My easy way of squeezing all the profit from bananas

Reuben Ngaca attends to ingredients put out to dry in his solar drier in Nyeri. Ngaca uses bananas, cassava and pumpkins among others to make nutritious porridge flour through value addition. PHOTO | RACHEL KIBUI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The flour, according to him, is nutritious as it contains calcium, iron, amino acids and potassium, among other nutrients.
  • Processing increases the shelf-life of produce, extending the time between production and sale.
  • People, including farmers and other stakeholders, should take advantage of the popularity of indigenous foods and add value and sell.

A small greenhouse-like structure welcomes one to Reuben Ngaca’s home in Kihuti, Mukurwe-ini, Nyeri.

One can easily mistake the structure to be the normal greenhouse hosting capsicum or tomatoes.

But Ngaca uses it for value addition, drying in there bananas, cassava and pumpkins to make nutritious porridge flour.

The headmaster of Rutune Primary School started the business last year after taking an agro-processing course at Wambugu Farm in Nyeri and invested Sh20,000 in the dryer.

He learnt how to dry bananas, cassavas and pumpkins and grind them before mixing with a little of millet or sorghum to make porridge flour.

“I first begin by chopping raw materials and spreading them on a wire-mesh inside the solar dryer where they stay for about a week before they are ready for grinding at a posho mill and mixed in various ratios,” says Ngaca, who has employed three people at the production level; one who sources for raw materials and two who chop and spread in the dryer.

A bunch of bananas, which is the main ingredient, goes for between Sh50-Sh100 in markets, but Ngaca who buys from farmers offers Sh150-Sh200 per bunch or Sh10 per kilo.

He also buys a kilo of cassavas at Sh10 and pumpkins go Sh50 per kilo. About 5kg of bananas or cassavas produce a kilo of flour. On the other hand, 7kg of pumpkins produces the same quantity of flour.

A 90kg bag of millet or sorghum goes for Sh3,600.

CERTIFIED PRODUCTS

“I make at least 500 packets of flour of various sizes, with a 500g going for Sh100 and a 1kg for Sh200. The business is more profitable than selling raw produce because you get more than double the profit,” he notes.

Hygiene is key in the business and Ngaca has set aside rooms for different production stages.

“One is for cleaning, another for flour mixing and lastly storage. I also limit the number of people entering the dryer. Only staff, or myself when dressed appropriately are allowed,” he says, adding his product is certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

The flour, according to him, is nutritious as it contains calcium, iron, amino acids and potassium, among other nutrients.

On average, he sells about 500 1kg packets of his Afya Chap Chap flour each month, earning about Sh100,000. “I sell the flour to supermarkets in Nyeri, Othaya and Thika and to shops in Mukurwe-ini and Mathira,” says Ngaca, who further targets weddings and other social gatherings.

My plan is that in about five years, I would have a better machine dryer and a mixer to facilitate faster and bulky production.”

Daniel Wanjama, an agronomist and Director of Seeds Savers Network says with value addition, even produce that is considered worthless financially can earn people a lot of money.

"In some places, produce such as cassavas, pumpkins and bananas are not considered worth for business. But people, including farmers and other stakeholders, should take advantage of the popularity of indigenous foods and add value and sell,” he says, adding processing increases the shelf-life of produce, extending the time between production and sale.