Golden Delta Rice Business Plan — Production and Operations
The double-cropping calendar, how 5.0 tonnes per hectare is achieved against a 2.0 national average, cost per hectare and milling operations.
Production and Operations
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- Overview & contents
- i. Important Notice and Basis of Preparation
- 1. Executive Summary
- 2. The Business
- 3. Why the Mill Is the Business
- 4. Market Analysis
- 5. SWOT and Competitive Position
- 6. Production and Operations
- 7. The Outgrower Scheme
- 8. Organisation and Compliance
- 9. Financial Plan
- 10. Break-Even and Debt Service
- 11. Investment Analysis
- 12. The Finance Rate Decides This Project
- 13. Risk Analysis
- 14. Implementation Roadmap
- 15. Key Performance Indicators
- 16. Key Assumptions
- 17. Conclusion and Recommendation
- A. Appendix A: Consolidated Financial Summary
- B. Appendix B: Capital and Cost Schedules
- C. Appendix C: Funding and Debt Schedules
- D. Appendix D: Risk Register
- E. Appendix E: Glossary
- 6.1 The double-cropping calendar
- 6.2 How the yield target is achieved
- 6.3 Cost of production per hectare
- 6.4 Milling operations
6.1 The double-cropping calendar
Irrigation is what makes this plan work. A rainfed farm produces one crop a year; an irrigated farm in a river valley produces two. That single decision doubles output from the same land, the same management team and largely the same fixed cost base.
|
Crop |
Yield target |
Season |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dry season |
5.2 t/ha |
December to May |
Higher yield: full water control, less disease and pest pressure |
|
Wet season |
4.8 t/ha |
June to November |
Lower yield: rainfall variability, higher weed and pest load |
|
Annual average |
5.0 t/ha |
Two crops |
1 000 t of paddy from 100 hectares |
6.2 How the yield target is achieved
A target of 5.0 tonnes per hectare against a national average near 2.0 requires justification, not assertion. It is achievable, and routinely achieved on well-managed irrigated schemes, through five specific practices.
▪ Certified improved seed at the correct rate, replaced every season rather than saved from the previous harvest.
▪ Correct fertiliser rates. Nigeria’s average application is about 19 kilograms per hectare against a global average above 100. This plan applies four bags of NPK and two of urea per hectare per crop, split between basal and top dressing.
▪ Full water control through levelled, bunded fields with reliable pumping, allowing correct flooding depth at each growth stage.
▪ Transplanting at the correct spacing and age rather than broadcast seeding, and timely weeding within the first six weeks.
▪ Harvest at correct moisture with mechanised threshing, and immediate drying to prevent the quality loss that discounts so much Nigerian paddy.
6.3 Cost of production per hectare
|
Cost item |
Per hectare per crop (₦) |
Share |
|---|---|---|
|
Fertiliser: 4 bags NPK, 2 bags urea |
303 000 |
24.5% |
|
Labour: transplanting, weeding, harvesting |
268 000 |
21.7% |
|
Land preparation: ploughing, harrowing, puddling |
185 000 |
15.0% |
|
Irrigation, pumping and fuel |
132 000 |
10.7% |
|
Harvesting and threshing |
112 000 |
9.1% |
|
Agrochemicals: herbicide and pesticide |
88 000 |
7.1% |
|
Certified seed, 60 kg per hectare |
75 000 |
6.1% |
|
Field transport, bagging and handling |
47 000 |
3.8% |
|
Crop insurance, NAIC index cover |
26 000 |
2.1% |
|
Total per hectare per crop |
1 236 000 |
100.0% |
|
Total per hectare per year, two crops |
2 472 000 |
|
|
Cost per tonne of paddy at 5.0 t/ha |
247 200 |
|
|
Cost per tonne at the national average of 2.0 t/ha |
618 000 |
6.4 Milling operations
|
Milling cost per tonne of paddy |
Amount (₦) |
Note |
|---|---|---|
|
Parboiling energy and fuel |
16 500 |
Steam and soak; the largest energy load |
|
Milling power and diesel |
12 800 |
Grid supply is unreliable; a generator carries part of the load |
|
Mill labour |
9 400 |
Operators across parboiling, milling and packing |
|
Packaging: 50 kg woven bags, printed |
8 600 |
50 kg woven bags, printed |
|
Maintenance, spares and consumables |
5 200 |
Spares held on site against a single production line |
|
Quality control and losses |
3 100 |
Grading, moisture testing and process loss |
|
Total milling cost per tonne |
55 600 |
Milling recovery is assumed at 62 per cent head rice, with 8 per cent bran and 20 per cent husk. Recovery is the most valuable operational metric in the mill: a three-point shortfall costs ₦55 364 374 of Year 3 EBITDA, and the full plus-and-minus three-point band is ₦111 196 800 wide. Correct drying to 14 per cent moisture before parboiling is what protects it.