Plantain chips for export

It sounds utopic and simply unbelievable but the establishment of a $ 73 million plantain chips factory in the Ashanti Region, the biggest of its kind in Africa, would soon be operational to produce to the major markets around the world.

This 60 Hectare Industrial Site project, situated at Amapabame-Abenase in the Ejisu Municipality, would offer permanent jobs to 1,000 Ghanaians and culminate in the production of chip boards from recycled plantain peels, the oil used in frying will be recycled into bio diesel and the production of two megawatts of solar power produced on site.

This factory will take three tonnes of plantain as raw materials input and produce one tonne of plantain chips per hour. The remaining two tonnes, destined for the dustbin, would be turned into chip boards for the furniture industry.

Farm trucks will depend partly on the recycled biodiesel from the oil used in frying the plantain chips. Already, water experts are almost through with testing to ensure that the factory uses treated borehole water for its activities and assist surrounding communities with potable water.

The principal raw material will be freshly harvested plantain from Juaboso Agro Processing Company Ltd (JAPC) farms in the Ashanti Region. The plantain will then be peeled and sliced into different shapes of choice.

The plantain chips produced will be sold under the brand TANO Snacks or private brand names of US and EU Importers.

Currently

JAPC is constructing a modern 100 per cent automated technology from slicing to packaging, and waste water treatment for reuse. The American Equipment Suppliers will supply, install, commission and offer start-up training, plus five years after-sales plant servicing. The plant output capacity is 1,000 kilogramme per hour, 24 tons per 24 hours operations of eight hours in three shifts per day.

Foreign Exchange

Mr Maxwell Agyeman, the Project Founder, told the Daily Graphic that he was bent on assisting his nation to reverse the worrying trend of the importation of almost everything including toothpick, hence his decision to partner other interested groups to establish this multi-million dollar project.

He added that he and his partners had already secured funding for this novelty project and assured the Daily Graphic that “we plan to exponentially open up the company to export more and generate employment and reliable income for the ordinary Ghanaians. Who knows, a Ghanaian company can join the expansion move.

JAPC

The Juaboso Agro Processing Company Ltd (JAPC) is the brainchild of a young Ghanaian businessman who has partnered investors from abroad and tapped the research of academia in Ghana and with the support of policy makers; the project team is now bringing to fruition their dream work that was piloted from 2002 to 2008 at Sefwi Datano in the Juaboso District of the Western Region.

The project founder started the production of plantain chips on a pilot scale to test the market demand for plantain chips on both the local, West Africa and International markets, especially the US, UK, ITALY and the Netherlands.

The success of the concept won Mr Agyeman and his team the best 2003 Food Processing Company in the Western Region during the 18th Ghana National Farmers Day Award Celebration.

JAPC-GHANA

Following the success story of the project team, the Ministry of Trade and Industry‘s Districts Industrialisation Programme (DIP), in collaboration with the Juaboso District Assembly, developed the concept on a commercial scale to promote economic growth as Public and Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives particularly focused on the development of the rural communities in Ghana through farming to create value-chain initiatives.

Golden Triangle

JAPC has used the Golden Triangle Principle of the Dutch to develop strategic partnerships with the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resource at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Academia), Juaboso District Assembly, Ghana Forestry Commission; Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana Export Promotion Authority (Government) and PUM Netherlands, US and Dutch Business Partners, Project Investment Banks (business) to set up the JAPC Plantain Chips Model to produce for export.

Sustainable Global Food Value Chain

Mr Agyeman told the Daily Graphic that the FAO, UNIDO, WFP are advocating stronger and tighter control, better coordinated and complete value-chain initiatives under the just adopted Sustainable and Inclusive Farm Value Chain Developments from seedlings and organic fertilisers (inputs), Farm Management (agronomic practices), Agro Processing (value additions), sales and marketing and distribution and supply to the final consumers table as the new model for effective food production and supply systems to maximise farmers returns and reduce food losses.

He quoted FAO statement that stated that “a weakness in any part of the Food Value Chain will automatically lead to a complete collapse of the complete chain”.

He then explained that the above formed the basis for the JAPC involvement at all the levels of the plantain chips value chain, starting from selection of the right varieties of plantain suckers for multiplication, commercial agronomic management and cultivation of plantains by the farming department to meet its raw material requirement, the processing and packaging at its factory, marketing and export sales services to waste management.

Japc Opportunity Rational

For him, the advent of globalisation, rise in income, consumers’ quest for nutritional foods, fast urbanisation of the world, and inter- cultural marriages, are causing consumers eating habits to change to emulate modern trend all over the world.

“This means that consumption of Western style fast foods (snacks, on-the-go) was on the rise. Due to these reasons, the potential market size of fast food products is increasing at an exponential rate globally. These represent a huge business opportunity in the Food Value Chain”, he explained.

Process

At the farm, agricultural scientists from KNUST will work on the tissue culture multiplications of plantain suckers as planting material for the farms, while in-house plantain experts, African Connections Ltd, as farm managers, will advise farmers on the best agronomic practices to improve yields and guarantee regular supply of the plantain as raw material. This, coupled with in-house fleet for transporting plantains from farm gates to processing site,will guarantee arrival on time.

On site will be a modern state-of-the-art plantain chips processing halls with installed 24-hour automated processing and packaging equipment managed by US Snacks Experts and Experienced Ghanaian Production Team to guarantee total quality assurance and control that will meet global market standards,as well as workers health and safety, as well as best environmental standards.