficiency. It adds that early, intermediate, and late maturing varieties were developed with yields up to twice as much as traditional varieties. Processing of maize An agro commodity expert, Mr. Nnamdi Ezekiel, says maize is exported to other countries where they are processed into sweeteners which offer special qualities to food manufacturers and consumers. He says processing techniques like boiling, drying, frying, or baking, are applied to derive other products like corn starch, corn oil, corn flour and corn meal from it. He says the corn starch can further be processed into a variety of starch products or further refined into a variety of sweeteners sold in liquid and dry forms. Experts note that corn oil, because of its plant origin, has replaced a significant amount of saturated fat in numerous food products. They say it has been useful in producing snack food and in frying food items. Corn oil can also be combined with other ingredients to produce trans-free margarines, experts add. A major ingredient in animal feed Maize is a valuable feed grain, as such, it cannot be replaced by any other grain in the feed mill industry, Ezekiel says. This, according to him is because it is among the highest in net energy content and lowest in protein and fibre content. Experts note that maize is either fed directly or is dried, milled and compounded with other carbohydrate-rich and protein-rich grains and thoroughly mixed. Moreover, they say that by-products of industrial wet-and dry-milling of the crop are also used as feed. Available market for maize in Nigeria Agriculture experts says that there are a few commercial maize-processing mills that produce brewers’ grits, maize flour and maize meal in Nigeria. According to Udeh, industrial buyers that use the crop for food and beverage also use the same for production of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. He says companies like Nigerian Breweries, National Food Reserve Agency, Nestle Foods, Honeywell, World Food Programme, Akwa Ibom, Lagos and Rivers State Governments, among others, provide regular and consistent market for the crop. Source:punch