fish farming business plan
Executive Summary
Fish
farming is a lucrative business; it is also simple and can be started with
small capital. Anyone with a small space and can find a market within a
locality can engage in fish farming. In fact, with as little as N750 you can start fish farming. In this
business plan, we shall discuss how you can successfully set up a fish farming
business.
Our
business plan on fish farming shall begin with the production of catfish but
later, tilapia shall be added. We shall sale fresh initially but later, the
introduction of drying and packaging also follow. Our customers shall be
an open market, restaurant, and grocery. Over time with reasonable expansion,
we shall commence exporting the product when the local market is satisfied.
With the support of my husband, the farm belongs to me My_Business_Name and I
would see to the day to day operation of the farm. With God on our side we
shall in future so expand the business that our children would look upon it as
something that can sustain them after us since fish will always be consumed by
man and there is no way everybody would go into fish production.
The
fish farming project would take approximately N1,500,000.00 (One Million Five
Hundred Thousand Naira only) to be deployed as follows: please see VI. Startup
Expenses and Capitalization.
If you want to set up
a fish farming business with less amount, say, N500,000 or N1,000,000 then you
will not include some equipment.
The pelletizing machine and dryer would enable me to prepare my own feed
which would be cheaper in the long run, thereby increasing my profit. This is
because imported fish feed is expensive and would reduce the profit margin if
depended upon throughout the six months grow-out period.
General Company
Description
Our business will basically be hinged on preparing the site, acquiring
two mobile ponds, fertilize the ponds within say 2 weeks, buy 500 fingerlings
for each of the ponds, feed them two times a day till maturity at 6 months and
then sale off as point-and-kill or as dried fish or both. Having sold off, we
stock again and repeat the process of brood and sale. We shall also go into
hatching over time.
Mission Statement: to be
self-employed, create employment opportunities for others, provide protein to
the populace and help save some foreign exchange for Nigeria.
Company Goals and
Objectives: Our goal is to have a healthy, successful company
that is a leader in customer service and that has a loyal customer following.
While our Objective will be to have our dried fish in every pot of soup in
Nigeria.
Business Philosophy: To earn a good
living from what I offer to my customers, while they continue desiring that we
serve them always.
Target
Customer: Since there are no religious, cultural or demographic
barriers on the consumption of catfish, our customers shall be the open market,
restaurants and grocery shops. Over time with reasonable expansion, we shall
commence exporting the product when the local market is satisfied or just to
earn foreign currency.
Competition: Catfish farming
industry is still in its infancy in Nigeria, with the commodity very expensive
because it is insufficient to go round. Most of the practitioners do it on a
small scale in their backyards and near their houses. With enough financing,
the country would begin to witness large scale fish farming running into
hundreds of million naira. The cost of imported fish feed is very high now
because of the high cost of the dollar. This, in turn, makes the fish
unaffordable by the common man. With growth over time and encouraging national
agricultural finance policy, we desire venturing into commercial local fish
feed production as soon as possible so that we can have a first-time advantage.
Strength and Competencies: Fish farming,
though available, requires skilled manpower. To set up a fish farming business,
you need to learn how to cater to the fish. The most important strength and
competence of the company are based on the fact that the prime mover is a
graduate and highly trainable. She can easily adapt to changing situations. Our
consultants also have many years’ experience in the industry and they are also
vast in management and are ever ready to keep supporting us. We shall ensure
that our top management personnel has high-level manpower, unlike other fish
farming businesses, where you mostly find the uneducated managing the affairs
of the business.
Legal
ownership: for now, our Legal form of ownership is Sole proprietorship and is
subject to available cash but, we are open to other business structures like
Partnership, Limited liability, and even Public Liability as our final
destination.
Products
and Services
This fish farming will basically be hinged on preparing the site,
acquiring two mobile ponds, fertilizing the ponds within say 2 weeks, buying
500 fingerlings for each of the ponds, feeding them two times a day till
maturity at 6 months and then selling off as point-and-kill or as dried fish or
both. Having sold off we stock the ponds again and repeat the process of
brooding and selling. At this point, we intend to keep some fish until we can
use them for hatching. This would mean constructing another mobile pond as
hatchery/nursery ponds, like say 3 numbers of 8 x 8 feet. At the onset of
operations, the Fishery will have approximately 2 people to assist with the day
to day operations. Another important product and service is the preparation and
sales of fish feed. This would, however, require separate capital outlay not
covered in this business plan.
Currently,
Nigerian economy is slowly recovering from recession. This slowdown in
the economy has also greatly impacted real estate sales, which has halted to
historical lows. Many economists expect that this recession will continue through 2016, at
which point the economy will begin a prolonged recovery period. However, this
should have a minimal impact on the Fishery’s ability to generate revenues, as
much of its produced fish will be geared towards popular fish that are
constantly in demand regardless of the general economic climate.
Each
year, the industry generates a lot of money from fish farming through retail
fish sales. These sales also include the receipts generated by restaurants that
specialize in the sale of seafood. Among importers and distributors, a lot of
money running into billion is recognized annually among market agents. The
industry also employs so many people. The growth of the industry is expected to
continue as more Nigerians are seeking to add fish and other seafood products
to their diets for both the taste and health benefits associated with seafood.
One of the most common trends in the fishery industry is that newer
technologies are actually increasing the net profit margins of the business
while concurrently lessening the ecological impact of fisheries on the
environment.
Customer
Profile
It is extremely difficult to determine the customer profile of people
that will acquire the fish produced by us because fish is consumed by all. The
Company intends to do business with farmer’s markets, fishery coops, and
fish/seafood wholesalers that will acquire the Company’s inventories of fish.
Fish
Farming Marketing Plan
The Fishery’s marketing operations will be minimal as once the Company
solidifies ongoing relationship with fishery coops and wholesalers, very little
marketing will be required to maintain these relationships. At the onset of
operation, we intend to aggressively develop relationship with local and
regional fishery coops that will assist the Fishery in maintaining stringent
pricing (through forward and future contacts) so that the Fishery always has a
predictable stream of income. However, in the future, we might seek to brand
certain fish items that we produce. In this instance, the Company will hire a
marketing/advertising firm to properly position the Company’s image and brand
so that it can directly sell packaged fish to major groceries, supermarkets,
farmer’s markets, and select retailers.
This Fishery intends to maintain an extensive marketing campaign that
will ensure maximum visibility for the business in its targeted market. Below
is an overview of the marketing strategies and objectives of the Fishery.
Marketing Objectives
We intend developing relationship with major groceries and fish/seafood
wholesalers that will acquire bulk inventories from us and polish ongoing
purchase order relationship with cooperatives throughout the target market.
Pricing
Our pricing shall be as in the table below:
|
|
AGE in months |
PRICE ( |
|
Fingerling |
up to 1 |
30 |
|
Juvenile |
2 |
50 |
|
Table Size |
6 |
1000 per kg |
|
Brood Stock |
8 and above |
2500 per kg |
The price of various categories of our fish shall be average prices and
compete on quality and service. Our intended customers really make their
purchase decisions mostly on price, so we are better off remaining average. Our
credit policy shall be cash and carry so that our customers would always come
with their money.
Economics
As stated in the executive summary, we intend to develop the Fishery as
a multi-fish producing farm that will spawn, grow, and distribute its fish to
seafood wholesalers throughout the target market. We already have the potential
land, but the equipment that will be used for the Fishery’s operations would be
sourced. Additionally, it should be noted that we will join a fishery
cooperative that will assist with the distribution and sale of the fish.
Facts about our industry:
·
The size of the market is as huge as the
population of Nigeria because everybody eats catfish but, the only problem is
affordability because disposable income is on the decline.
·
Our percentage share of this market is as
good as 0 because 1,000 pieces of catfish per year means nothing to Nigerian
market. The important thing is that we shall finish selling output and continue
to grow.
·
Current demand in target market is that of
the sellers’ market because total supply is far below demand.
·
Catfish production would grow to such a time
when fish processors would also entre the scene. The little that is produced
now is just not enough for processing and packaging, it is just consumed.
·
Growth potential and opportunity for a
business of our size is limitless.
·
However, we are faced with the under listed
barriers of entry into this market:
o
High capital costs
o
High production costs
o
High marketing costs
o
Consumer brand recognition
o
Training and skills
o
Unique technology and patents
o
Unions
o
Shipping costs
·
To surmount the above barriers however, we
have of course plunged into the business and beginning to eliminate them one
after the other from our comfort zone.
·
Apart from natural disaster, we do not
foresee any adverse effect on our business as a result of change in technology
since we are currently almost manual in our operations. Change in government
regulations most likely would favour us as it must be ban on imported fish.
There is no way change in the economy, no matter how bad, would affect total
rejection of catfish by man.
Product
We have
described our products and services under Products
and Services section above as we see them. Now follows their
description from our customers’ point of view.
Features and Benefits
Fingerling production shall be within one-month order. This will enable
us produce and supply any number demanded by our customers. We shall not be
selling the last grade of fingerlings to our customers rather, we will grow
them ourselves for dried fish purposes only. We must use daphnia or artemia to
raise our fingerlings, for 2 weeks at least, to enable our fish longevity. What
we have said so far also apply to our juvenile, which are grown with balanced
rations. When you feed animals regularly with balanced rations, they grow out
having more density and are testier because they had all they needed. Our table
size shall be after 6 months, weighing between 1 and 3kg. As for the brood
stock, we must make sure they stay up to 8 months and their eggs brown, before
declaring them for sale.
Apart from the testy and palatable aroma and sensation we derive from
catfish in our food, the importance of fish protein and oil in our diet and our
body system can never be over emphasized. Please consult a medical doctor for
the importance of sea food to us.
In doing our business, we will be contributing to the reduction of
unemployment by employing as much as will be profitable to us.
Our after-sale services will include delivery, service contracts,
support for processing, follow-up on startup fish farms, and refund policy.
Customers
Our customers base cuts across all religion, ages, gender, location,
social class, educational level and occupation. However, point-and-kill catfish
is for middle and high income levels, while the dried one would readily be available
to the low income earners.
For business customers, we have open market, restaurants and grocery
shops. Nigeria is yet to witness the entry of fish processing factories, so we
are not thinking of them for now, especially with our small capital base:
N1.5m.
Competition
Most fish farmers around us depend on imported fish feed with its huge
overhead cost. We intend to formulate our own feed which will be nutritive
enough but cheaper, translating into higher profits even when we sale cheaper.
Although all the fish farmers put together cannot yet saturate the market
because all of us are currently very small scale farmers. So competition is too
early to be given consideration in catfish production in the Nigerian contest,
but we shall prepare ourselves in readiness. Imported frozen fish is not
catfish and tests different.
Of cause, we still envisage indirect competition, from meat, example
beef, pork, chicken, snail, goat meat, frozen fish, stock fish. Again, meat
tests different from fish. Other fish farmers are excluded because, put
together, we cannot produce enough for now. The compettion is only on certain
customers because a customer who wants point-and-kill must have catfish or
nothing at all.
Competitive Analysis would have been
necessary had it been that fish farming business has become institutionalized
in Nigeria, but the reverse is the case.
Niche
Our unique corner of the market is just to start producing table size
catfish for resellers, restaurants etc.
Strategy
Our strategy shall be phone call and messaging and personal contacts to
inform our readiness to sale at maturity and average prices.
Promotion
Advertising: phone calls, short text messages, posters and handbills.
We shall also use other methods such as dealer incentives, word of mouth
and network of friends or professionals.
We want to project success to our customers so that they would see us as
successful catfish farmers.
In addition to advertising, we plan to have graphic image support. This
would include things like logo design, cards and letterhead, brochures,
signage, and interior designs for customer visits.
We would computerize our operations, identify repeat customers and then
systematically contact and reward them accordingly.
Promotional Budget
We have budgeted N150,000.00 (One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) for
promotions.
Proposed Location
We do not yet have a precise permanent location picked out yet. That is
why we are starting to run from home for a while with mobile fish ponds, before
pinpointing a permanent location and concrete/earthen ponds.
Our current location is motor able and highly accessible, convenient
with enough parking space. Whether rain or sunshine the compound has enough
shade.
Distribution Channels
Our distribution channel shall be retail for families, wholesale for
resellers, agents and independent representatives who might want some
commission are also welcome.
Sales Forecast
Except for 10% mortality, which is provided for in any animal husbandry
outfit, we forecast 95% sales of our output. We therefore predict an annual
growth rate of 45%. The loan would have 2-year term with 10% interest rate.
Operational
Plan
The daily operation of the business is as simple as manually feeding the
fish twice a day, between 6am and 8am and 5pm and 7pm. While doing this we make
sure that ¼ volume of water flows out and is replaced every day.
Production
·
The ponds are washed, fertilized and stocked
with fingerlings, manual feeding continues for 6 months when maturity is
achieved.
·
Aerated water constantly flows through the
pond to achieve artificial stream. Depending on the age and size of the fish,
correct size of feed, measured in mm, is used in the feeding.
·
Customers are placed on notice when the fish
will mature.
·
Daily feed consumption is noted to ensure
that we have enough for 1 month before restocking.
·
Our consultant is always handy to assist our
product development and general support.
Location
We would prefer a sloppy topography or a location with adequate drainage
system, so that discharging our waste water would not waterlog the environment.
Physical requirements of a plot of land, measuring 100 by 100 feet,
would be ok for a start. A small office, store, fishponds, overhead tanks,
water bore hole and power house. Electricity is very important.
Access to our location is excellent, we have excellent proximity to
freeway, airports, railroads and seaport.
The only unavoidable construction needed for a start now is 2 units of
10 feet by 10 feet mobile fishponds.
Legal Environment
We shall register our business with CAC (Corporate Affairs Commission)
and affiliate with appropriate cooperative in Umuahia South LGA. Affiliation
with NASSI (Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists) and AFAN (All
Farmers Association of Nigeria) will be also pursued. There is no law
prohibiting fish farming and so no permit is required to practice. The loan
amount shall be insured by NAIC (Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation).
Personnel
Number of employees shall be 2 for a start, the type of labour shall be
skilled, professional input shall be on consultation. We shall get the right
employees by personal contact, those staff will receive trainings. Their salary
shall be in line with the labour market and as applicable in our industry.
Overtime, we shall evolve a schedule and written procedures and job
descriptions for employees. Surely, for certain functions, contract workers
must be used in addition to employees.
Inventory
Major inventory in this business is fish and the feed, with some fuel to
pump water. We shall also keep feed raw materials since we intend to formulate
and prepare our own feed. We are looking at inventory investment of N480,000.00
(Four Hundred and eighty Thousand Naira only). The lead-time for ordering is 1
month.
Suppliers
Key supplier for fish feed is Zyex Nigeria Limited, Obizi, Amakama,
Olokoro, Umuahis South LGA, Abia State. You can request for any quantity from
them, their credit policy is cash and carry. Their feed is nutritious and
highly fortified with vitamins and minerals. It is also noted that supply costs
are always on the increase, hence the option to formulate and produce our own
feed.
Credit Policies
We do not plan to sell on credit because it is not customary in this
industry and clients would neither be expecting it.
Management
and Organization
My_Business_Name will manage the business on a day-to-day basis. She has
post NYSC experience coupled with the trainings she received from Zyex Nigeria
Limited, who are also in constant consultation and SEEDC (South East
Entrepreneurship Development Centre). She has distinctive competencies in
accounting, management, communication and marketing. The plan is to train
everyone in the family/company as a way of ensuring continuity.
My_Business_Name is the owner. She has Higher National Diploma in Mass
Communication. Did her NYSC in 2016. She is a Christian and a Nigerian. She has
also gained 2 years experience as news reporter/caster with NTA (Nigerian
Television Authority) Umuahia, during NYSC and industrial training.
Professional and Advisory Support
·
Board of directors:
·
Attorney:
·
Accountant:
·
Insurance agent:
·
Banker:
·
Consultants:
·
Mentors and key advisors:
Personal
Financial Statement
|
Stockholder |
Assets |
Liability |
Contribution |
|
30% |
1,000,000.00 |
100,000.00 |
150,000.00 |
|
50% |
500,000.00 |
0 |
300,000.00 |
|
20% |
150,000.00 |
0 |
100,000.00 |
Startup Expenses and
Capitalization
