Baobab intervention

• 50 million people in Africa are at risk of Hunger crises while 83 million Nigerians are living below the poverty line

• 125 million Nigerians compete with animals for soya beans resulting to high cost and scarcity of soya bean most especially during the rainy season as a major source of protein used in industries mostly animal feed production, This has resulted to a leaner profit margin for animal farmers; most have reduced their farm size while others have abandoned or closed down their farms.
• Estimated that 6.14 million animal farmers are affected by high cost of animal feed, most a times drastically reducing profit margin of farmers. In Nigeria, a greater percentage of animal farmers are women.
• About 51% of Nigerians are rural dwellers and have the opportunity of increasing their income through the sales of baobab seed with special reference to 19 northern states, where baobab trees are abundant, on the contrary it is being wasted due to lack of knowledge by rural dwellers and locals, they throw away the seeds after extraction of it citrus pulp from it pods; because they do not have any idea on it economic benefit
• The lack of utilization of baobab seed potential as a protein source in animal feed
• About 47 million Nigeria youths are unemployed, including women and ladies.
• During the festive seasons in Nigeria, there is always a hike in price of cooking oil due to high demand. It affects them as mothers, house wife and owners of restaurants, fast food and eateries.  
• The increasing deforestation and alarming global warming. 

Our solution simply concerns the extraction and production of edible cooking oil from baobab seeds and it resultant cake is used in the production of animal feed as a source of protein in animal feed production.

The utilization of baobab cake reduces the cost of production for animal farmers and then the rural dwellers and locals now earn from what they formal regard as waste.

Formally the use of baobab oil for human consumption or for cooking is not health friendly due to the casinogenic or cancer causing properties of baobab oil despite it rich omega fatty acid. We overcame this challenge by utilizing an oil refining plant we designed and built to remove the cancer causing agents, making our baobab oil approved by Government regulatory bodies for human consumption.

Through the utilization of baobab seeds, baobab trees in the wild have more value, this has drastically reduced the cutting down of baobab trees in the wild, the reverse is the case as people are been encouraged to plant more baobab trees

The target population that our solution directly impact are listed below;

- Rural dwellers and Locals   

- Animal farmers and Animal feed producers. 

-  Consumers of cooking oil, wholesalers and retailers of cooking oil.                                                           

Ways in which we directly positively impact them is summarized below;

• The utilization of baobab seed in animal feed production improves the profit margin of farmers (women) by 11% through cost reduction of animal feed.
• Provision of employment, with a recognition of gender equality policy implementation and we offer indirect employment to women and ladies; greater percentage of our raw material suppliers are female.
• We provide decent source of income to females through off-taking or buying off baobab seeds from them. In doing this we provide opportunity for them to earn from what the previously regard as waste, due to lack of knowledge of it economic benefit.
• We provide women with cooking oil; which they wholesale and retail at major local markets as a means of livelihood.

• EXPERTISE : we have sufficient capacity due to special knowledge acquired from trainings and certifications in management and agribusiness. This include management training at EDC Lagos, ICRA certification, entrepreneurship training from Tony Elumelu Foundation, etc.
• EXPERIENCED: have gained skills and practical wisdom through carrying out similar projects, most which revolve around farmers, traders and rural dwellers; 

- We go into the villages and rural areas to source for our raw materials, thereby creating a direct contact with them.

- We are involve in associations that have farmers interest as part of their major objectives.

- We have day to day interaction with animal farmers and animal feed producers as the patronize us to meet their business objectives. 

- we have participated in many government intervention for farmers; like serving as off takers of soybean and groundnut from farmers, where the Government gives farmers of soybean and groundnut loans in form of farm input, the offtake their farm produce and pay back the loan to the Government.

- For consumers and retailers of edible cooking oil; over 13 years our business grew from wholesaling soybean and groundnut to being a producer of cooking oil. This has given us ample knowledge and strong relationship with consumers of cooking oil and it retailers

• EXPOSURE: we are driven by a passion to attain more level of responsibility through not focusing on the output alone but also on the outcome of a project.
• ACADEMIC BACKGROUND: area of discipline of team members suits that needed for carrying out this project.

- To acquire skills and knowledge that will make our business more sustainable while rendering the best social impact possible.

- To get connected with professionals with experts and professionals that will hold us by the hand and lead us through our entrepreneurial journey.

- To get connected to people that will help us meet our long term business objectives; like planting of 100 hectares of baobab tree plantation. 

We expect this move of ours to change the market as it will promote or stimulate a change from the utilization of the conventional sources (soybean and groundnut cake) of protein fibre in animal feed production to the utilization of baobab cake in animal feed production, considering it affordability and we expect more planting of baobab trees because of it comparative advantage compared to other protein sources; 500 kilogram of baobab seed can be harvested from a fully grown tree compared to 500 kilogram of soybean seed harvested from quarter of an hectare including it recurrent yearly farming cost.

Notably, another part of our innovation is utilising what was formerly regarded as waste as a source of raw material to meet our production objectives; buying of baobab seeds from locals and rural dwellers have given them another source of income.

Thirdly, baobab oil was not consider save for human consumption, due to it cancer causing properties, this lead it to be only used by the cosmetic industry due to it moisturizing properties, our plant design is able to remove those unwanted cancer causing properties and make it safe for human consumption. 

Goals for the next year are listed below;

- Plant 10 hectares of Baobab trees; creating more 35 additional direct and indirect jobs

- Increase our production capacity by at least 10% resulting to an increase in number of suppliers from 213 to 300

- Increase our raw material reserve by at least 7% to mitigate against unforeseen circumstance like COVID-19 pandemic; to make sure that our production is sustainable and our team mates continue to retain their jobs

Goals for the next 5 years; 

- Achieve 50% of 100 hectares of baobab tree plantation; 100 additional jobs, both direct and indirect

- Further increase market share by at least 10%; increase advocacy of baobab cake use in animal feed production by increasing it consumers or users from 1350 to 2500

- Increase production by 19%; creation of 75 additional jobs

- Number of jobs created directly and indirectly.

- profit margin improvement of animal farmers that use baobab cake against those that use the conventional source of protein fibre.

- Volume of baobab seed we off take from the locals and in financial equivalent

- The number of villagers that supply baobab seed to us.

- The number of new baobab tree planted

Baobab tree is drought resistant and has other economic potential apart from the use of it oil for cooking and the use of baobab cake as a source of protein fibre in animal feed production; it leaf and it citrus pulp has many economic benefit, high hygiene packaged citrus pulp has a big market in Europe.

Moving forward planting of more baobab tree will have a great economic impact in rural communities where it is been planted. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313421395_Ecology_economic_importance_and_nutritional_potentials_of_Adansonia_digitata_BAOBAB_A_prevalent_tree_species_in_northern_Nigeria

https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/science/article/pii/S0254629911001189

The processing of baobab oil to remove it cancer causing agents simply involves treating it under high temperature( 250 centigrade) at low pressure.

- We give financial assistance to team mates to help them set up another source of income

- Our team is made up of people from different ethnic group in Nigeria and also with mixed religion

- We also encourage skill acquisition and personal development by supporting them financially to meet such objectives; most especially going back to school to further.

- Animal farmers and animal feed producers; we supply them protein fibre in form of baobab cake, soybean cake and groundnut cake for the production of animal feed. We have build a track record of quality, which ensures that our customers are sure of the end result.

- Consumers, Wholesalers and Retailers of cooking oil; we provide  baobab oil, soybean oil and groundnut cooking oil of approved quality by Government regulatory agencies at affordable rate.

- Soap producers; supply them with soap stock a bye product gotten when cooking oil is refined, used in the production of soap, serving as the base raw material.

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We plan to remain sustainable through the sales of the following;

- protein fibre in form of baobab cake, soybean cake and groundnut cake

- cooking oil in form of baobab oil, soybean oil and groundnut oil

- soap stock, a bye product gotten in the process of refining cooking oil used in soap production.

- oily grits used in fattening of farm animals

- sales of baobab cake for organic fertilizer production due to it affordability.

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in 2021 we generated a revenue of 375,000 dollars.