TheCable

Kingsley Orji, managing director of Von Food and Farms Ltd, a food processing firm in Abia state, says the recent challenge in electricity supply across the country is taking a toll on the business sector.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Orji said the Aba-based company decided to leverage gas to keep its factories running as a result of inadequate power supply from the national grid.

He noted that to process cassava tubers into cassava starch flour for both industrial and food grades, adequate power is a primary requirement.

Orji added that industries are also facing daunting challenges, including raw material shortages and underdeveloped road network.

“We were running on diesel, but that became very expensive as diesel prices rose and power supply became more unstable. Then, gas began to look attractive,” Orji said.

“Amidst the challenges of sourcing raw materials and undeveloped state of the road network, we decided to generate our own power.

“The challenges with operating a food processing plant in Aba are enormous. For several months last year, the farmer-header crisis escalated, which shrank the volume of cassava supplied, a major raw material in the production process.

“We couldn’t even process up to 30 tonnes of cassava in a month on average because of non-accessibility of raw materials. Most of the farmers were not able to access their farms due to farmer-herder crisis.

“The company has an installed capacity of 50 tonnes output every eight hours, but could produce between 120-150 tonnes of processed cassava every month on average due to operating challenges. But in 2020, things got so bad that its output in five months was what it normally did in one month.”

Orji said when the company started utilising its 1.7MW gas plant delivered by Clarke Energy as alternative to cut down the cost of running his operations, the production output became better.

“The 1.7 megawatts power plant solution commissioned in 2018 represented Clarke Energy’s first and foremost achievement in the south east of Nigeria and was not possible without the robust relationship between both organisations,” Yiannis Tsantilas, managing director of Clark Energy in Nigeria, said.

“The Von team, led by a man of foresight and impeccable integrity, identified the need to develop the cassava value chain, including processing into semi-finished and finished products that are affordable and export-ready. As well as creating wealth for farmers and improving the regional economy.”