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How to start Sweet Potatoes Powder Production in Nigeria
Sweet potato is tropical herbaceous plant which, by the nature
of its temperature requirement, can be grown throughout Nigeria.
States like Kaduna, Kano, Zamfara, and Sokoto in the North-west
are currently leading in its production in the country.
Potatoes, the world’s 4th most popular food crop, after maize,
wheat, and rice, is a widely consumed meal in every country. In
Nigeria, it is consumed in over 500,000 households weekly. This
highly nutritional crop belongs to the kingdom Plantae, the
genus Solanum and is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial
nightshade Solanum Tuberosum.
The explosive demand for their supply is largely triggered not
just by their tasty nature, but by the highly nutritious value
they contain. Depending on whether it is the sweet potato or the
irish potato, a medium-sized potato gives an extremely low 110
calories, contains zero amounts of cholesterol, fat, sodium, and
are rich in Vitamin C, Potassium, iron, Vitamin B6, and fibre.
Investing in the flour business is one of the most profitable
businesses that are not keenly delved into. Sweet potato flour
powder is a venture that when carefully analyzed, one can become
a key player in this market.
Sweet potato powder flour is a source of carbohydrates that is
fast becoming one of the most popular components of a healthy,
well-balanced diet. This root vegetable is high in vitamin C,
beta-carotene, manganese, copper, vitamin B6, potassium, iron,
and dietary fiber. Therefore, the health benefits cannot be
underestimated.
Nigeria, a country blessed with diverse climatic and soil
condition for the production of different agricultural produce,
is the leading producer of potato in Sub-Saharan Africa,
producing about 3,460,000 metric tons of sweet potatoes – a
starchy, tuberous crop, which refer to the plant itself as well
as the edible tuber, annually.
The demand for the product is quite enormous and very high in
Nigeria. The raw material (Sweet Potato) is also readily
available. The production technology is simple and the
equipment’s are locally fabricated.
Sweet potato made into flour, has a high potential for success,
as it can be used to replace the expensive wheat flour in baking
and confectioneries. Sweet Potato Flour is incredibly versatile
and can be used for baked goods, such as breads, cookies,
muffins, pancakes and crepes, cakes, and doughnuts.
It can also be used in soups, as a thickener for sauces and
gravies, and in breading for fish and as well as a stabilizer in
the ice-cream industry. It is a raw flour and does not require
cooking before use. Sweet potato flour is great at holding
moisture in baked goods. Sweet potato flour can add natural
sweetness, color, and flavour to processed food products.
HOW TO PROCESS
SWEET POTATOES TO FLOUR FOR
BAKING
1. Peel your sweet potatoes
2. Wash your sweet potatoes thoroughly
3. Soak the sweet potatoes for 5days inside water and be sure
that the water is above the sweet potatoes each day.
4. Change the water daily to prevent the water from smelling
bad.Drain the water from the sweet potatoes and put in a fresh
water every day. This process takes out the sweetness from the
potatoes completely
5. On the fifth day, the sweet potatoes will be soft.
Drain water from it and put all the sweet potatoes inside a
sack.
6. Use a big stone or any heavy object to apply pressure on the
sack to completely drain the water or you can use a mortal,by
placing it at the top of the sack to ensure that no water
remains in the potatoes
If you have a dehydrator you can use it
7. When the water is drained, Sun dry the sweet potatoes for
days till it's very dry or use dehydrator.
8. Take the sweet potatoes to the engine and grind to smooth
powder.dry grind, no water must be added
9. Filter the potatoes flour
10. Procedure to prepare sweet potatoes flour is almost the same
with the yam flour,Amala, cassava flour, plantain flour etc
Uses of Sweet potatoes flour
1.It can be used as a substitute for Allpurpose flour
2.It can be used to prepare swallow
3.You can use it for Pastries,cakes,biscuits etc
4 .And guess what?it can be used to make bread
Sweet Potatoes has a whole lots of Nutritional benefits to our
health.
Once the sweet potatoes are washed, thinly sliced, and are being
placed in the oven, the process can take anywhere from 5-8 hours
depending on how thin the sweet potato slices are. The thinner
the slice, the faster it will dry out.
It is imperative to turn them at intervals to derive a crunchy
feel before they can be grinded with a blender depending on the
size or a grinding machine if it is for a high quantity and
commercial purpose.
Capital: No business exists without funding, hence, to start
this business on a small scale, you need a minimum of N100,000.
While you buy the sweet potatoes, you also need to get involved
in the process of production to cut cost of manpower.
The profit can be ploughed back into the business or more funds
injected if there is an intent to go big when there is a large
number of distributors or buyers.
Also, funds need to be set aside for the tools for drying or
dehydrating the sweet potato which includes an oven and grinding
machine.
Profitability: It is a viable business as there exist so many
bakers and cooks who use them for their confectionaries. There
are also those who consume them as a dietary supplement due to
their nutrient value or even as a swallow meal. Sweet potato
flour producer can make N200,000 or more as monthly income,
depending on patronage. Get our Practical Training Guide on How to start a Sweet Potato Powder Production in Nigeria. The proposed production volume is three (3) tons/day at 100% capacity utilization and the plant would operate at 80% of the installed capacity for a single shift of eight (8) hours per day for three hundred (300) working days per annum.
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