How to build a small palm oil plant – BTMA

Suppose a village decides to build a small palm oil plant, and develops a plan to plant a certain number of seedlings every year for 7 years.
In the third year, the first batch of trees began to bear fruit. And the community wanted to set up a processing palm oil plant, and they invited experts. How to estimate the size and type of palm processing machine required by the community?

First, determine the planting area by year, so that the age of trees can be determined. The oil palm tree begins to bear palm fruit in the third year, and the yield of each palm tree increases gradually with age until it reaches its peak in about 20 years. From 25 to 40 years, the economic life of palm trees began to decline, and the output began to decline.
Table 3 describes the potential production (metric tons) of palm fruit clusters per hectare per year. The estimates in Table 3 are used to calculate the expected annual production of the block for each year. For example, 8700 seedlings planted in 1998 began to bear fruit in 2000, with a yield of 198 tons per hectare.

By the seventh year, all planting areas will start to produce with different yields.
Calculate the estimated annual yield of each planting block, and then add a column of one year to give the potential raw materials that can be used for processing. For example, in year 7, when all planted blocks bear fruit, the total output is 8919 metric tons. In order to know which period of time requires the attention of the processor, it is necessary to determine the distribution of annual output.
The production of oil palm trees is distributed throughout the year. Most parts of Central and West Africa experience two rainy seasons. The result of oil palm is to respond to rainfall patterns, so there are two peak harvest periods in these areas. Tropical monsoon regions in the southern hemisphere, such as Malawi, Zambia and Southeast Asia, have only one long rainy season, so there is often only one peak harvest season.
For Central and West Africa, the annual monthly distribution pattern of agricultural products is expected to change as follows:

It is estimated that 12% to 16% of the annual yield can generally be used for processing in peak harvest months. The installed plant must be able to handle peak month production, which is generally estimated to be 15% of annual production. It is conservatively estimated that the factory will implement two shifts in the peak season.

The best choice of plant size in rural Africa is still unknown. Large-scale operations often require highly skilled labor and management expertise. Most villages do not have such a skilled workforce. The villages also lack social infrastructure such as good accommodation, schools and hospitals that can attract a highly skilled workforce.
Therefore, in order to establish a large-scale processing business, labor needs to be imported from other parts of the country.
To retain these “foreign” workers and managers, capital investment must be made in housing, schools and clinics near processing zones.
Some education and health services must be extended to entire communities or resentment against “foreign” workers will develop.
Large-scale operations also require rapid transport of harvested materials to processing sites, necessitating investments in roads and civil engineering. The establishment of large-scale operations creates indirect burdens beyond the capacity of rural communities.