YAP proposal #176: Smoking kiln for fish processing (Ovie Newton

Akpona, Nigeria)

Posted on March 7, 2016 by kovamic87

The Problem

Charity, a widowed mother of five, lives in Igbide Village—a rural fishing community which
lacks basic social amenities.

Charity sells fish bought from the local fishermen in order to make ends meet for her family.
She cannot send her children to school as the proceeds realized from her business is too
meager.

Most of the fishes she takes to the market for sale are not sold and end up getting spoilt due to
a lack of an appropriate storage and processing system put in place.

In order not to go out of business, she resorts to the local way of drying her fish in order to
preserve it and sell for a reasonable price.

However, and as good as this may seem, this local process involves the use of firewood
sourced from cutting down of trees and a gauze placed directly on a cut-drum, which
provides the platform for drying the fish.

This process is burdensome, environmentally unfriendly, and poses severe health hazards, as
poisonous polycyclic substances emitted during the process settle on the fishes making it
unfit for human consumption.

Charity and a host of other village women represent two-thirds of the community’s estimated
10,000-strong population who go through this painful, environmentally unfriendly process of
cutting down trees to make firewood, and exposing themselves to direct heat daily to make
ends meet.
Unbeknownst to them, this creates a hydra-headed monstrous condition that poses severe
health hazards to consumers and damages our already fragile ecosystem.

The Solution—Project Eco-Dry!

Project Eco-Dry—a sustainable, replicable and environmentally-friendly approach—is being

developed by Agrotize Integrated Systems as a means of providing succor to Charity and a
host of other rural women around Nigeria and Africa, via the use of a solar-powered smoking
kiln technology.

This technology utilizes equipment comprising four compartments: a smoking chamber, a fan
for uniform distribution of the heat and smoke, a thermometer for temperature control, and a
chimney to remove moisture, as well as a damper to filter smoke and reduce the content of
fish carbon dioxide (CO2).

The entire machine is powered by a solar panel and has the merit of cooking and smoking in
four hours, compared to as least four days for traditional smoking kiln. It also has a
production capacity of about 60 medium sized fishes.

This results in a less-burdensome processing experience while making sure that the end
product conforms to international carbon and moisture standards required to break into the
international smoked-fish export market.

It’s discernible that a pack of 500 grammes of smoked catfish bought from Nigeria at USD
12.50, sells for between USD 15 and USD 20 in the international market, making it what
analysts have called a potentially money-making business.

According to a source: A study sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
of the United Nations, shows that the quantity of dried and smoked catfish, tilapia and other
types of fish exported from West Africa to the United Kingdom is estimated at over 500
tonnes per year, with a retail value of nearly USD 20 million.

‘Nigeria alone exports about 5 tonnes of smoked fish per month (via airfreight). Other major
exporting countries are Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Senegal and Cameroon. However, with
stricter regulations on food imported into the US and Europe, Africans are finding it difficult
to exploit the million-dollar foreign market for smoked and dried fish…’

Put succinctly, Project Eco-Dry utilizes an environmentally friendly and sustainable approach
to help provide financial empowerment to rural women, to prepare them for the international
market as well as the highbrow domestic market.

These rural women eventually develop their processing capability, thus enabling them to
generate revenue from the export of the finished products or having it on the shelves of
favourite retail outlets, while keeping the environment safe.
 What’s done so far!

We have identified our sample community in Delta State, Nigeria, conducted a feasibility
study of the project, and trained the first batch of 100 women in business management and
entrepreneurship.

Furthermore, we have organized the trained rural women into groups under an umbrella
cooperative that has already been registered for this purpose: iFeed Africa Multipurpose
Cooperative Society.

This makes it easier for them to fulfil export quantity requirements while providing a
platform to access grants, loans, and additional funds to build their businesses.

It is important to note that up to 40 % of smoked fish exported from Africa is detained,

returned or destroyed at US and European ports due to simple mistakes such as improper
packaging and labelling, inadequate compliance with paperwork, insect infestation and mould
growth. Thus, we have also mapped out a branded packaging design for filleted and whole
smoked fish.

The packages will have barcodes that enhance competitiveness and protection while
establishing corporate identity in the market.

What we need now (Budget)!

1. Solar-powered smoking kiln (1 pc)             USD 2,000

2. Branded Packaging Equipment with barcode USD 1,000
3. Insurance, legal fees and paperwork USD 1,000
4. Administration and logistics                         USD 500
5. Miscellaneous expenses                         USD 300

            Total                                                               USD 5,000

Timeframe

 Securing equipment and installation (two weeks after disbursement of grant)

  Training of machine operators—rural women (one week)
 Onset of paperwork for export (four weeks)
 Use of the solar-powered smoking kiln
 Export of smoked dried fish.

How we measure success (Success Indicators)

Success will be measured by the number of rural women’s groups that can access the
technology, their net income arising from direct sales in the highbrow domestic market and
the international export market, the rate of successful transactions made, their new spending
lifestyle, and the condition of their dependents.

Of course, this is not written in stone as the success indicators may be modified or new ones
added as deemed fit along the line or as suggested by interested contributors.

Any plans for sustainability?

Yes, we do have plans for sustainability. Revenue will be generated from the use of the
machine at an affordable rate. Subsidized payments will be made by the rural women’s
groups to provide for maintenance of the machine and of course employment of trained
operators sourced from the rural women groups.

Ovie Newton Akpona is a 28-year-old agripreneur, climate change leader, and Project
Coordinator for Agrotize Integrated Systems—an agri-start-up. He has a zeal for providing
twenty-first century solutions to liberate smallscale farmers from the shackles of poverty.

He has over five-years’ experience working in the spheres of information and

communications technology, agriculture, and most recently was the Project Coordinator of
the Nigerian Chapter of United Nations Global Energy Initiative SSEA.

Ovie hails from Delta State, Nigeria and holds a BSc in genetics and biotechnology, is
associate member of the British Computer Society, the Genetics Society of Nigeria, and
Biotechnology Society of Nigeria.

Blogpost and picture submitted by Ovie Newton Akpona (Nigeria):

agrotizeintegratedsystems[at]gmail.com

Illustrations courtesy of Agrotize Integrated Systems and WAAPP/NIOMR

The content, structure and grammar are at the discretion of the author only.

This post is published as proposal #176 of “YAP” – our “Youth Agripreneur Project”.
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