Introduction
Rice is unarguably the most important, most frequently taken staple food in Nigeria today. Gone are the days when it used to be taken once in a while. In the present circumstances, at least for a long time now, virtually everyone could afford it; more so because local supply has been largely augmented by importation and unbridled smuggling.
The Opportunity
However, the situation is changing. As a result of the recent closure of the country’s land boarders by the Federal Government, smuggling activities have been curtailed. The implication is that local production is no longer sufficient to meet national demand, which translates to scarcity in the markets. In quick response, the price of the commodity is steadily rising, sequentially on a daily basis. At least, within the past one month, the 50kg bag has freely soared from N16, 000 through N18, 000 to N20, 000. Today, it has climbed to N24, 000!
At the time of posting this article, never forget that Christmas was around the corner. I’m afraid the price might hit an all-time record high of approximately N30, 000 by early 2020, if the situation remains same. In fact if nothing is done quickly on the side of supply, rice may completely disappear from the dining table of the common man.
As an entrepreneur, what does this mean to you? A golden opportunity! Isn’t it? I challenge anybody who may have a contrary opinion; no business is better than rice production today. Tell it to the people in the village. Publish it in the streets of Abuja. Rice production is now gold mine! Produce rice and earn good money. That will help you change your status, from grass to grace, from a poor man to a wealthy man. You can cultivate; you can process rice. Better still, you can embark on both if you have the capital.
A number of nutritionists have attested to the fact that local rice is more nutritious and healthier than foreign rice. Added to this, the local rice ‘swells’ more than the imported variety; which guarantees greater edible quantity from a given raw measure. The foreign rice appears cleaner just because it is polished; that’s all. Nigeria therefore has great potentials for a huge rice industry, which can be strongly established on the famous, already thriving local brands grown in Abakiliki, Abaji, Mokwa and Bida areas of Nigeria, and recently Kebbi State. Institutionalized investors, who can embark in commercial rice cultivation and processing, should as a matter of urgency, key into this awareness campaign and contribute to the unlocking of Nigeria’s great potential wealth.
In order to guide all prospective investors, big or small, to proceed in the right direction towards grabbing this great opportunity, it will be important for all to first understand the characteristics of the rice crop and the favourable conditions for growing it, and also the step-by-step approach to growing, harvesting and storing it.
Characteristics of the Rice Crop
Rice is a perennial crop and indeed the highest yielding cereal grain that can thrive in varying kinds of temperature and soil conditions. There are more than 42, 000 kinds of varieties worldwide. In Nigeria, is possible to grow long, medium and short grain rice but this depends on the type of climatic and soil conditions prevailing in your particular area.
Favourable Conditions for Growing Rice
Even relatively difficult topography that may be unsuitable for the cultivation of other crops can be put into rice use. A natural waterside gently sloping terrain with uniform flooding and controlled draining is an ideal situation for rice cultivation. Designing an artificial environment that would enable fresh water to pass from the nearby underground wells or rivers or reservoirs to provide constant water to the farm area is the practice in many semi-arid communities. In this later case, fresh water is usually drained into the rice farm after the seeds have been planted.
Step-By-Step Approach to Growing, Harvesting & Storage:
Planting: Seeds are planted between February and May and grown in holes of about 1 to 2 inches of depth within the sphere of a water-laden soil;
Growing: It takes about 100 to 130 days after planting for the crop to mature;
Harvesting: Rice is harvested in June, up to November depending on nutrient intake, soil and weather conditions;
Drying: The grains are dried within 24 hours of harvest, either on the farm in small bins or they are taken by truck to commercial driers;
Sales: The dried grains are sold to millers; however the grains may be sold either before or after drying;
Transportation; Transportation is facilitated by grain trailers or trucks or hopper cars or rails to the mills.
Storage: The final products are stored in elevators until they are needed for milling
Further to cultivation, those who have the capital can advance their business by integrating the milling process.
The Milling Process
Rice milling is a gigantic industry in India, China and Thailand; and should be so in Nigeria.
The process may be carried out on small-scale or large scale. The large-scale practice is currently embracing the deployment of more sophisticated machines imported from abroad; whereas the small-scale enterprises rely on the simple, cheaper, locally fabricated machines.
Baring slight differences, practically same processes are involved in both small and large operations. Commonly across the board, rice milling involves appropriating the stored grains and crushing the hard shell and sieving out the chaff to get the refined rice. Some processes involve parboiling to soften it. Modern rice milling processes adhere to the following procedures:
Cleaning: the principle of cleaning paddy (rice in the husk before threshing) is based on different physical properties such as weight, size, density and properties of impurities; an aspirator removes paddy impurities that are lighter than paddy.
Dehusking: the modern rice mill has Rubber roll Sheller as the principal dehusking unit.
Husk Separation: this involves the mixture of shelled-paddy (brown rice), remaining unshelled paddy and broken grains; the husk comes out of the Sheller. This mixture is subjected to sieving-cum- aspiration; aspiration to separate broken parts and husk. Sieving prior to aspiration helps to recover the broken parts. Husk is separated from the heavier paddy and rice by aspiration.
Paddy Separation:shelling is never done to the level of 100 percent, to avoid rice breakage. Grains differ in size. Smaller grains remain unshelled. A paddy separator is thus used to separate paddy from brown rice. The separated paddy is returned to the Sheller while brown rice is carried forward to the polisher. The separation is accomplished by taking advantage or the differences in density, size and surface roughness between paddy and brown rice.
Polishing: some amount of polishing or removal of fiber layers is essential for easy cooking and storage. There are two types of polishers (whiteners): abrasive and friction.
Precision Sizer: this is used for removing thin and oversized grains, leaving behind uniform grains for good cooking result & slender grains.
Sorting: machines clean the rice and remove discoloured grains, leaving behind clean, pearl, white grains.
Grading: after polishing operations, the milled rice contains head rice and broken pieces of different sizes. Separation of broken portions from head rice is termed grading.
Weighing and Bagging; the weighing machine receives the material (either paddy or polished rice) in a continuous flow and release it in predetermined quantities by weight. Automatic modern bagging equipment ensures dust free bagging of finished products and records the amount of kilograms of weight made. Modernization is a never-ending process. What is modern today may be outdated tomorrow. Better management lies in making use of available technology to get the best results.
Packing: jute Bags, Pp Bags, Hdpe Bags are used. PP/HDPE bags are also used usually in conformity with specified requirements of the overseas buyers. Most exports to African countries are bagged in PP/ HDPE bags; packed in 50 Kg or even in smaller packages. .
Conclusion
I hope this incisive, comprehensive information would be useful to budding investors wishing to set up commercial rice business today. Comprehensive information on how to fully establish the Rice production business will be contained in a business plan, which the writer would be willing to prepare for interested prospective investors.
The writer could, as usual, be reached via his email address: chukwudiodili902@yahoo.com
