Business plan for the establishment of a cat fish farm

Executive summary

Derek Fishery Limited will be carrying out cat fish farming with the special emphasis on the provision of catfish for Ughelli metropolis and its environs. The major focus shall be for both short and long term goals in the business of catfish farming and to expand the production of catfish and customer base both locally and regionally in and around Ughelli metropolis.

The business will be owned, managed and operated by eight shareholders namely; Kirikorode Emmanuel Nkechi, Promise, Nwosa Joy, Eyasevwe Faith, Azubuike Judith, Ezekiel Evi Prudence, Nwadishi Adaeze and Ogagayere  Rita until further decision by the shareholders, the ownership of the business shall be restricted to the shareholders stated above.

Company description

Derek Fishery Limited shall specialize on cat fish farming and production of catfish for the targeted population which is Ughelli metropolis. The target market shall be low, medium and high class income earners with spending large amounts of money. This business will operate as a retail establishment owned and operated by eight share holders which are Edohworhu Promise, Nwosa Joy, Eyasevwe Faith, Azubuike Judith, Ezekiel Evi Prudence, Nwadishi Adaeze and Ogagayere Rita as a limited liability company.

Production of catfish is one business that demands care and expertise, the main expenditure in the production cycle is the fish feed and the staff salary. It takes a life cycle of about six months to get to maturity when fed adequately.   Upon hatching, the small fish is started with atamia, this is the powder-like form of the feed, it is the most expensive of all the feed stages but the consumption rate of these fishes at this time is relatively minimal. This feed type contains adequate minerals, vitamins and nourishment to support growth, development and protection hence they are specially made. A matured cat fish is expected to weigh one kilogram or above.

Derek Fishery Limited shall be the name of our fish farm and it shall be duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

Industry analysis

Catfish is a non seasonal commodity, we have plans  to reach out to other market in and around Ughelli metropolis for faster sales and better profit, we plan to also employ the service of the available modern fish driers as we have identified that dry fish yield more profit and it is preserved and sold at will. Bulk cold room buyers from other parts of Delta State of the shall also the contacted in future, a nearby farm with over 200,000 fishes stock have not been able to satisfy them and they are always on the lookout for more.

Market and competition

Our main competitors in this fish farming business are the importers of frozen fish and other fish-farmers like us. From our analysis, the cost per kilogram of frozen fish, popularly called ice-fish is N750, to achieve this, we weighed three units which gave us a kilogram and a unit of that size of fish we bought for N250. Currently, the catfish is sold to main distributors at N400 per kilogram, and it is retailed at N500 per kilogram, this makes it reasonably cheaper, survey data has shown that the catfish is preferred to the frozen ice-fish in taste and nutritional value. For other competitors in the cat fish farming, we have a considerable advantage, being that fish farming is our passion and our farming operations shall be carried out by the shareholder which makes supervision easier and effective. The main capital in the business shall be contributed by the shareholders.

Strategies and services

Derek Fishery Limited shall be opened to customer between, 8 a.m. to 6 pm. Our services will be structured to ensure that we understand what our competitors are doing at any point in time to help us tailor our services in such a way that we ensure customer satisfaction and retention of our customers.

Marketing and sales

Our target market shall be low, medium and high income earners in Ughelli metropolis through market women and hotels in Ughelli metropolis. Extra effort will be made to contact cold room buyers within the state, and preservation through drying is also a planned option. We shall also be reaching out to industrial users that utilize the fish for fish meal production and other products.

The prices of our catfish shall be the average price of our competitor’s price. Since we shall not be running the farm through loan,  we shall afford to sell at a lower price and hang on to a lesser profit which shall encourage higher turnover than our competitor, thereby making a higher profit in the long run. We shall sell a kilogram of our catfish at the price of N380.

Products

Derek Fishery Limited operation shall be limited to catfish farming. Only matured catfish shall be offered for sale at any point in time.

Management

Our farm manager shall be Kikiarode Emmanuel Nkechi, who is an experienced young lady who had formally headed two successful farms before joining us. With her wealth of knowledge in fish farming, especially fish nutrition and being very industrious and has a flare for growth.

The Assistant Manager shall be Nwosa Joy who had worked with various farms around Ughelli. She is a young hard working lady who specializes in hatchery and tendering of small fingerlings and juveniles. The third person, Eyasevwe Faith is who we called the utility player, she happens to be good in all aspect of cat fish farming, from hatchery to harvesting and sales.

Azubuike Judith shall be our stock keeper and operations person, she is highly respected by the other entire shareholder, her matured approach to operations will always be of great help to management communication to other shareholder much easier. The other shareholders shall assist in all the main departments of our operations, from nursery to the sales aspect.

Operations

Derek Fishery Limited shall be operated from Afiesere community in Afiesere-Ughelli. Afiesere community is a suburb of Ughelli with good network of road and affordable standard of living which is certainly a very strategic location, since the area has a good network of roads. This location since it is close to the city centres, it shall be very easy for us to get assess to the market to get our raw material and to sell our finished products.

Financial requirements

The business shall require the sum of 4,000,000 as startup capital which shall be funded by shareholder’s contributions.  Derek Fishery Limited shall be a limited liability company in which the ownership shall be by shares which shall be at N4 per share.

Exhibits

  • Objective: Derek Fishery Limited objective is to make catfish available for the low, medium and high income earners in Ughelli metropolis at a very affordable price.
  • Derek Fishery Limited Mission Statement: Derek Fishery Limited mission is to provide affordable catfish to the people in Ughelli metropolis
  • Vision Statement: Derek Fishery Limited hopes to expand its target area to the entire Delta State and beyond.
  • Our core values are dedication, discipline, and hard work

Financial performance

Required Capital Investment

Capital Investment Item Qty Unit price (N) Total (N)
Land 200 x 100 600,000 600,000
Ponds (Digging) 12 40,000 480,000
Borehole 1 100,000 100,000
Hatchery 4 20,000 80,000
Vehicle (Van) 1 800,000 800,000
Farm Offices 400,000 400,000
Total 2,460,000

Operation Costs

Note: Since it takes six (6) months for catfish to get to maturity, our account shall be based on a 6-month cycle. We shall also assume a production rate of 200,000 of catfish in 6 months

S/N MATERIALS Qty in 6 month Average Unit Cost (N) Monthly expenses Yearly expenses
1 Fish feed  (fingerlings) Atamia 0.2mm 12 bags 3,600 7,200 86,400
2 Fish feed  (jumpers)    Atamia 0.6mm 18 bags 3,000 9,000 108,000
3 Fish feed  (juvenile)

Atamia 0.8 -1mm

24 bags 2,500 10,000 120,000
4 Fish feed (Adult Catfish)        Atamia 1 – 2mm 30 bags 2,000 10,000 120,000
5 Power for borehole 3,000 3,000 6,000
6 Medications 300 5,000 250,000 3,000,000
Subtotals 289,200 3,440,400

General cost (Overheads)

Cost items Expenses
Monthly 6 months Yearly
Salaries 320,000 1,920,000 3,840,000
Utilities 10,000 60,000 120,000
Marketing 10,000 60,000 120,000
Administrative Expenses 20,000 120,000 240,000
Cleaning and toiletries 8000 48,000 96,000
Miscellaneous 10,000 60,000 120,000
Depreciation 5,000 1,920,000 60,000
Sub-total 378,000 2,268,000 4,536,000

 

Total Operating Cost for a year = Operation Cost  + General Overhead

                                                          = N 500,400+ N 4,536,000

                                                          = N 5,066,400

Ø  Production of 200,000 kg of cat fish in 6 months

Ø  Depreciation on fixed assets assumes 4-years life of assets written off at 25% year for all assets.

Ø  Direct costs include materials includes every material used in the course of carrying out the operations

Revenue

S/N Product Qty Unit Cost (N) Six months income Yearly income
1 Fish (1kg) 70,000 380 26,600,000 319,200,000
2 Fish (2kg) 60,000 600 36,000,000 432,000,000
3 Fish (2.5kg) 50,000 700 35,000,000 420,000,000
4 Fish      (3 kg) 20,000 900 18,000,000 216,000,000
Subtotals 115,600,000 1,387,200,000

 

Profitability Analysis Table

Profitability item Six months Per year
Revenue 115,600,000 1,387,200,000
Less: General Cost 2,268,000 4,536,000
Less: Operating Cost 289,200 3,440,400
Profit 9,002,800 108,033,600

Conclusion

Catfish farming is a very lucrative business available to Nigerian entrepreneurs, it requires very little skill and work. Although the starting is a little challenging, since the entrepreneur has to wait for about six month to get the first harvest, but the profit accruable is worth the waiting time.

References

Kerin, H. & Berkowitz, R. (2006).  Marketing. (8th ed.). Irwin: McGraw-Hill.

Malburg, R. (2010).  All-In-One Business Planning Guide. New York: Bob Adams, Inc.

Rich, R.  & Gumpert, E. (2005). Business plans that win: lessons from the MIT Enterprise Forum. New York: Harper & Row Publishers Inc.

Rogoff, G. (2004).  Bankable business plans. Texere: Thomson Publishing

Roger C.. (2004). Rule’s Book Of Business Plans For Startups: Creating A Winning Plan That You Can Take To The Bank. Luton: Entrepreneur Press.

Siegel, S., Brian, R. &, Bornstein, M. (2008). The Ernst & Young business plan guide. New York.:John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Vaughn, E.(2007). Financial Planning for the Entrepreneur. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

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