BY ZAKA KHALIQ With Agency Report
The federal ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) said Nigeria’s annual import bill on milk and dairy products is about $1.5 billion.
Of about 1,3089797 tones of milk consumed annually in the country, only 523,599 tones were produced locally, which represents 40 per cent, leaving 785,398 tones which is 60% to importation with import bill of $1.5 billion.
This presents a huge market to intending investors in local production of milk and dairy products.
Requirements For Cow Milking Business
Feasibility Studies
Feasibility studies will tell you if the business opportunity is feasible at the given time and place or not. A business that was feasible yesterday in a given place may not be feasible today due to economic and environmental changes.
Acquiring Needed Skills
You have to acquire necessary skills to run a successful business. You need both managerial and technical skills.
Business Registration
Formalise your business by registering it with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC).
Business Plan
Business plan is a document that outlines how you intend to run your business, requirements and projections. It allows you to create business operations on paper and manipulate and evaluate scenarios without the risk of investing resources. If you want to source your financial from deposit money banks and other financial institutions, you will need to present a business plan to convince them that your business idea is worthwhile.
Capital
Dairy farm is a capital intensive enterprise. You will need a minimum of N10milllion for a start.
Land Acquisition
Land is an important factor of production. You need to get a land. The size and price depend on your proposed dairy (milk) farm enterprise and location.
Build Farm Structures
Correct housing is vital to the success of dairy farm enterprise. There are factors to consider for proper farm buildings and structures.
The structures include:
Cow Housing: There are three types of cow housing: tie stalls, free stalls, pack barns. Dairy farms with less than 50 cows use tie stalls, while those that have more than 100 cows make use of free stalls or as the owner chooses.
Milk storage: This is essential for storing your milk. You can also have a building for storage of cow dungs and other wastes that can be used as fertiliser.
You also need office block, staff quarters, among others.
Equipment
You have to purchase the needed equipment for your diary farm. Some of the major equipment are: Hay baler to bale hay to feed the livestock, water supply system, electricity, Cool van, milking machine, Weighing/Scaling machine among others.
Profitability
My findings reveal that the profit could be twice the amount invested by the second to third year of the business. So, it has a high chance of huge investment returns.
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