Maize Farming Business Plan

INTRODUCTION                                                                                                                   

In Nigeria, maize is a very important staple food crop, second only to rice. Maize is predominantly used as food in the diet of urban and rural inhabitants but also has vast commercial and industrial uses by agro-based industries through its processing and transformation into corn flakes, flour, baby foods, confectioneries starch and livestock feeds, and other products.

Maize is the most important grain in Nigeria and the whole world at large, apart from being a staple food in both rural and urban households Maize is a major source of income to farmers and processors in the rural areas.

Maize can be processed into different products for various end uses at the traditional level and on an industrial scale. While a large proportion of products utilized in developing countries are obtained via traditional processing, industrial processing meets the bulk of the demand in developed countries.

Nigeria has an annual maize production in excess of 10.3 million metric tons and is ranked as one of the top twenty largest producers in the world. Maize contributes about 80 percent of poultry feeds, with implications for protein intake in Nigeria (FAO, 2008).

Some of the attributes of maize are its low cost, high yield, significant investment return, ease of processing, and adaptability across agro-ecological zones.

The government is currently pursuing a Maize ‘Green Revolution’ aimed at transforming the maize industry, raising production, and increasing profitability to enhance food security, create jobs, and mitigate rising global food prices. The plan is to raise Nigeria’s annual maize output from the current 10 million tons to 30 million tonnes using a number of approaches including speeding up the adoption of innovations in international and national research centers.