Nigeria 100-150KG/H Floating Fish Feed Production Line

Customer Visit Of Small 100-150KG/H Catfish Feed Produciton Plant In Nigeria

Sourcing Abundant Local Ingredients: A Realistic Raw Material Plan

Nigeria's agricultural diversity offers fish farmers an edge when sourcing raw materials for feed formulation. The client's feed formula leverages staple ingredients easily procured from local markets and nearby farms. Key inclusions are:

• Corn grains and cornmeal, contributing the primary source of carbohydrates and energy.
• Fish meal, often produced locally from fishery by-products, providing high-quality protein for growth.
• Soybean meal, to balance the amino acid profile.
• Groundnut cake, which is a common protein source from Nigeria’s peanut processing industry.
• Cassava flour, an economical carbohydrate extender.
• Premix and fish oil, ensuring essential vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids are included.

A typical batch composition for his catfish feed looks like:

• Corn: 40%
• Fish meal: 25%
• Soybean meal: 15%
• Groundnut cake: 10%
• Cassava flour: 7%
• Vitamins and oils: 3%

This mix not only optimizes nutrition for the fast-growing African catfish but also supports farmers' goal of minimizing reliance on costly imports by circulating local economic value within Nigeria’s rural communities.

Process Design: Simple, Practical, and Adapted for Small Farms

The technology behind this small-scale floating fish feed production line in Nigeria was selected to ensure ease of operation, maximum feed quality, and low running costs — ideal for farmers who want to process feed right at the farm.

The basic workflow includes five essential steps:

1. Crushing: Using the RICR-200 fish feed hammer mill, raw grains and cakes are finely ground. Proper grinding increases surface area, which improves cooking and pelletizing results during extrusion.
2. Mixing: Next, the HHJ-25 horizontal mixer blends the ground materials uniformly with vitamins, minerals, and oils. This ensures every pellet delivers consistent nutrition to the catfish stock.
3. Extruding: The mixed feed is fed into the DGP60-C small electric dry type fish feed extruder machine. This machine cooks the feed at high temperature and pressure, gelatinizing starch, sterilizing harmful organisms, and forming expanded floating pellets that stay on the pond’s surface.
4. Spraying/Coating: After extrusion, a PTJ-25 spraying machine coats the warm pellets with a fine layer of oil or vitamins, further boosting energy value and palatability.
5. Conveying and Packaging: A TLSS16 screw conveyor handles material flow between stages, keeping the system efficient and minimizing manual labor.

Final Product and Application: High-Value Floating Catfish Feed for Daily Use

The end product is a buoyant, uniform pellet ranging from 2 to 6mm, ideal for various growth stages of African catfish, from fingerlings to market-ready fish. Floating pellets offer clear benefits: farmers can monitor feed intake easily, adjust feeding regimes in real-time, and minimize water pollution as uneaten feed is not lost to pond bottoms.

This small floating fish feed production line in Nigeria is designed primarily for on-farm use, directly feeding the farmer’s ponds. However, any surplus can be sold to nearby smallholders or cooperatives that lack the capital to set up their own fish feed production line, creating a small additional revenue stream and building community ties.

Equipment Configuration

Below is the core equipment configuration for this 100-150KG/H catfish feed line in Nigeria:

The total installed power requirement for this system is approximately 50KW. Operating the line smoothly takes just 2-3 people, making it manageable for small farm setups without the need for heavy specialized labor. The installation, training, and commissioning took 10 days in total, from on-site setup to first batch production.

A Realistic Investment for Growing Farmers

The entire floating fish feed production line in Nigeria project required an investment USD 21,000 depending on the final configuration, local import tariffs, and minor customizations made to adapt to the client's specific feed formula. Considering the price fluctuations of commercial feeds in Nigeria’s volatile market, this investment typically pays for itself within two to three production seasons for a medium-sized farm.

The compact workshop housing this feed line measures 8m long, 3.5m wide, and 4m high — easily fitting within existing farm infrastructure. This eliminates the need for large, costly buildings, a key factor for small and medium farm operators with limited space.

Why Small-Scale Feed Production is the Future in Nigeria

Nigeria’s aquaculture industry is booming, with catfish leading the charge. As the country’s most farmed fish species, catfish accounts for over half of all local aquaculture output, driven by rising domestic protein demand and job creation in rural communities.

Yet, feed remains the single biggest cost in fish farming, often representing up to 70% of total operational expenses. Imported feeds, while high quality, suffer from price volatility, currency exchange risks, and inconsistent delivery timelines. This challenges farmers’ profitability and growth.

By turning to localized feed production using simple, reliable machinery like RICHI's 100-150KG/H fish feed line, farmers can stabilize costs, adapt formulations to changing local ingredient availability, and improve feed freshness. More importantly, they can insulate themselves from foreign supply chain disruptions and invest more confidently in expanding their pond systems.

Building a Self-Sustaining Aquaculture Ecosystem: A Look at Other Local Projects

This floating fish feed production line in Nigeria project is one of several examples showing how Nigerian farmers are transforming small-scale feed manufacturing into a competitive advantage. RICHI has delivered multiple feed projects across Nigeria:

These projects demonstrate how farmers are diversifying — moving from poultry to aquaculture, or combining both — using modular, scalable feed machinery that grows with their operations.

Unique Insights for the Nigerian Context: Tapping Local Potential

A key lesson from this floating fish feed production line in Nigeria project is the untapped synergy between Nigeria's strong agricultural base and its rising aquaculture ambitions. Local corn and oilseed crops, fishery by-products, and even cassava processing wastes can be turned into valuable feed ingredients instead of being discarded or underutilized.

By training more farmers on feed formulation best practices and simple machine operation, projects like this not only cut costs but create skilled local jobs in feed production, maintenance, and distribution. The ripple effect supports the government’s goals for food security, import substitution, and rural development.

Affordable Technology, Local Impact

This 100-150KG/H floating fish feed mill project proves that small capacity does not mean small impact. By investing in a compact, robust system tailored for local resources, farmers like this client now hold the keys to consistent feed quality, better fish growth, and stronger profits.

For new investors or fish farmers considering how to gain control over feed costs, this project is a strong signal: with RICHI Machinery's proven designs and responsive support, the path to local feed self-sufficiency is realistic and within reach.

Thinking of setting up your own local floating fish feed production line in Nigeria?

Contact RICHI today for tailored designs, practical training, and reliable machines that turn local resources into profitable feed production — just like this successful catfish feed project!