Ponmo Summit 2023 : discouraging the consumption of animal hides.

 The race to revive the leather industry is on and a multifaceted approach is needed to tap into the $300 billion dollars revenue opportunities in the leather value chain.

 Presently 88% of animal hides in Nigeria is processed as food, the popular Ponmo while only 12% is available for the leather industry.

The diversification of the economy by promoting industrialization in other sectors can be achieved if more attention is given to the leather value chain. A policy to increase in the proportion of animal hides available for the leather industry is a good place to start the campaign to discourage the consumption of ponmo.

The love for ponmo is depriving us of revenue from foreign investment through trading of leather goods and accessories as well as stifling growth of the leather industry. The leather value chain is  enormous with the capacity to generate over 500,000 jobs thereby eliminating unemployment as well as reducing poverty level.

  The questions we should ask now are : how can we get more animal hides for leather production? how can we tap into this huge Forex earnings? what can we do to discourage the eating of these hides? what incentives can be given to ponmo processors//dealers so that hides will move out of food chain to leather chain? 

 These answers will form a pathway for the desired industrialization drive as well as promotion of the leather value chain as discussed at the ponmo summit 2023.

 How can the consumption of hides  be discouraged?  create an awareness about the health implications of ponmo. It is no news that eating ponmo has been linked to cancer, liver and kidney disease e.t.c

Do you know that ponmo is fried using animal fat called tallow?

Do you know the processors reuse these oils severally without discarding ?

Do you know that the particles in the oil from fried ponmo are not drained out,increasing the possibility of poisoning due to bacteria growth?

 Studies have shown that animal fat is rich in  saturated fat which can cause heart disease as well as obesity. Further studies has shown that oils that foams/bubbles or has changed color should not be reused and that reusing oil results in release of free radicals in the body causing inflammations and cancer.     The free radicals released in the body has also been linked to central nervous toxicity

  Look at the oil used for frying ponmo.

Animal fat .

 Oil used for frying the ponmo.

The state of oil at the start of the processing the next  day.

More ponmo stories....

Halal meat: how to start producing Halal meat

 Halal meat

To start producing Halal meat, you need to embrace these four steps: 1) The premises must be for halal slaughtering alone and all necessary permits regarding abattoir, slaughter lines and waste management must be collected.

LEARN MORE : HALAL FACTS.

Halal management: the ethics / tenets of  the halal slaughtering and halal management principles must be followed strictly.

Standard operating protocols: the slaughtering techniques, animal specification clearly spelled out by the Halal protocol must be clearly written out, pasted on walls and practiced.

Halal certification and standardization: the facility and production lines  must be inspected, processes audited to ensure compliance and then certification is provided.

   To tap into this trillion dollar industry, start a niche business: start an halal meat shop.

1)Start an abattoir that is for Halal slaughtering alone. Get the facility registered and certified and create continuous income by providing your facility for Halal slaughtering at a fee and also providing a base for meat export.

2) Decide the type of animal you want to slaughter: cattle, sheep or goat.

3) Slaughter only healthy animals.

4) Process and package beef with the Halal certification seal and start making money.

The Muslim community is growing and many more countries are adopting the Halal method with certification to tap into the trillion dollar industry.

The Muslim population reached 1.8 billion in 2015 and it is expected to be the world’s fastest growing religious group, increasing by 70% to almost 3 billion people by 2060, according to the forecast made by Pew Research Center. 

Very good news for the halal meat industry, seeing that the main driver for this market is set by the Muslim expenditure on halal meat and related products. 

 In the recent years, lots of European countries have decided to support the cause, considering the high profits coming from Muslim markets, as well as the choice in the internal market of many non-Muslims to eat halal meat for ethical reasons. 

                                   DID YOU KNOW? 

The biggest importer of halal-certified food from the OIC countries is Saudi Arabia, followed on the second spot by Malaysia, while UAE, Indonesia and Egypt occupy the third, the fourth and the fifth position respectively in the top 5 leading halal food importers. Meanwhile, the top 10 biggest exporters of halal meat to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries account for a total trade value of $14.04 billion. 

 Brazil is the largest exporter of halal meat to these countries with a trade value worth $5.19 billion, followed by Australia with $2.36 billion and India with $2.28 billion on the second and third spots respectively. 

Other big exporters are as follows: France ($0.8 billion), China ($0.7 billion), Sudan and South Sudan ($0.63 billion), the Netherlands ($0.59 billion), Spain ($0.56 billion), Somalia ($0.47 billion) and Turkey ($0.46 billion).

       

Echbee Foods adding Value to Cassava for Health and Wealth.

   Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava of which 70% of it is processed to garri. The need to provide food for the estimated population of 10 billion by 2030 is very important taking into consideration the impact of climate change on agriculture.

 According to research there is an urgency to promote innovative  use of crops to produce new healthy products as well as look into the need to look at other food alternatives.

 Each country is blessed with a staple crop or produce which if properly harnessed will ensure food security, wealth creation as well as employment opportunities. This is the case of using what you have to get what you want.

 In Nigeria, we are so blessed with cassava. Lets look at the possibilities of turning garri a product of cassava to innovative products. Garri has also found its place in the international market with Amazon, Tropical sun and other sites selling branded packs online. The Africans in diaspora also  order some African foods such as crayfish, melon, pepper, yam flour ,garri e.t.c.

 The African food in high demand is garri, this gives credence to the study by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC)  : there is a market for high quality garri for exports and supermarkets. The export market has the potential to generate US$343,524 while the local domestic demand can add US$62,312 to the economy.   This is the export potential of garri , increasing foreign income if properly harnessed.

  Echbee Foods uses this garri to make healthy, nutritious foods that are healthy and affordable. Garri can be used to make bread replacing wheat thus saving forex spent on wheat importation. 

Garri cakes.

Cassava Flakes: garri as cereal

Cassava Flakes: garri as snack.

 Garri will create more employment opportunities because of new investors that will tap into garri processing, garri packaging and garri based foods/ snacks.

   Interested in the garri business? join the train.

THE EXPORT POTENTIAL OF SNAIL SHELLS.

The rearing and processing has been highlighted in earlier posts. The new angle to story is the use of the snail shells as decorative pieces and art work that also command export potentials.

 The shells are used in creative artistic works that graced a number of art shops abroad,the unique designs on shells make them masterpiece material.