Marketing of Livestock Product II – SS2 Livestock Farming Lesson Note (Third Term)

Marketing of livestock products includes packaging, branding and exporting. Packaging is putting animal products into a container or wrapper to protect them and make them look good. Branding gives a farm a name, logo and promise that customers remember. Exporting means selling livestock products to other countries, which needs high standards of quality, approval, weight measurement and labelling.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• state the meaning and importance of packaging;
• name the materials used to package livestock products and give a use for each;
• explain branding and list the parts of a brand;
• list livestock products that Nigeria can export;
• state the requirements for exporting livestock products.

What is packaging?

In our last lesson, we talked about how to find a buyer. Today, we look at how to make the buyer want to pick your product. Packaging is the act of putting your animal products into a container or wrapper to protect them and make them look good.

Why do we package livestock products?

1. Protection: It stops flies from sitting on your meat and keeps dirt away from your eggs.
2. Convenience: It is much easier for a customer to carry a carton of 10 frozen chickens than to carry them loose in a sack.
3. Information: You can write the weight, the date the animal was killed, and your phone number on the pack.
4. Beauty: A clean, well-sealed pack of honey looks more expensive and “trustworthy” than honey in a used beer bottle.

What materials are used for packaging?

Depending on what you are selling, you need different “clothes” for your products:

• Cartons and crates: Used for eggs and frozen meat. They are strong and can be stacked on top of each other.
• Plastic wraps (nylon): Good for “dressed” chickens or sausages. They keep the air out, so the meat does not dry out in the freezer.
• Glass or plastic jars: The best for liquid products like honey or milk.
• Tins and cans: Used for processed meats like corned beef. These can last for years without a fridge because they are airtight.

What is branding?

Suppose you go to a shop and see two bottles of honey. One has a beautiful sticker that says “Ojo’s Golden Honey” and the other has nothing. Most people will pick Ojo’s honey. That is branding.

What does a brand include?

1. A name: Something easy to remember (for example, “Healthy Chickens Ltd”).
2. A logo: A small picture or symbol that belongs only to you.
3. A promise: When people see your brand, they should think, “Ah, this person always sells big eggs.”

Why should you brand your farm?

• It makes you different from the thousands of other farmers in the market.
• It allows you to charge a higher price because people trust your name.
• It helps customers find you again when they want to buy more.

What is exporting?

Nigeria is a big country, but the world is even bigger. Exporting means selling your livestock products to other countries like the USA, UK or China.

What can Nigeria export?

• Hides and skins: Our hides and skins, the raw material of “ponmo”, are highly valued in Italy and Spain for making expensive leather bags and shoes.
• Dried or smoked fish and snail: Many Nigerians living abroad miss home food and are willing to pay a lot of money for well-packaged smoked catfish.
• Honey: Pure African honey is in high demand in Europe for medicine and food.
• Feathers and bones: Used in other countries to make pillows or industrial fertilisers.

What are the requirements for exporting?

You cannot just pack a bag of meat and go to the airport. To sell to other countries, you must meet very high standards.

1. Quality control: International buyers are very strict. If they find even one tiny germ or a trace of bad chemicals in your meat, they can reject the whole container.
2. NAFDAC and SON: In Nigeria, you must get approval from these agencies to prove your product is safe.
3. Standard weight: You must use kilograms (kg) and grams (g). You cannot sell by “eye-gauge” in the international market.
4. Language: Your labels must be written in the language of the country you are selling to (usually English, French or Spanish).

Class activity: create your own brand

Take a sheet of paper and draw a “label” for a product from your farm (for example, goat milk, smoked fish or eggs).

1. Write a catchy brand name.
2. Draw a simple logo.
3. Write one sentence that tells the customer why your product is the best (for example, “Our eggs are always fresh from the nest”).

Teacher’s final word: Packaging and branding can turn a “farmer” into an “agropreneur” (agriculture + entrepreneur). If you take care of the “face” of your business, customers are more likely to trust it.

Evaluation

1. What is packaging?
2. State four reasons for packaging livestock products.
3. Name the three parts of a brand.
4. List three livestock products that Nigeria can export.
5. State the four requirements for exporting livestock products.

Assignment

Choose one livestock product from this lesson. Name the material you would use to package it and give a reason. Then suggest a brand name for it and state two requirements it must meet before it can be exported.