A study on the Nigerian food industry and the impact of technological changes on the small-scale food enterprises

Industrial processing of foods assists the nation to maintain a steady supply of food products. This study assessed some factors influencing the growth of the Nigerian food industry with the view to identify some technological changes within the small-scale food enterprises and their impact in the last ten years. Information on the Nigerian food industry was compiled from a secondary source while a survey of small-scale food enterprises was conducted in SouthWest Nigeria using a structured questionnaire and interviews. Results showed that the number of food manufacturing companies (FMCs) increased over the years with the largest number of FMCs established in the 1980s. The range of products produced is still small, with several FMCs producing similar products. More than 50% of the FMCs in the country are located in the SouthWest, with Lagos State as the major host. About 91% of the FMCs are listed as private and 7.3% are publicly quoted. Indigenous entrepreneurs wholly own 56.9% of the FMCs. Percent local sourcing is high in the FMCs. Areas of technological changes include expanded capacity utilization, expansion of production lines and expanded market shares, which arose as a result of the active involvement of management in the production process, acquisition of new packaging systems, and participation of the work force in process improvement. The study identified the need to standardize locally fabricated equipment to facilitate ready production of spare parts, Recommendations were made on how to increase the financial base of the small-scale enterprises.