Business Opportunities in Livestock – SS1 Livestock Farming Lesson Note (Third Term)

Value addition is doing something to an animal product to make it worth more money.

Behavioural objectives

1. Explain what value addition means in livestock farming.
2. List ways of adding value to meat, hides and skins, and manure.
3. Name value-added products from milk, eggs and feathers.
4. Describe the four links in a livestock business: supplier, producer, processor and marketer.

What is value addition in livestock farming?

Value addition in livestock farming is any step that changes an animal product into something more useful, so that it sells for a higher price.

• Starting point: farming does not end when the animal is grown, because much of the profit comes after the animal leaves the farm.
• Raw product: a live animal, raw milk, fresh eggs, raw skin or fresh manure.
• Value-added product: packed meat, yoghurt, egg powder, leather or bagged fertiliser.
• Areas covered in this lesson: meat, hides and skins, manure, milk, eggs and feathers.

Why is value addition important?

Value addition raises the income of a livestock business and reduces losses.

• Higher price: processed and packed products sell for more than raw ones.
• Less waste: milk, eggs and meat that might spoil are turned into longer-lasting products.
• Extra income: parts of the animal such as skin, feathers and manure can be sold.
• Jobs: processing, packing and selling employ many people.

How can meat be processed for sale?

Meat can be processed by slaughtering hygienically, cutting and packing it, or preserving it as a cooked or dried product.

Many farmers sell animals live in the market. A farmer who processes the meat earns more.

Slaughterhouse (abattoir) services

• Service: providing a clean place where butchers slaughter and prepare animals.
• Income: the owner charges a fee for using the place.

Packaging and branding

• Cleaning and cutting: clean the meat and cut it into parts such as laps, wings or ribs.
• Packing: place the pieces in a tray with plastic wrap and put a brand name on it.
• Market: sell to supermarkets and shops, which pay more than an open market where flies can touch the meat.
• Registration: packaged food sold to the public is normally registered with NAFDAC.

Preservation and cooking

• Kilishi: thin strips of beef, spiced and dried, which keep for a long time.
• Suya: spiced beef grilled on sticks and sold hot, a famous Nigerian way of adding value to beef.
• Smoking: smoked chicken or guinea fowl sells at a higher price because it tastes better and lasts longer.
• Sausages and bacon: pork turned into sausages or bacon.

How can hides and skins be used in business?

Hides and skins can be tanned into leather, which is used to make many goods.

• Hide: the skin of a large animal, such as a cow.
• Skin: the skin of a small animal, such as a goat or sheep.
• Common use: cow skin is often eaten as ponmo, but it can earn more as leather.

What is leather tanning?

Leather tanning is the process of turning raw hide or skin into leather.

1. Remove the skin from the animal and cure it by salting or drying so that it does not rot.
2. Soak it in water to clean and soften it.
3. Remove hair and flesh.
4. Treat it with a tanning agent to make it strong and long-lasting.
5. Dry and finish it to make leather.

What can be made from leather?

• Footwear and belts: designer shoes, sandals and belts.
• Bags: handbags and wallets.
• Musical instruments: drums and other traditional instruments.

Is there an export market?

• Red Sokoto goat: its skin is known for good leather and has been exported to countries such as Italy for making leather goods.

How can manure be turned into income?

Manure is animal waste, and it can be sold as organic fertiliser or used to produce gas and worms.

• Organic fertiliser: dry and bag poultry droppings or cow dung and sell them to vegetable and flower farmers.
• Biogas production: animal waste is put into a digester to produce biogas, which is used for cooking or to generate electricity for the farm.
• Earthworm farming (vermiculture): manure is used to grow earthworms, which are dried and sold as high-protein feed for fish.

What are other value addition opportunities?

Milk, eggs and feathers can all be changed into products that sell for more than the raw form.

• Dairy products: raw milk spoils in a few hours, so turning it into yoghurt or wara reduces loss.
• Egg processing: eggs that are about to spoil can be made into egg powder.
• Feather industry: feathers must be cleaned before they are used.

What are the four links in a livestock business?

The four links in a livestock business are the supplier, the producer, the processor and the marketer.

A person does not need a huge farm. He or she can choose one link.

• Golden rule: the more work done on the product, such as cleaning, packaging or cooking, the more the customer will pay.

Evaluation

1. What is value addition?
2. Name the four links in a livestock business.
3. List three products that can be made from a cow’s skin, besides ponmo.
4. State two ways of making money from animal manure.
5. If you have ₦50,000, would you rather buy two goats to raise, or buy five crates of eggs to pack in boxes and sell to teachers? Give reasons.

Assignment

Look around your kitchen or a nearby shop and find one product that comes from an animal, such as milk, leather or meat. Write down the name of the company that processed it and how it was changed from its original form.